Evangelos Marinakis' £162m show of commitment to Nottingham Forest compared to Premier League rivals
A new report has detailed how much owner Evangelos Marinakis has invested in Nottingham Forest.
The Greek businessman replaced Fawaz Al Hasawi at the helm when he took over the Reds in 2017. Five years later, he oversaw the club’s return to the Premier League after a 23-year absence.
According to The Athletic, the shipping magnate has pumped a total of £162 million into Forest over the past seven years. That figure is made up of an initial £50m purchase price and £112m in funding, putting the Reds 18th in the division for overall owner investment.
Chelsea are way out in front as the Premier League’s big-spenders. BlueCo are said to have ploughed an eye-watering £2.65bn into the Blues.
Manchester City’s City Football Group are not far behind with £1.5bn invested in the reigning champions. Below, is a look at how much the current set of Premier League owners have invested in their respective clubs. The figures refer to the combined total for purchase price and owner funding.
Premier League investment list
1 Chelsea (BlueCo) – £2.65bn
2 Manchester City (City Football Group) – £1.5bn
3 Arsenal (Kroenke Sports and Entertainment) – £1.26bn
4 Fulham (Shahid Khan) – £938m
5 Everton (Farhad Moshiri) – £878m
6 Manchester United (Glazer family) – £845m
7 Aston Villa (V Sports) – £582m
8 Newcastle United (Public Investments Fund) – £566m
9 Brighton and Hove Albion (Tony Bloom) – £512m
10 Leicester City (King Power International) – £484m
11 Liverpool (Fenway Sports Group) – £436m
12 Crystal Palace (CPFC 2010) – £278m
13 Wolverhampton Wanderers (Fosun International) – £243m
14 Bournemouth (Black Knight Football) – £213m
15 West Ham United (David Sullivan, Daniel Kretinsky and the Gold family) – £206m
16 Tottenham Hotspur (ENIC) – £194m
17 Southampton (Sport Republic) – £185m
18 Nottingham Forest (Evangelos Marinakis) – £162m
19 Brentford (Matthew Benham) – £124m
20 Ipswich Town (Gamechanger 20) – £123m
To work out investor funding, The Athletic state they have included shareholder loans and any debts turned into equity. The latter has been a key feature of Marinakis’ tenure at Forest.
When the Reds’ 2022/23 accounts were revealed earlier this year, they said the conversion of £11m from loans to equity “exemplified” the owner’s commitment to the “long-term future of the club and its funding”. That came on the back of Marinakis converting £41m worth of loans into shares the previous year.
During his time as owner, Marinakis has also shown his commitment to the club with investment in transfer fees and facilities. Recent transfer windows have seen a number of smart signings made for minimal outlay, and that is now paying off on the pitch amid an encouraging start to the season for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.