Jockey Club Bond Raises Nearly £25m
The Jockey Club has announced it has raised £24.7 million for its Racecourse Bond, which offered the general public a chance to invest in horseracing, exceeding the company’s original target of £15 million.
The result means the first retail bond in British sport will now be the second largest unlisted UK retail bond issue ever, with the funds raised set to go towards the funding of The Jockey Club’s planned £45 million Cheltenham Racecourse development.
The Racecourse Bond is a five-year fixed-term investment with punters invited to invest between £2,000 and £100,000 in the bond, which will pay a return of 7.75% through a mixture of cash and reward points.
The return is split between 4.75% cash and 3% in racing rewards in the form of Rewards4Racing points from The Jockey Club’s loyalty scheme, which can be redeemed for items including tickets, food, drink, hospitality and annual memberships at the Group’s racecourses.
Bondholders will receive interest payments quarterly in arrears.
The Jockey Club is the owner of 15 leading racecourses including Cheltenham, Aintree, Epsom Downs and Newmarket and is the largest commercial group in British horseracing.
Earlier this month, the Racecourse Bond passed its original £15 million target, with the offer extended by ten days beyond the original 17th May deadline, until 28th May.
Paul Fisher, group managing director of Jockey Club Racecourses, said: ‘We conducted in-depth research before we launched the first retail bond in British sport and that gave us confidence our offer of generous cash returns and racing rewards would go down well. We were expecting to raise around £15 million, so to have exceeded that by almost £10 million is an achievement we’re hugely proud of.’
‘It’s a great sign of trust in the strength of our 263-year-old brand and the modern, commercial approach we take today, as well as further indication that horseracing is a sport on the up. I believe having a clear reason for raising these funds has helped, because while guaranteeing investors healthy fixed-rate returns has been vital, people know their investment is also supporting British racing through our planned development at Cheltenham.’
‘As we said when extending the offer, it was made clear to us demand was out there and I’m delighted that has proved to be the case. I look forward to repaying the faith shown by investors over the next five years in their capacity as Jockey Club Racecourse Bondholders. More than 93% of applications were for the blended cash and Rewards4Racing offer, so we will be welcoming around 2,000 people to use their points at our racecourses.’
Simon Bazalgette, group chief executive of The Jockey Club and chairman of Jockey Club Racecourses, added: ‘We’re delighted with the outcome, which is great news for British racing. The Jockey Club is an organisation always looking forward and the same can be said of our sport, as we seek to secure a bright future.’
‘The success of the Racecourse Bond is another step on that journey, with the funds we have raised supporting our iconic planned development at Cheltenham Racecourse, which aims to enhance the experience we offer to racing fans and shine even more focus on the world’s best Jumps horses.’
