SPORT Republic chairman Henrik Kraft insists their takeover of Saints will bring “an active and engaged owner, but we will not be starting any revolutions”.

CEO Martin Semmens will continue to run the day-to-day operations of the club, following the sale of Gao Jisheng’s majority shareholding to Sport Republic and lead investor Dragan Solak.

The club are in new hands after four-and-a-half years with Jisheng as chairman, and will be looking ahead to a more engaging future.

Kraft, who has been welcomed to the Saints board along with former Brentford director of football Rasmus Ankersen by Semmens, gave fans an explanation of what they can expect of the club to look like going forward.

He said: “We will be an active and engaged owner, but we will not be starting any revolutions.

“We were attracted to Southampton because it is already a well-run club that follows a clearly defined strategy.

“Southampton’s CEO Martin Semmens will continue to run the day-to-day operations of the club, and Sport Republic will be working closely with him and his team to help the club grow.

“Whilst Southampton is Sport Republic’s first acquisition, we expect more investments to follow over the coming years. Our ambition is to build a portfolio of high-influence stakes in football clubs and other sporting assets across the world.

“At the same time, we will also invest in early-stage sportstechnology companies and use our portfolio to accelerate the development of these companies.

“The acquisition of Southampton is a great first step and we are very excited about the journey ahead.”

Kraft's comments insinuate that Sport Republic could look to produce investments in a portfolio of teams reminiscent to that of City Group or Red Bull.