Southampton FC Enters Partnership With Chinese Investors

Southampton Football Club are the latest professional soccer team to be purchased by Chinese investors following the announcement Monday that the club has entered a partnership with businessman Jisheng Gao and his daughter, Nelly Gao.

Reports suggest that Gao has purchased approximately 80 percent of the Premier League club’s stake, leaving current owner Katharina Liebherr with 20 percent.

“Following extensive and fruitful work, we are entering into a partnership with the Gao family and I am excited about what we will achieve together,” Liebherr said in a statement. “… We wholeheartedly support their plans to follow the Southampton Way in the years ahead. But for now it is business as usual at Southampton Football Club and we must allow everyone at the club to focus on the first few weeks of the new season.”

Southampton joins English clubs Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Wolverhampton, Reading and West Bromwich Albion as those with Chinese-led ownership. Italian giants AC Milan were sold to Chinese investors for £628m in April 2017. Manchester City (England) sold a 13 percent stake worth £265m to a consortium Chinese investors in 2015.

Founded by members of the St. Mary’s Church of England Young Men’s Association on Nov. 21, 1885, Southampton currently plays in the English Premier League, the top tier of professional soccer in the country. The club won the FA Cup in 1976 and has been runners up in the domestic competition on three other occasions, most recently in 2003.

The Saints began their 2017/18 EPL campaign with a scoreless draw against Swansea City on Aug. 12.

“I am honoured and humbled to become a partner of Southampton Football Club alongside Katharina Liebherr, who, together with her father, has been such a great steward of the club, its growth and success,” Gao said in a statement. “Together, we have the passion and motivation to build on Southampton’s excellent progress in recent years as we look forward to an exciting next chapter for the club.”

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.