Super League Basketball, the new top-flight of professional basketball in the UK formed out of the ashes of the former British Basketball league, has announced its inaugural nine-team lineup following the last-minute purchase of a Manchester franchise and the withdrawal of the Plymouth Patriots.
Sherwood Family Investment Office, the private equity investment vehicle of its chief executive Ned Sherwood and managed by its president Ben Pierson, has purchased the Manchester franchise that encompasses both its men’s and women’s teams.
Ned Sherwood stated of the purchase: “The goal over my career has been to find or build high-quality businesses with top-level management teams. As partners, we work tirelessly to help our businesses achieve long-term success. We look forward to developing a sustainable, elite franchise for Manchester.
“The new energy of the league is palpable. We are thrilled to be a part of this exciting turning point in professional basketball in Great Britain.”
Previously known as the Manchester Giants, it is unknown what branding the franchise will take under new ownership, however, its participation in the new Super League Basketball competition has been secured, the same of which cannot be said for the Plymouth Patriots.
Alongside the Manchester Giants and London Lions, the Plymouth Patriots had been taken under league ownership due to financial issues. However, unlike the Lions (which were sold to Lithuanian tech firm Tesonet earlier this month) and the Giants, the Patriots have thus far been unable to secure adequate funding to allow it to participate in the 2024-25 edition of Super League Basketball.
Alongside the Lions and the Manchester franchise, six other teams will return in their current forms from the British Basketball League to participate in Super League Basketball, while one more already folded and has been replaced by a Phoenix club.
The Caledonia Gladiators, Newcastle Eagles, Sheffield Sharks, Cheshire Phoenix, Leicester Riders, and Bristol Flyers franchises will all return as is, while the Surrey Scorchers folded and were subsequently replaced by the Surrey 89ers, a new club with a new owner.
In June, British basketball’s BBF governing body withdrew the license for the British Basketball League’s operators, promptly awarding a new interim operating license to a consortium of the previous league’s 10 constituent franchises.
That consortium, known as Premier Basketball Limited (PBL), promptly established Super League Basketball as the country’s new top-flight, but until now questions had remained still over the makeup of the competition.
