Owners of basketball’s Sydney Kings and Flames welcome private equity investment by Wollemi Capital Group

Hoops Capital Pty Ltd, the owner of the Sydney Kings and the Sydney Flames, has announced an agreed investment by venture capital and private equity group Wollemi Capital.

The proposed investment by Wollemi Capital Group (WCG), the Denholm Family investment office, aims to build a long-term partnership with the shared goal of growing women’s and men’s basketball across the country.

Founded in 2021 with “a mission to invest in businesses and ventures that deliver positive impacts for the communities in which we live and work”, WCG has identified sport as a key focus area.

Under the proposed deal, former NBA champion and Kings great Andrew Bogut retains his existing stake in the company and three-time NBA champion and Australian basketball legend Luc Longley will continue to provide guidance and advice to the ownership group in his role as a special advisor.

This also means that Robyn Denholm - WCG’s founder and Director - who is also the current Chair of Tesla, will become one of the first Australian female sports teams owners.

Explaining the investment, Denholm advised “we are blown away by the vision and work that Paul Smith and the entire Hoops Capital organisation has done

“We are particularly impressed with the commitment to diversity shown by being the only organisation in Australia with both female and male basketball teams at the highest level. Wollemi Capital Group is excited to be creating a long-term partnership.”

Smith, who is the current majority owner of Hoops Capital, welcomed the WCG investment in the future of the team and Australian basketball, adding “this an important milestone in the long-term planning and development of professional basketball in Sydney and Australia.

“The opportunity for Andrew Bogut and I to be joined by Wollemi Capital Group as we build a truly complete basketball business is something I am personally thrilled by.

“We are delighted to have Robyn join us in her capacity as founder of the Wollemi Capital Group. With her corporate acumen and experience, she will be an asset to our board. She joins us alongside Matthew and Victoria who bring a clear passion for both men’s and women’s basketball in our ownership. I think this diversity will ensure we are in a great place to achieve something very meaningful over the next 20 years.”

Hoops Capital is a business designed to capture the entire spectrum of basketball from the elite professional side to youth development via the recently established Hoops Capital Academy.

Image: The Sydney Kings at Qudos Bank Arena.