International sailing series SailGP is looking to bring two expansion teams into the fold for the 2026 season, with an initial 'expression of interest' process for potential bidders now open.
SailGP, currently comprised of 12 teams, has today announced plans for expansion next year, with the Sports Business Group of professional services heavyweight Deloitte set to provide financial and advisory services to the UK-based league.
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The deadline for initial bids closes in mid-August, with SailGP saying the overall process is set to conclude in early September. Interested parties are invited to first contact Deloitte through projecthydroteam@deloitte.co.uk.
The addition of two new teams in time for the 2026 season (after which the series will consider potential future growth plans for 2027) will follow on from a new duo – representing Italy and Brazil – coming on board for 2025.
When the league was first established in 2019, the aim then was to transition to a model where teams were privately owned within five years, and over the last few months, significant progress towards that goal has been made.
Earlier this month, the French team from the sailing series completed its ownership group by selling a final stake to US private equity firm Ares Management. Ares, through its sports, media, and entertainment fund, has led the acquisition of the final 25% stake in SailGP’s French team, with Sportsology Capital Partners also joining.
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By GlobalDataJune has also seen the Australian team bought up by iconic actors Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.
The Italy SailGP team (which only launched in time for the ongoing 2025 season) was acquired in late May, meanwhile, by a consortium featuring both international celebrities and experienced sports industry investors.
All this came after SailGP revealed the first details of the calendar for its 2026 season, in April, with a slate of multi-year hosting agreements seeing the return of popular existing locales and new host venues. For the first time, SailGP will adopt a regional format that will group together races by geography into different legs of the season.
All 12 existing teams have also now renewed their participation agreements with SailGP for the 2026-2030 cycle.
In terms of what the league is looking for from potential partners, SailGP's chief revenue officer Ben Johnson has told Sportcal (GlobalData Sport) that "independent ownership makes the league stronger, bringing not only capital but strategic insights and partnership, alongside reach in key markets … We’re looking for partners who share our vision, and who are passionate about shaping the future alongside us."
He added that the bidding process "is about providing a structured, robust pathway into SailGP, leveraging significant commercial interest to engage with a variety of investors across global markets."
Meanwhile, Andrew Thompson, managing director at SailGP, said: "This tender will ensure a rigorous, transparent, and globally-connected process, and look forward to engaging investors who share our vision and values. Off the back of recent growth, we see this as the right moment to engage partners who will help grow the SailGP Championship in strategic markets.”
The 2025 SailGP season began last November with the Dubai Sail Grand Prix, while the next race will be held off the coast of Portsmouth, across July 19 and 20.
Deloitte has, over the past year or so, been heavily involved in the sales of stakes in the eight franchises in English cricket's The Hundred, and has been providing its advisory services to the England and Wales Cricket Board.
