Oakley Capital Origin II – a fund that Oakley Capital Investments (OCI) has backed – is making a controlling investment in Athena Racing, the company behind Britain’s America’s Cup team.
Athena Racing was founded by Sir Ben Ainslie. He is staying on, with a focus on governance and commercial development, while continuing to support its performance programme. He is joined by Ian Walker, who was recently announced as chief executive officer. Nick Holroyd has re-committed to his role as head of design.
The America’s Cup has been contested since 1851. Oakley has been involved in the creation of the America’s Cup Partnership, which will govern the America’s Cup going forward. Five founding teams, including Athena, will sit in an equal partnership position. The aim was to create a more modern and commercially focused structure. It gives all teams board representation, establishes neutral, professional management to drive audience and revenue growth, introduces cost-control measures to create a more competitive field, and sets a stable biennial calendar to support long-term investment, positioning the Cup as a leading, global sports property.
Sir Ben Ainslie, founder & team principal, Athena Racing, said: “I’d like to pay credit to Oakley for the critical role they have played in helping Athena and the other teams to shape this new partnership for the America’s Cup. Previously a Defender-led, winner-takes-all format, the Cup now moves into a unified chapter that gives every team a seat at the table and a shared focus on commercial growth and continued technical innovation. With Oakley’s backing and expertise, and by drawing on the next generation of sailors with our Athena Pathway programme, Athena is well-positioned to help grow the Cup into one of the world’s most iconic and commercially successful sporting properties.
OCI is already heavily exposed to this world through its ownership of North Sails, which as part of its business supplies sails to all the teams in the Cup. North Sails is – by some distance – OCI’s largest investment (valued at £216.2m at 30 June 2025). There is nothing in the press release that discloses how large Origin Fund II’s investment is. However, OCI’s look-through share of it is expected to be about £13m, once fully funded.
