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Ebury signs two European football clubs in two days as London listing stays parked. Thursday, 23/07/2026 | 01:52 GMT-7 by Damian Chmiel * The payments firm added Spain's Real Betis and Belgium's Royal Antwerp FC to a sponsorship roster that now spans nine countries. * Ebury's £2B London flotation has slipped twice, and private equity firm Centerbridge is reported to be in advanced talks for a minority stake instead. Ebury signed sponsorship agreements with two European football clubs within two days this week, adding Spain's Real Betis and Belgium's Royal Antwerp FC to a portfolio that already runs from Aston Villa to Botafogo. Neither the London-based payments firm nor the clubs disclosed what either deal is worth. Real Betis named Ebury its Official Transfer Partner under an agreement running from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028, signed in Seville by Luis Merino, general manager of Ebury in Spain, and club chief executive Ramón Alarcón. The Royal Antwerp deal, announced Wednesday, promotes Ebury from banking partner, a role it has held since 2024, to Official Partner through 2028. Signage going one way, treasury services going the other. Both agreements bundle branding with a commercial services relationship. Ebury gets a presence across Real Betis's digital and physical channels, and at Antwerp it will appear at Bosuil Stadium and on every incoming transfer announcement. In return, the clubs get access to Ebury's international payments and currency hedging products, which the company said will help them manage cross-border transfers, commercial rights income and multi-currency payroll. That is the same structure Ebury used when it became Official FX Partner of Spanish club C.D. Leganés in November 2024. The Betis agreement also commits both sides to a joint program aimed at businesses in Seville and Andalusia, pitching Ebury's payments and FX products to local companies. Antwerp is offering something similar, with Ebury joining what club partnerships lead Tom Aerts described as "the largest business network in Belgian football." Ebury's football numbers come with no methodology. Ebury said its Sports Finance division now works with six of UEFA's top 50 football clubs and handles transfer-related payments for roughly 10% of Premier League player moves. The declared roster is broader: Aston Villa, Fulham, Rangers, PSV Eindhoven, Parma Calcio 1913, Lech Poznań, FC Copenhagen, AIK and Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, plus the Spanish rugby federation. Ebury also holds deals with Brazil's Botafogo and Southampton FC, and moved into basketball last October with Greek side AS Karditsas. Maurits Zwart, co-head of sport at Ebury, said in the Betis announcement that "modern football operates in a global, competitive market." Payments firms crowd the same touchline. Corpay's cross-border unit renewed its multi-year agreement as official FX payments supplier to SailGP last October, having become New Zealand Football's FX partner in August 2025 and extended its arrangement with West Ham United. Corpay has been supplying SailGP since 2019. In Belgium, Club Brugge signed a five-year deal with cross-border payments firm Neo in August 2025, running to 2030 and covering the club's FX and multi-currency transactions, including transfers, travel and staff payments. Neo had previously worked with Wolverhampton Wanderers on the same basis. Revolut took a different route into the sport, backing Manchester City Women with financial services alongside branding. Retail brokers spend in football and other sports for reach rather than for the client relationship. XTB became a FIBA global partner in April on a deal running to December 2027, and IC Markets has signage arrangements with a dozen LaLiga and Bundesliga clubs. Ebury, Corpay and Neo are all selling the sponsored club a product it will be invoiced for. Listing plans are roughly where they were a year ago. Ebury spent much of the past two years preparing a London flotation at a valuation of about £2 billion (about $2.7 billion), with Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Peel Hunt appointed to advise. The listing was shelved in April 2025 amid tariff-driven market volatility, revived with a second-quarter 2026 target, then pushed back again. Sky News reported in May that Centerbridge Partners was in advanced talks to buy a large minority stake, a transaction that would likely delay any flotation by at least another year. Advent International and Cinven were also reported to have looked at the asset. Santander, Ebury and Centerbridge have not commented publicly on the report. Banco Santander bought 50.1% of Ebury for £350 million in 2019 and later increased its holding. The company reported revenue of £286.5 million and EBITDA of £44.9 million for fiscal 2025, and says it operates more than 45 offices across over 30 regulated markets. Regulators have started asking who is on the shirt. Financial sponsorship of football clubs has drawn regulatory attention this year. The Financial Conduct Authority told clubs in May that they should be running checks on crypto and trading-platform sponsors, after a run of deals with firms marketing high-risk products to retail audiences. Ebury's business sits outside that perimeter, since it sells to corporates rather than consumers, though it has been onboarding FX and CFD brokers as clients since December 2023. The wider category is about to get more crowded regardless: the Premier League's ban on front-of-shirt betting sponsorship takes effect from the 2026-27 season, and panelists at Finance Magnates London Summit 2025 argued that fintech brands were already repositioning to bid for the inventory it frees up. Damian Chmiel is a Senior Analyst & Editor at Finance Magnates with more than 15 years of experience in the CFD and online trading industry. Active as both a trader and journalist since 2010, he focuses on broker coverage, fintech innovation, and regulatory developments across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. His work includes interviews with C-level leaders at major brokerages and fintech platforms, as well as co-authoring Finance Magnates' quarterly industry benchmarking reports. Damian's reporting is data-driven, market-aware, and grounded in direct industry engagement. His analysis and commentary have also been cited by external media outlets, including Investing.com, Binance, The Asset, Stockhead, and Dispatch. Education: MA in Finance and Accounting, Cracow University of Economics * 3768 Articles * 115 Followers

