BCLP Brings Unique Combination of Legal and Sports Sector Knowledge to a Major Premier League Deal

BCLP advised financial services company Rights and Media Funding Limited on an acquisition by The Friedkin Group, Inc. of a majority stake in the English Premier League club Everton. We have been involved with the proposed sale of Everton for nearly 16 months, helping our client work with the club and its majority owner to navigate potential sales to a number of interested suitors.

Rights and Media Funding Limited has been the senior debt at Everton Football Club for more than a decade. The deal announced today is the first stage of completion for The Friedkin Group, Inc. to purchase the overwhelming majority control of Everton football Club and it’s new stadium. The final sale is expected to be completed by the end of 2024 or early 2025, subject to Premier League, Football Association and Financial Conduct Authority approval. We were extensively involved in a wide range of issues related to this transaction, acting in conjunction with the buyer, the seller, the club and their respective counsel.

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

Rights and Media Funding is a longstanding firm client. We are recognized internationally as a leader in sports and entertainment law and are one of only two law firms in the world recognized by Chambers as having one of the leading sports practices in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The deal has been covered in several sports and mainstream media outlets, including in the Financial Times and Sports Business Journal, with our involvement featured by Law.com.

The BCLP team was led by Partners Graham Shear and Marc Trottier, with support from Partner Andrew Street and Associates Phil de Vries and Georgina O’Sullivan.