Over recent weeks and months, the American investment group ALK Capital have been working on a deal to acquire Spanish side RCD Espanyol. This will see the Spanish side become the second club under their ownership as they expand from the English market into the European market.
Who are Velocity Sport Limited?
Velocity Sport Limited are the sports arm of the investment group ALK Capital. This is a company led by Alan Pace, who is the chairman of Burnley, along with Stuart Hunt and Michael Smith, who are also members of the board of directors at Burnley.
How did the deal come to fruition?
Ever since acquiring Burnley in December 2020 for £170 million, the American ownership group has had its eyes on expanding its ownership into the European market. A lot of reports and rumours were in the air surrounding ALK Capital potentially purchasing a Belgian team.
Eventually, they struck a deal with the RCD Espanyol owners, the Chinese Rastar Group, worth around £115 million to acquire the Spanish top-flight team. This sees Velocity Sport Limited become the majority shareholders of the club whilst the Chinese Rastar Group become minority shareholders.
Much like at Burnley, former NFL defensive end J.J. Watt has also become a minority shareholder at RCD Espanyol.
What downsides does it have for both?
With recent news coming out surrounding the ownership of Crystal Palace and Olympique Lyon, there is reason for concern from both Burnley and Espanyol fans.
Especially if both clubs find themselves to be successful in the coming years, and coincidentally find themselves in the same European competition as each other.
If this scenario happens at any point under the ownership of ALK Capital, then one team may miss out on European competition or be demoted to a lower competition, which has been the case with Crystal Palace.
However, in a statement made by Espanyol, they said, *"With this deal, RCD Espanyol and the English club with this investment group, which expands its interests by having a club in LaLiga and another in the **Premier League*- although each will remain independent."
By remaining independent, it gives hope that there won't be any complications if the scenario of both teams being in the same competition does arise.
What positives does the acquisition have?
For Burnley, this new partnership with Espanyol will potentially have many positive outcomes for them as a club. Especially if Alan Pace and his team view the Lancashire side as their main club in the newly found multi-club ownership structure.
With Burnley's bloated squad size, they can potentially allow some of their fringe players to join the Spanish side, on loan for more game time, or in a permanent move in order to help Espanyol achieve survival once again or even improve on the 14th-placed finish from last season.
The likes of Manuel Benson, Oliver Sonne, Hannes Delcroix, Shurandy Sambo, Darko Churlinov and Jaydon Banel will all be viable options that the Spanish side could secure in a deal due to this new partnership.
A lot of these players have experience in the **Championship,**and some also have experience in the Premier League, which will be useful experience and quality for Espanyol to add to their squad.
Burnley will benefit if Espanyol have any top talents within their squad, especially younger talent. Due to having the same owners, Burnley will likely have first choice on these youngsters. Much like the situation between **Chelsea**and Strasbourg.
Since ALK Capital has acquired Burnley, they've made a conscious effort to connect with the local town and local community to really understand what the club means to the people.
This effort has been well received by many Burnley fans who have shown tremendous support for how Alan Pace has run the club in the short time that he has been chairman.
The ownership group have also shown a huge level of investment towards the club's facilities. Especially the club's academy and women's team. As the academy regained its Tier One academy status, making it one of the best academies in the country, it will attract some of the best young prospects to join the club. The women's team have recently turned full-time and have received the investment needed to achieve promotion to the WSL 2 in the near future.
As for the men's senior team, Alan Pace has been massively involved in improving the staff behind the scenes in order to grow the brand image of Burnley worldwide with sponsorships and partnerships.
With the recent acquisition of Espanyol, the fans of the Spanish side can expect a lot of positives from the investment group as they bid for survival in the Spanish top flight once again.