Athvance Capital has launched a European investment platform dedicated to building scaled sports assets across intellectual property, technology, and services, as private capital increasingly targets under-commercialised segments of the global sports industry.

The platform is founded by Danny Menken, former managing director of Eurosport and co-founder of Eleven Sports, alongside Karim Ben Rejeb, a former JPMorgan investment banker with more than 20 years of dealmaking experience.

Athvance is focused on investing in emerging sports IP with global reach, as well as the technology and service providers that support the industry’s long-term growth. The firm said its strategy is built around creating an integrated ecosystem of assets that can be expanded internationally and operated over the long term.

The firm has already deployed capital into a portfolio of majority investments with operations across Spain, the Netherlands, France, the UK, and Portugal. These include ve2.ventures, a sports and technology venture studio behind platforms such as Flyfut and PadelPlay, as well as Estrella Football Group, a multi-club football ownership platform targeting lower-league assets.

Athvance has also invested directly in emerging sports properties, including Queen & King of the Court, a professional beach volleyball league, and Padel Copa, a professional padel tournament platform.

“This is an exciting moment for the sports industry, driven by powerful trends in entertainment and wellbeing, technology innovation and consumer-led disruption,” said Danny Menken, co-founder and managing partner at Athvance Capital. “As media, technology and performance continue to converge, the sector requires a more integrated, long-term investment approach.”

Karim Ben Rejeb said Athvance combines “industrial expertise, hands-on operational execution and financial discipline to deliver long-term value creation,” with a focus on “under-commercialised IP and the technology and service providers that support their growth.”

The firm said it is currently in the process of closing additional acquisitions to further strengthen the platform. Goodwin Procter is acting as Athvance Capital’s legal counsel.

The launch reflects growing private equity interest in sports-related assets, particularly where fragmented ownership, operational complexity, and global audience growth create opportunities for platform-driven value creation.

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