Couchman Harrington Help Global Sports to Reach Aim
Leading sports business law firm helps strike major deal
Wednesday 17th May 2006
Leading sports business law firm, Couchman Harrington Associates, acted for the owners of sports management and marketing group, Global Sports Management ('GSM'), on its successful disposal last week to another major sports management company, Essentially Group plc, for a price that
could rise to £4.3m. The enlarged Essentially Group will also list on AIM at the end of the month as part of the transaction. GSM acts for a wide variety of clients in sport, particularly in rugby, including All Blacks star Dan Carter and various Premier League rugby clubs, and also manages sporting events such as Barbarians tours and secures and manages sports sponsorships.
Head of Couchman Harrington’s Sports Ventures Unit, Satish Khandke, said: 'This is the latest in a string of major deals of this kind that we have advised on since we set up this dedicated Unit last year, and the value of our deals list is already well into the multi-millions. We advised on
every aspect of this disposal and listing, which demonstrates once again how our unique blend of legal and industry expertise makes us the ideal firm to work with owners of sports businesses looking to take their next major step forward.'
Bart Campbell, founder of GSM who is now joining the board of Essentially said: 'Joining forces with a company like Essentially and listing on AIM was clearly the best way forward for our business, but taking a step like that can be daunting. However, I can now tell owners of any other
private sports businesses contemplating a similar move that they need not be put off by what is involved as long as they choose the right advisers. The key for us was that Couchman Harrington knows the sports sector inside out and understood our business from the start. Their expert
advice and guidance meant that the disposal and listing could be achieved without us being diverted away from the successful running of our business. That allowed us to maintain the value of our business through the whole process, which is obviously to the benefit of ourselves,
Essentially and the new investors.”
For more information, contact Satish Khandke or Mark Whitehead.
