SPORT Republic have just become the majority owners of Saints - but who exactly is behind the company?

According to Companies House, Sport Republic was set up at the start of December - with only two names associated with the company.

Danish duo Rasmus Ankersen and Henrik Kraft are listed as directors of the company, with Ankersen serving as CEO, whilst Kraft is listed as chairman.

Ankersen has a strong background in football, starting off as a player with FC Midtjylland in his native Denmark. His professional career was ended by injury before it started, paving the way for a coaching career at the club.

After a brief sortie around the world in order to research for his books, he returned to become chairman.

With Midtjylland owned by Matthew Benham, the man behind Brentford’s moneyball success, a working relationship formed, eventually leading the way for Ankersen to become co-director of Football at the London club.

When he joined the Bees in 2015, Ankersen became responsible for player recruitment and technical staff – a strong indication that he will have a lot of say over affairs at Saints, despite not reportedly being the main investor in the takeover.

It appears Ankersen and Co. are keen to replicate Benham’s multi-club model, with Sport Republic apparently looking internationally for other clubs.

Manchester City’s parent company, City Group, were early adopters of the model, now owning clubs on four continents.

Brentford announced Ankersen's departure on December 10 – with Ankersen and business partner Kraft, a Danish investor based in London, setting up Sport Republic on December 8.

Kraft has spent the last 20 years investing in Technology and Media companies, including sports technology companies such as Tonsser, Sportlight, Wave.tv, Oura Ring, Sava

Health and MastersApp.

As part of the press release regarding the takeover, Saints stated: "Sport Republic is a London-based investment firm in the sports and entertainment industry.

"Founded by Henrik Kraft and Rasmus Ankersen and backed by Lead Investor Dragan Šolak, Sport Republic’s vision is to apply proprietary intelligence and data analytics to help sports

businesses and sports technology companies reach their full potential."