Formula One enjoyed massive net profits of £85 million ($137m) in 2010 following a great year of racing which looks set to continue in 2011.
The sports owners, which range from majority shareholder CVC (63.4%), to stakeholders Lehman Brothers (15.3%), Bernie Ecclestone (13.7% – 8.5% of which is held by his family trust, Bambino), JP Morgan (3.1%) and others, shared the profits.
CVC, though their Delta Topco subsidiary kept £53m ($87m), bringing their total profits from the sport since the £1bn ($1.7bn) takeover in 2006 to £756m ($1.22bn).
The figures, provided by Formula Money, give a unique insight into the sports finances.
These latest figures reveal that the most annually watched sporting event worldwide is now valued at between £3bn-£4.5bn, at the lowest value that’s a tripling of its original sale value in 2006.
This sheds some light on why many companies are keen to get their hands on the rights’ to the sport, including the recently revealed NewsCorp/Exor consortium.
In 2010, the teams shared a pot of prize money totalling almost £410m, Red Bull gaining the most for securing the top spot in the constructors’ championship.
That compared to just £220m in 2006 when the Concorde Agreement’s terms were less favourable. The teams are currently looking for an even larger slice which could lead to a prize fund of near £1bn, if they get their way.
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