Earlier this year, Sunderland owners Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Juan Sartori founded Bia Sports Group, a company that houses the club and now a few other sports entities too.
Sunderland have enjoyed a superb year in which they have sealed a return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017, and have also strengthened their ranks considerably.
Since promotion, the Black Cats have spent over £100million on first-team signings, appointed a number of top coaches and committed to major infrastructure upgrades at the club.
Meanwhile, Bia Sports Group (BSG) has recently invested in a franchise-based global rugby sevens league and has also announced a sponsorship deal with corporate payments company Corpay.
Financial expert Kieran Maguire has spoken exclusively to TBR Football about where Sunderland could fit into the BSG “jigsaw”.
Sunderland chairman and majority owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus watches his side lift the trophy after the Championship Play-Off Final match between Sheffield United and Sunderland at Wembley Stadium on May 24, 2025
Photo by Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images
Sunderland tipped to be run ‘largely independently’ within Bia Sports Group
Maguire has described BSG’s latest acquisition as an “interesting development”, with the company also having the World Supercross Championship in its ranks.
In addition, BSG are looking for more sports takeovers, but Maguire believes Sunderland will be run “largely independently”.
Indeed, Maguire reckons Sunderland’s presence could be used “for the benefit of the wider network”.
“It’s an interesting development,” said Maguire. “Sunderland are a different piece in a different jigsaw, I suspect.
“These sports Bia are investing in are niche, whereas football is global. Supercross has a dedicated audience, as does the rugby element.
“It will attract audiences if you host it in Hong Kong or Dubai, but not necessarily global ones, so the growth potential there is more limited.
“I think Sunderland will be run largely independently.
“I think it’s probably more about using the Sunderland badge for the benefit of the wider network, as opposed to the other way around.
“When you have Sunderland’s badge on your website, that is attractive to sponsors.”
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Could multi-club ownership be next on the cards for Sunderland’s owners?
The multi-club model appears to be growing in popularity. Examples include City Football Group, Red Bull GmbH, and Eagle Football Holdings.
More recently, Everton’s owners set up a company called Pursuit Sports, which will house the group’s sports investments.
Pursuit Sports will be responsible for supporting and running a portfolio which, alongside Everton, also includes Italian giants AS Roma, and French fourth-tier club AS Cannes.
Sunderland are currently the only football club in the BSG portfolio, but the company is on the lookout for more sporting investment opportunities.
BSG’s website says they are focused on “investment opportunities in emerging and established sports.”
“Targeting opportunities,” the description continues, “where it creates exponential growth through leveraging their purpose-built platform to drive accelerated business outcomes, synergy realisation and the development of new and exciting fan experiences.
“Established by successful investors and entrepreneurs Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Juan Sartori, with an industry-leading management team, Bia Sports is primed to deliver the next generation of sporting experiences.”