Ebury marks inaugural Values Day by highlighting ESG progress and future ambitions. * 942 hours of corporate volunteering delivered across 34 global offices during FY25/26 * 47% of Ebury's office floor area now operates within green-certified buildings, with 99% of cloud workloads running in low-carbon regions * Purpose-Led initiatives include Financial Inclusion Week, career programmes for young women and AI skills development for underrepresented talent * New partnerships with Anthesis Group and Lignaverda will support Ebury's next phase of environmental action Ebury, the global financial services firm, is marking its first-ever Values Day by celebrating the progress made across its environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy and reaffirming its commitment to responsible business growth. The initiative provides an opportunity to recognise the contribution of employees across Ebury's global network, while highlighting the progress made over the past year and the firm's ambitions for the future. Alongside its environmental and governance ambitions, Ebury has placed a renewed focus this year on becoming an increasingly Purpose-Led business - using its expertise, partnerships and people to support financial inclusion, broaden access to careers in financial services and technology, and create opportunities for underrepresented communities. These initiatives complement the firm's long-term ESG strategy by embedding positive social impact into its day-to-day business activities. Environmental progress. Over the past year, Ebury has continued to strengthen its environmental programme by expanding the way it measures and manages its environmental impact. The business is currently completing its fourth carbon inventory, significantly broadening its Scope 3 emissions reporting to include employee commuting, company vehicles and spend-based methodologies for key suppliers. Today, 47% of Ebury's office floor area operates within green-certified buildings and 99% of its cloud workload runs in low-carbon regions. Building on this progress, Ebury is further strengthening its environmental commitments through partnerships with new providers focused on high-quality carbon project procurement, as well as a dedicated initiative with Lignaverda. In collaboration with Lignaverda, Ebury's new "Move for Climate" sports challenge will directly support global reforestation efforts through the planting of 1,500 trees in Senegal. Looking ahead, Ebury's environmental priorities include advancing its Net Zero decarbonisation plans, integrating climate risk assessments into business strategy and ensuring adherence to UK SDR and SDS mandates. Social and community impact. Supporting local communities remains a key pillar of Ebury's ESG strategy and an increasingly important part of its Purpose-Led business approach. This year, Ebury has expanded its partnerships and programmes to promote financial inclusion, improve access to education and careers, and create opportunities for underrepresented communities across the markets where it operates. During the last financial year, employees completed 942 hours of corporate volunteering through 78 CSR activities across 34 global offices, working alongside 44 NGO partners. The business also donated £29,901 to initiatives including mentoring programmes, blood donation campaigns, solidarity races and environmental clean-up projects. As part of this renewed Purpose-Led focus, Ebury recently participated in the global Financial Inclusion Week, engaging with more than 3,100 attendees to demonstrate how its platform supports NGOs operating internationally, including through its work with Peace Direct. The business also supported the China-Europe Investment Congress for the Green Energy Sector in Madrid, reinforcing its commitment to organisations driving sustainable development and the transition to a greener economy. In London, Ebury partnered with St. Paul's Girls' School and Sacred Heart School to deliver the Ebury Vocation Explorer Bootcamp and a seven-week Micro Internship programme, helping young women explore careers in fintech, data and corporate development through practical business projects. In Madrid, Ebury has partnered with the NGOs Saturdays.AI and Somos F5 to sponsor a seven-week Machine Learning and Deep Learning specialisation programme, creating a pathway into employment for people at risk of exclusion through a paid internship opportunity within Ebury's Data Team. Workforce wellbeing and DEI. Alongside its community work, Ebury continues to invest in the wellbeing and development of its people. Over the past year, the business launched its Global Social, Cultural and Mental Health Calendar, alongside its first Mental Health Programme in partnership with the NGO Yees!, attracting more than 400 attendees across four global workshops focused on mindfulness. It also introduced Psychological First Aider workshops for Local People Partners to further embed mental health support across the organisation. Employee engagement continues to grow through five active employee-led networks with 639 members, alongside 10 Ebury Sports Clubs and more than 10 sports-related solidarity initiatives. During the year, Ebury also launched its first ESG Sana Course, achieving a 99% progress rate across 1,559 assignments. Laura Mateus Ávila, ESG specialist at Ebury, commented: "Values Day is an opportunity to recognise the positive impact our colleagues are creating across our organisation and in the communities where we operate. At Ebury, ESG is not a standalone initiative; it is embedded in the way we grow as a global, purpose-led company. As we continue to develop our strategy and empower all ambitious organisations, including SMEs and NGOs, our focus remains on delivering measurable impact through our environmental and social commitments - supporting our people, protecting our planet, and strengthening the communities we work with around the world." Experience the next-gen financial platform. 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Ebury makes a series of promotions in food. News Jul 16, 2026 by Heather Gosling Celia Palazzo Ebury has made a series of promotions in its Food Hub, with Celia Palazzo named publishing director for food. Serious about the book trade? Create a free account to unlock 3 articles a month and receive tailored newsletters with the latest from the book trade. Want full access? Subscribe today and unlock full access to exclusive interviews, rights deals, industry data and more: Weekly print copies of The Bookseller magazine | Unlimited access to thebookseller.com (single user) | The Bookseller digital edition for desktop, tablet and mobile | Subscriber-only newsletters | Twice-yearly Buyer's Guides worth £30 | Discounts on events and conferences