Via The Friedkin Group, Dan Friedkin is Everton’s majority owner. However, little is known about the pool of investors who are also shareholders through holding company Roundhouse Capital.
Dan Friedkin bought out Farhad Moshiri – or, more accurately, agreed to assume responsibility for Everton’s debt and paid the British-Iranian businessman a token sum for his shares – in December 2024.
As Everton approach the anniversary of the takeover, the club is undoubtedly in a much healthier position, with the lucrative Hill Dickinson Stadium open for business, an improved commercial position, more manageable debt structure, David Moyes back at the helm, fewer PSR concerns, and green shoots on the pitch.
Meanwhile, news that 2025-26 will be the Premier League’s last season under the myopic Profit and Sustainability Rules which darkened the skies over Goodison Park for so long will likely be greeted warmly by The Friedkin Group, who appear willing to invest on their own dime to strengthen the squad.
A general view of Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium
Photo by Poppy Townson – MUFC/Manchester United via Getty Images
The new Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) system, which is similar to the regulations implemented at UEFA level, is based on clubs’ revenues rather than their bottom line, AKA their profits or losses.
At Everton, SCR can potentially unlock the full benefits of the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Why? Because while matchday income might be, say, £45m this season, not all of that is profit. Costs – such as interest payments and other operating expenses – are deducted from the bottom line, which in turn is how the current PSR system makes its calculation.
But under the new system, Everton are allowed to spend 85 pence for every pound they earn in revenue on first-team wages and transfers. The club have a very high ceiling here. And in the long-term growth plan, SCR should be more positive for Everton than its predecessor.
Chart plotting Everton's squad cost, consisting of wages plus amortisation, against revenue
Everton squad cost vs revenue Credit: Adam Williams/Everton News/GRV Media
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Clubs will still be able to invest in infrastructure, the women’s team, academy and so on without being curtailed by SCR, as those costs are excluded from the calculation.
And Roundhouse Capital last week confirmed the injection of another £107m in three separate share issues, which took place between August and September.
It has been suggested that the staggered timing of the share issues indicated that the cash was perhaps sourced from different sets of investors, not just Friedkin himself.
“It’s called The Friedkin Group – with the emphasis on ‘Group’ – for a reason,” says Liverpool University football finance lecturer and Price of Football podcast host Kieran Maguire, speaking to Everton News.
“Not relying on a single individual can be beneficial. We saw with the Farhad Moshiri regime that the business model is only as good as long as the owner’s wealth is maintained. Once that goes negative, it’s a problem. Put it this way: Moshiri sneezed and Everton caught pneumonia.
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“In terms of who is in that pool of investors, we might never know. Or, at least, they won’t be obliged to tell us because the company is based in the United States, where there aren’t the same financial reporting obligations.”
To date, the only publicly known shareholders in Roundhouse Capital are Friedkin, American billionaire Christopher Sarofim and Jason Kidd, head coach of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.
Everton also have several hundred minority shareholders separate from Roundhouse, whose stake has been significantly diluted by the share issues at club level since The Friedkin Group’s takeover.
Sarofim – whose investment was announced in April – appears to hold a beneficial stake of around 10 per cent. Kidd’s stake is likely significantly smaller.
Roundhouse Capital is owned by Toffees Investments LLC, which is registered at the Friedkin Group’s headquarters in Houston, Texas.
In July, The Friedkin Group set up a new company, Pursuit Sports, whose stated aim was to unite the company’s sports assets – AS Roma, AS Cannes and Everton – under a single company.
Dave Beeston, a former executive at Liverpool ownership regime Fenway Sports Group, was appointed to oversee the project. There has been little in the way of concrete updates since then.