Benfica targeted by American investor betting €500 million on Comporta
Mike Meldman is attracting Hollywood stars to his luxury resort in Melides and has a new venture: he has joined Jean-Marc Chapus and Elliot Hayes in the company that already owns 5% of the Eagles' SAD
Nicole Kidman will be one of the next tenants of CostaTerra in Melides, the €500 million luxury resort that millionaire Mike Meldman has been developing in recent years and to which he is attracting the biggest stars from Hollywood. This summer, the American expanded his interests in the country: he joined compatriots Jean-Marc Chapus and Elliot Hayes at Lenore Sports Partners (LSP), a company that owns more than 5% of Benfica’s SAD in a long-term venture.
None of the parties were available to comment on this joint venture at LSP which, according to information gathered by ECO, has already had the opportunity to convey its plans for Benfica’s SAD to Rui Costa’s team.
ECO understands that there have already been contacts with the club’s current administration following a meeting requested by LSP partners to introduce themselves and show their support for the management team. But that’s not all. At that meeting, they outlined their strengths and highlighted their position as long-term investors in the Eagles’ capital.
The Americans, who have remained silent since acquiring a 5.24% stake in Benfica’s SAD in May, have already publicly stated their intentions in the only communication they made at the time: they do not want to interfere in sporting decisions, but they have “decades of experience in sport, finance, real estate, media and marketing” and can be “a productive partner” in the commercial development of the club.
Who owns LSP?
The core team consists of Elliot Hayes and Jean-Marc Chapus as managing partners and Alex Pomeroy as a partner, names that were initially disclosed by the company itself on its website.
These investors were later joined by Mike Meldman as a joint venture partner, whose description by LSP emphasises the €500 million investment by his Discovery Land Company in CostaTerra: “It reflects his long-term belief in Portugal as a destination of choice for business, wellness tourism, as well as being an attractive country for permanent residence”. He is a partner of George Clooney, who has also invested in the Melides resort, where Meghan Markle and Prince Harry bought a holiday home.
Contacts began three years ago
American interest in Benfica is not as recent as that, but it has only now materialised through the auction of shares that were seized by Novobanco from former president Luís Filipe Vieira, corresponding to more than 3% of the capital of the red SAD — and which the club says it is disputing in court.
The opportunity to invest in the Portuguese club arose through Blackbridge Sports, a financial boutique specialising in football.
It was Blackbridge’s founder, Alexander Jarvis, who initially brought Benfica and American investors into contact in 2022 and facilitated the first meetings in Lisbon with the club and the main shareholders of the Reds.
