Bristol City and Bristol Bears owner Steve Lansdown has seen his personal wealth decrease by £128m over the last 12 months, according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2022.
Guernsey-based billionaire Lansdown is ranked as the 146th richest person in the United Kingdom by the annual study, worth £1.237billion. Lansdown has fallen 22 places from the 2021 list which calculated his wealth at £1.365bn.
The 69-year-old, who made his money through financial services company Hargreaves-Lansdown, is one of nine billionaires from the south west, sixth overall behind James Dyson (engineering, Dyson), John Christodoulou (property), Chris and Sarah Dawson (retail, The Range), former partner Peter Hargreaves (finance) and Stephen Fitzpatrick (engineering, Vertical Aerospace).
Lansdown, whose wealth stood at £1.72bn in 2018 and 2019 prior to the pandemic, is one of 177 billionaires identified by the Sunday Times, a slight increase on the record 171 that was published in last year’s edition.
Since becoming chairman of City in 2002, Lansdown has been increasingly responsible for the funding of the club, accelerating dramatically over the last 10 years and football finance expert Kieran Maguire calculates he has spent £214m of his money on the Robins.
From the 2008/09 season, Lansdown funded Bristol Bears and became majority shareholder in 2012 when he said: "My main concern with Bristol City – and now with Bristol Rugby – is to make sure those clubs survive within their means and have financial stability for future generations."
The last two seasons have been difficult on and off the field for City, with the club’s accounts for 2020/21 publishing record losses of £38.4m, with the threat of possibly incurring a points deduction for next season under the EFL’s Profit & Sustainability rules. On the field, City have gone from being a Championship play-off contender to two seasons of lower mid-table finishes under Nigel Pearson.
It’s been a turbulent campaign for the Bears, meanwhile, who will finish 10th in the Premiership, while CEO and club legend Mark Tainton is departing at the end of the season in the wake of issues surrounding the reduction of the Premiership salary cap.
The opening of training grounds, the Robins High Performance Centre in Failand and the Bears High Performance Centre in Abbots Leigh, have been notable infrastructure projects funded by Lansdown for both City and the Bears over the last 12 months.
Lansdown admitted last year that he is seeking additional and outside investment into City, indicating a succession plan beyond his ownership of the club. It’s unclear if the Lansdowns are open to a full sale of the club, or wish to retain a stake.
City are one of a number of Championship clubs in a similar position, in-part due to the impact of the pandemic on football finances and how it’s revealed the unsustainable nature of financing teams outside of the Premier League.
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