SPORTA Raises £5m as Stevenage FC Partnership Takes Shape
SPORTA has secured £5 million in follow-on investment from Lazaroo-Hood Group to build financial and digital services designed specifically for sport. The family investment office, which backed SPORTA's 2025 seed round, is now its largest shareholder alongside the founders and has joined the board. The capital will fund technology, recruitment, partnerships and the foundations needed to pursue UK banking authorisation.
Founded by ClearBank co-founder Andrew Smith, SPORTA is developing financial and digital services for sports clubs, organisations, athletes and families. The company has identified seasonal club income, membership payments and the costs of participation among the areas it intends to address. SPORTA is pursuing UK banking authorisation and is not currently offering regulated banking products.
SPORTA is still seeking regulatory approval and is not currently offering banking products.
The clearest example of SPORTA's club strategy is its ten-year partnership with Stevenage FC. Announced in August during the League One club's 50th anniversary year, it brought the SPORTA Arena name to Stevenage's stadium and established the club as SPORTA's flagship football partner. The arrangement extends beyond stadium branding to sharing insight into club operations, finance and digital needs.
SPORTA said the £5 million follow-on funding will support technology development, recruitment, partnerships and preparations for its UK regulatory application. Its existing ten-year agreement with Stevenage FC includes stadium naming rights and collaboration on club operations and digital services. The company has not announced that it has received a UK banking licence.
The bigger opportunity is to connect banking infrastructure with the day-to-day realities of the sports economy rather than adapt generic financial products after the fact. SPORTA's new capital provides resources to build that proposition; Stevenage offers a practical football partnership through which to test its relevance and build long-term relationships.
