BCLP advises on Everton Football Club deal

International law firm BCLP advised financial services company Rights and Media Funding Limited in a deal by 777 Partners to purchase a majority stake in the English Premier League club Everton. The deal makes 777 Partners, a Miami-based investment fund, the latest American investor to buy into the English Premier League. No financial details were disclosed.

Rights and Media Funding Limited has been a long-term lender to Everton Football Club for more than a decade. This deal is the first stage of completion for 777 Partners to purchase a majority stake in Everton. The final sale is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, subject to Premier League, Football Association and Financial Conduct Authority approval. 

BCLP was extensively involved in a wide range of issues related to this transaction, acting in conjunction with the buyer, the seller and their respective counsel.

“The BCLP team did an extraordinary job representing our interests in this very high-profile transaction,” said Rights and Media Funding Director David McKnight. “We have worked with the firm for a very long time and have developed a strong working relationship. The combination of their legal and sports sector knowledge is unique.”

Rights and Media Funding is a longstanding firm client. In 2020, a BCLP team helped secure them as the sole lender of EUR 67 million to 11 LaLiga football clubs in one of the largest transactions in European football. That transaction delivered funding to strengthen the liquidity of football clubs during the exceptional circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The BCLP team was led by Relationship Partner Graham Shear, with Partner Marc Trottier, Associate Andrew Fay and trainee Joshua Patterson.