Centre Court Capital has closed its maiden fund at Rs 410 crore ($45.5 million), above the original target of Rs 350 crore set earlier this year, with strong interest from domestic institutions and family offices.
The fund had marked a first close of Rs 200 crore in April last year.
The Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) is anchored by Parth Jindal, who is the Managing Director of JSW Cement and JSW Paints, and the founder of JSW Sports. Other backers of the investment include include (Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Self-Reliant India (SRI) Fund, Premji Invest, SanRaj Group and GMR Sports, alongside a group of athletes, media personalities and entrepreneurs such as Neeraj Chopra, Rishabh Pant, PV Sindhu, Jemimah Rodrigues, Binny Bansal, Mithun Sacheti and Ankit Nagori.
The close comes amid rising investor interest in sports, fitness, wellness and social gaming. These segments are expanding on the back of digital adoption and higher spending on performance, training and interactive entertainment, the firm said.
Mustafa Ghouse, founder and general partner at Centre Court Capital, said the close reflects growing interest in India’s broader sports economy. “The opportunity is large and growing. Industry estimates value of the sports economy at about $19 billion (around Rs 1.7 lakh crore) today and expect it to reach nearly $40 billion by 2030,” he said. He added that digital gaming continues to see multi-billion dollar demand supported by mobile usage and better monetisation.
Ghouse said the fund aims to back founders building infrastructure, analytics tools and fan-facing products. “Our immediate priority is deploying capital responsibly to help our portfolio scale and deliver strong returns for our investors,” he said.
Centre Court Capital plans to make 15 to 18 investments with initial cheques between Rs 8 crore and Rs 24 crore (around $890,000 to $2.67 million), and has set aside capital for follow-on rounds. The fund expects to lead or co-lead most deals.
The fund has already invested in six companies that span domestic and global opportunities and plans to expand its portfolio over the next two years.