KAM Melbourne acquires stake in Western Melbourne Group

The following media release was issued by Western Melbourne Group on Friday, 2 May.

MELBOURNE, Australia – KAM Melbourne today announces its agreement for the acquisition of a controlling stake in Western United Football Club (WUFC) and its parent company Western Melbourne Group (WMG).

Since its establishment in 2018, WUFC has achieved success on the field winning its first ever Isuzu UTE A-League Men Championship in only its third year, whilst the Women’s team were grand finalists in the 2022-23 A-League Women Championship in the team’s inaugural year.

WMG and its consortium of investors embarked on an ambitious vision in 2019 to build a dynamic, sport-driven retail and residential lifestyle precinct in Melbourne’s western corridor. The 62.5-hectare site in Tarneit – located 25 kilometres west of Melbourne’s central business district – represents a pioneering public-private partnership with the Wyndham City Council to develop sport-related infrastructure. The centerpiece of the mixed-use development is to house an elite, professional football club, and build a football-specific stadium.

KAM Melbourne, a subsidiary of KAM Sports, who possess specialist expertise, will work together with WMG partners and stakeholders to make the vision of WMG a reality. KAM Melbourne is led by its Chairman and co-founder Maciek (MG) Kaminski, and CEO and co-founder Mikhail Kaminski. The team has experience in portfolio asset management including the financing, structuring and management of large residential and commercial real estate developments in the US and Europe.

Going forward, WUFC is intended to form part of a wider football-focused, multi-club international strategy, providing elite pathways for Australian footballers in the coming years.

Property development is the core business with over 40 years’ experience leading and operating both public and private real estate entities. As a result, the Kaminski’s have the requisite expertise and intimate understanding of developing the multi-faceted WMG project.

It is their longtime ambition to fuse their international property development experience with football club ownership. WUFC and the wider WMG project presents the perfect entry point for the family in Australia.

“After a 12-month due diligence process and multiple visits to Melbourne, we are delighted to inject our capital, expertise and passion into Western Melbourne Group and its related entities,” said Maciek (MG) Kaminski.

“This represents our first investment Down Under, and the combination of integrating sport and real estate to make a meaningful impact in the local community in the west attracted us to this opportunity. The scale and scope of the WMG vision aligns very well to our own skill sets where we can add real value.

“Having met with Wyndham Council and other project partners over the last 12 months and the local community, it’s clear there’s a strong desire to get on with the next phase of the exciting project and get it done. The community knows that this is a project that will deliver lifetime benefits and produce our future Socceroos and Matildas from Melbourne’s western suburbs, and we are fully committed to doing just that.

“Given our sporting ambitions, we look forward to building on the success of the club and supporting the team in its charge towards a second A-League Men’s title this season. More importantly, we aim to bring financial stability and sustainability to the club, and ensuring that it can become one of Australia’s leading professional sporting organisations and strong corporate partner for the league. The prospect of being the first sports team to fully own their stadium is exciting and we look forward to accelerating the development of this and seeing it filled with local community and supporters.

“The continued development of local talent, both male and female, and creating grassroots to elite pathways under the Western United brand is top-of-mind for us,” said Kaminski.

Chairman of Western Melbourne Group, Jason Sourasis, said “We are thrilled by the significant investment and commitment from KAM Melbourne. It was important to partner with a group that aligned with our values and believed in the vision.

“It has been an intensive 12-month due diligence process, in which KAM Melbourne took the time to truly understand our vision and the role it will play in shaping the needs of a fast-growing community. This investment also marks a significant milestone for Wyndham City Council, Australian Football and Australian Sport in general. It will ensure the delivery of significant social and economic benefits for the City of Wyndham and the state of Victoria. Most importantly, it allows for the acceleration of sporting pathways for boys and girls in the West of Melbourne, allowing them to “Dream Big” whilst supporting their local teams and hopefully following in the footsteps of their sporting idols,” said Sourasis.

Chairman of the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Stephen Conroy said “The pending sale of Western United to KAM Melbourne marks an exciting new chapter for the club, the community and Australian football more broadly. With KAM Melbourne’s demonstrated commitment to growing the game and commitment to building the stadium, this partnership brings fresh energy and enormous potential for success on and off the field.”

The transaction is subject to successful completion of the necessary approval processes by Wyndham City, the APL and regulatory processes by Football Australia (FA).

Further comment will be provided once the necessary regulatory approvals have been completed.

Click here to read article