How exactly did Blackburn Rovers' owners Venky's make their cash? | OneFootball

FLW outline how Venky's earned their money prior to buying Blackburn Rovers in 2010.

It is now almost 15 years since the Venky's completed their takeover of Blackburn Rovers, having bought the club back in November 2010.

The Indian company paid a reported £23 million to purchase a 99.9% stake in the Ewood Park club from the Walker Trust, run by the family of the late former Blackburn owner, Jack Walker. As well as taking on £20 million worth of debt on top of that to take over the club from the Premier League title winning owner.

That said, it has since been something of a turbulent period for the club under the Venkys' ownership. Back in 2023, Blackburn's India-based owners were advised by the Indian government to reduce overseas investment, which ultimately impacted Rovers by cutting their budget last season by 20%.

Even so, Blackburn are eyeing a top six finish in the Championship after a busy January transfer window and following the good work of John Eustace for the first two thirds of the campaign. Some may argue that he should have been backed further, and here we take a look at the finances behind Venky's ownership of the club in more detail.

How the Venky's made their money

Reportedly said to have a net worth of £1.66B, the V H Group umbrella covers multiple businesses across numerous different countries, mainly in Asia and Europe. Mostly renowned for their involvement in poultry farming production, the Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group has its headquarters in the west Indian city of Pune.

Founded in 1971 as Venkateshwara Hatcheries Pvt LTD, the Venky's company is, of course, already well known for its presence within the poultry industry. Now based in Pune, they oversee a number of companies working within that industry.

That work is geared towards producing a range of products, from processed foods to animal vaccines, as well as human and animal pharmaceutical products. Through the growth of the company within that industry, Venky's now have offices and production plants in a range of countries around the world.

Initially starting out as a hatchery for poultry, the V H Group now has research and breeding farms aplenty across India, while their reach has spread to the likes of Vietnam, Bangladesh, Singapore, and more recently, Switzerland.

In total, they export their products to many countries worldwide, thus bringing in the funds they need to complete their takeover, and continue to finance, Blackburn.

Blackburn Rovers criticism of the Venky's ownership

Eustace has steadied the ship with Blackburn and now a top six finish in the Championship is a realistic aim for the team, but the club must be backed by the board more frequently, as it took far too long to get anything done in January and business was left late.

For years now, there has been criticism of their ownership. Amid a raft of fan protests against them and their funding and management of the club, Blackburn were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2011/12 season, and they are yet to return to the top-flight of English football.

The decision to sack manager Sam Allardyce just months after their arrival at the club backfired badly, with Rovers relegated from the Premier League in the first full season after the takeover. It would also get worse before things improved at Blackburn.

Indeed, Rovers would even drop into League One for a year during the 2017/18 campaign, although they did at least secure a swift return to the Championship that season. More recently, restrictions placed on the Venky's over what they can invest in the club by the government in their native India have also put scrutiny on their ownership of the Lancashire side.

For some time now, the club's owners have found themselves having to be given approval from the courts in their native India any time they want to invest money into the club. With recent hearings over that investment being delayed, there were some concerns among the club's fanbase about whether they would have funds available to make signings in the market last month.

Fortunately they did, but promotion is still a real ask when Blackburn are compared with the competition in the race for a play-off place in 2024/25.