In early 2021, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney paid just £2 million (USD 2.5 million) for Wrexham AFC, a struggling, fan-owned non-league side clawing out of the pandemic. Fast forward to late 2025, and the club is being valued near £350 million (USD 475 million) in a minority sale to Apollo Sports Capital, implying a jaw‑dropping 18,000–19,000% paper gain.

Three promotions in less than five years have carried Wrexham from the National League to the Championship, turning a feel‑good story into a serious commercial enterprise. Behind that rise: the global success of Hulu’s Welcome to Wrexham, a steep climb in matchday and sponsorship income, and a reported £26.7 million in revenue, up more than 150% year-on-year.

The holiday season is here and TaylorMade is making it ridiculously easy to score something everyone on your list will actually love.

The Qi35 lineup is built for players who want more speed, more forgiveness, and a whole lot more fun on the course. Right now you can save $100 on Qi35 drivers and $50 on Qi35 fairway woods and rescue clubs.

Whether you’re upgrading your own bag or surprising the golfer in your life, this is the kind of gift that pays off round after round.

Shop Qi35 Now

Institutional money started arriving in October 2024, when the Allyn family office bought nearly 15% of the club at a valuation around £100 million (USD 136 million). That marked the first formal repricing of the Reynolds/McElhenney era. The new Apollo deal now lands at more than three times that valuation, effectively pricing in Championship status, stadium expansion, and continued global audience growth.

Apollo’s investment is a minority stake, believed to be around 5–10%, paired with dedicated project financing. The equity portion alone likely totals £20–35 million, depending on final structure. Reynolds and McElhenney still control a clear majority, even after both the Allyn and Apollo deals. The broader capital stack now includes about £18 million in Welsh government grants to support the Wrexham Gateway regeneration, public‑private partnership funding, and structured stadium finance, a far cry from the days when Wrexham lived hand‑to‑mouth on matchday revenues.

This next chapter is as much about infrastructure as it is about football. Apollo’s funds are earmarked for redevelopment of the STōK Cae Ras, especially the new Kop stand, which will add several thousand seats and increase hospitality and event capacity. The Kop plan sits inside a city‑scale regeneration effort, tying Wrexham’s valuation to real estate and civic growth as much as on‑pitch performance. But the Championship brings new costs. Player wages can triple compared to League One levels. To stay competitive, and solvent, Wrexham will need to grow high‑margin revenues: premium ticketing, global partnerships, and digital monetisation that extends beyond North Wales.

Comparing the Allyn entry in 2024 to Apollo in 2025 captures the speed of Wrexham’s financial evolution. The Allyn deal effectively pegged the club at USD 136 million, a high‑growth League One play. Less than a year later, Apollo is buying into a £350 million enterprise, a 2.5x step‑up backed by promoted status, tangible infra projects, and credible Premier League potential. Investors are applying “media and infrastructure multiples” to football assets that blend storytelling, sponsorship scalability, and physical real estate upside. Wrexham now fits squarely in that bucket, a hybrid between a sports media brand, a property development engine, and a long‑odds Premier League option.

Apollo’s move in Wrexham aligns with its broader global sports platform. The firm is completing a majority acquisition of Atlético de Madrid at a reported £2.2 billion valuation, giving it control of one of Europe’s top clubs and indirect stakes in Atlético San Luis (Mexico) and Atlético Ottawa (Canada). Those assets sit within Apollo Sports Capital, a permanent-capital vehicle reportedly worth around USD 5 billion, aimed at multi‑club equity, league stakes, and sports lending. Wrexham is small in relative value but large in narrative power, an authentic, globally recognized project capable of outsized returns relative to capital deployed.

Wrexham’s transformation from supporter‑trust survival story to private‑equity‑backed growth vehicle is one of the most remarkable in modern football. Reynolds and McElhenney have already demonstrated that smart storytelling and disciplined sporting execution can create institutional‑scale returns without selling control. For Apollo and the Allyns, Wrexham represents a test case for yield, through stadium monetization, global content, and a potential Premier League shot.

Yet the risks are real: Championship salary inflation, potential plateauing before promotion, and community backlash if authenticity wanes under corporate ownership. Either way, the pivot is complete. Wrexham is no longer just a heart‑warming Hollywood underdog. It’s a financialised football asset sitting within a multi‑billion‑dollar institutional platform, where sporting ambition now shares the boardroom with return-on-investment math.