Reports from North America suggest Swansea City are set to receive a £10 million injection from three US-based businessman.
Nigel Morris, Andy Coleman and Brett Cravatt are the three individuals, according to reports Stateside, who are looking to boost the club’s coffers.
Swansea has made it clear that the club have been seeking outside investment for some time.
READ MORE: Trio of American investors to pump £10m into Swansea City, say US reports
Majority shareholders Jason Levien, Steve Kaplan and Jake Silverstein have converted three sets of loan notes worth around £19million in recent years – including an additional £1million earlier this month to help with running costs.
Reports on the other side of the Atlantic suggest the current directors will hold around 50% of the club following the investment.
Swansea head coach Russell Martin confirmed on Friday morning that a deal is "very close" to being concluded. He said: "I understand they're very close [to completing a deal] and they've been talking for a while. All of this stuff takes a lot of due diligence but I don't know an awful lot beyond that, to be honest.
"I know that people have been wanting to invest and have been around the club and looked at the club. They've met with the people here to see what they've invested in and they're really good guys. But I don't know when it will happen or how much.
"I'm sure once it's all resolved and everything's sorted, I would presume there will be a list of things that they want to get done."
But who are these individuals? Let’s breakdown who they are are in a bit more detail and see where their backgrounds lie.
Nigel Morris
Nigel Morris, 64, is a British businessman, based in Virginia.
He is the former co-founder of one of the largest banks in the US, Capital One Financial Corp. Under his tenure as president and chief operating officer, Capital is believed to have transformed the consumer lending industry.
Currently, Morris is the co-founder and managing partner of QED Investors – a fintech company that primarily invests in early-stage financial services firms in the US, UK and Latin America.
According to Forbes, Morris led QED’s early investment into the Brazilian neo-bank Nubank. While on the board, the company went public in December 2021 at a $41billion market cap.
Morris serves on the board of several for-profit companies, including American media company Red Ventures and online remittance service Remitly.
He is ranked #54 on Forbes’ Top Tech Investors list.
In terms of his personal life, there is some information about him on the QED Investors site. "Although Nigel grew up mostly in England, he takes immense pride in the fact that he is at least half Welsh," a mission statement-style piece reads.
"He has an MBA with distinction from London Business School, where he is also a Fellow. Nigel was recognized as a Top 100 Venture Capitalist by CB Insights in 2019 and Midas List member in 2020 and 2021. He is an avid cyclist, but he is happiest when he is at home in Virginia with his wife, four children, and three grandchildren."
Brett Cravatt
Less is known or is publicly available on the other two investors involved.
Brett Cravatt is an American businessman and entrepreneur who is the CEO and co-founder of the data-driven marketing company Centerfield.
Before Centerfield, Cravatt founded and worked as the CEO of the application service provider (ASP) ‘WebYES!’.
Before venturing into the world of business he studied law, graduating from Stanford Law School. He worked as an attorney for the Los Angeles Law firm Loeb & Loeb LLP for one year.
Andy Coleman
Andy Coleman serves on the board of MLS team DC United alongside Levien. He is a family man who works in real estate and has a background in the hotel business. A 2016 report stated: "With more than 25 years of hospitality-financing experience, Coleman has closed on more than $6 billion during his career. Prior to joining Berkadia, Coleman served with Walker & Dunlop, heading its hospitality division."
In a Q&A on the same he report, he revealed: "I have been working in the hospitality industry my whole life; my family owns and operates the Phoenix Park Hotel and the Dubliner restaurant in Washington, D.C., and my sister, Stephanie Linnartz, is EVP/chief marketing and commercial officer for Marriott International, Inc. Working in the family business taught me the importance of managing personalities so that everyone is focused on managing the greater goal: servicing our clients."
He is an avid supporter of DC United. He has a profile on the Washington-based club's website but no information is attached to it.
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