How exactly did Coventry City's owner Doug King make his cash? | OneFootball

FLW have taken a deeper dive into Sky Blues chief King's fortunes

Doug King has been the sole owner of Coventry City for over two years now, and his main focus is on taking the club back to the Premier League after a turbulent few years under previous chiefs Sisu Capital Limited.

The Sky Blues were once a staple in the top-flight in the 1990s, but suffered relegation in 2001 and were regulars in the second-tier before Sisu took over in 2007 with the club close to administration.

Coventry were supposed to return to their former glory under their Mayfair-based hedge fund owners, but instead sunk as low as League Two before Mark Robins was appointed in 2017 and miraculously took them back to the second-tier within three seasons.

King took over as majority shareholder of the club in early January 2023, and was the new sole owner by the end of that same month. The club have progressed pretty well since his arrival, and are now perennial play-off chasers after a loss in the final in the same year he took over.

He has been able to steady the ship at the CBS Arena, and has invested money into the squad to allow them to compete at the top level year-on-year, while being unafraid to make big decisions that will heavily dictate the club's future in the Championship for years to come.

How Coventry City owner Doug King made his money

Lowestoft-born King is a businessman who has had his irons in numerous fires over the years while building his wealth. Interestingly enough, he revealed upon his arrival at Coventry that he had actually grown up as a Norwich City supporter.

King graduated with a degree in Mathematical Engineering from Loughborough University, and as a Bachelor of Science, he started his career with food company Cargill in 1990, and was based in Switzerland as a manager of oil trading between 1997 and 2000.

After 10 years, he left to become head of oil trading for Crown Resources, then also worked as a consultant for Catequil Asset Management in New York between 2003 and 2004. He founded Aisling Analytics that same year alongside business partner Michael Coleman, which later changed its name to RCMA Capital LLP.

He has been the CEO of RCMA Capital ever since, and the chairman of RCMA Group since 2010. The company is the investment manager of The Merchant Commodity Fund, and say they provide 'a fundamental approach to investing in commodity markets based on a detailed understanding of supply and demand dynamics and an extensive knowledge of the real world.'

RCMA Capital LLP usually oversees investments of over $400 million, but that is not the only business he currently operates in. King has also been CEO of Yelo Enterprises, a company utilising renewable energy to process oilseed, since April 2020.

King is clearly a savvy businessman that knows how to operate a company at the highest level, and his journey in business has led him to accrue a current estimated net worth of around $400m.

King has not been scared to wield the axe at the CBS Arena so far

Coventry were run very poorly under Sisu before King took over, so it is fair to say that he has not had to do too much to be a clear upgrade in the eyes of supporters, who simply want to see their club succeed.

His popularity has been prevalent since his arrival, but fans were understandably divided over the controversial sacking of long-serving boss Mark Robins in November, and the decision led many to question the 58-year-old's credentials in the sport.

The Sky Blues had suffered a poor start to the campaign under Robins' guidance, and so he was relieved of his duties by King in a real shock move considering his achievements at the club. King later admitted that the "tough decision" he came to had "had to be made," given the circumstances.

So far, his decision has certainly not been a bad one, with Chelsea and England legend Frank Lampard now at the helm and well in the race to guide his side to a play-off finish this season. King has not been afraid to invest into the squad too, after Matt Grimes was signed for a fee upwards of £3.5m in the recent winter window.

Regardless of what has happened in the past, King will be highly-regarded by all at the CBS Arena if he can be the man to oversee Coventry's long-awaited return to the Premier League in the coming years.