Lewis Silkin

Corporate

Partner, covering the full range of corporate advice, working with companies, shareholders, investors, and management teams from incorporation through the lifecycle of a company to exit.

Karish's workload varies from acting on M&A deals for corporate buyers and owner-managers to football investments and player transfers. Over the last decade, Karish has spent a considerable amount of my time working with businesses in the media and sports industries and holds a postgraduate qualification in sports law. His regular clients include advertising agencies, PR agencies, talent agents, production companies, sports investors, football clubs, and sports marketing agencies.

Corporate Advisory

Karish provides companies, shareholders, and directors with a full range of corporate advice. This advice includes each stage of a company’s life from incorporation, initial fundraising, incentivising staff, secondary fundraising, acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, group reorganisation, and finally through to a sale in whole or part. His experience tells him that most clients are not interested in the intricacies of the Companies Act (that is what we are here for) but are looking for clear, commercial advice and, above all, pragmatic solutions.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Karish regularly acts for owner-managers on the sale of their businesses and for international groups on their UK acquisitions. Acting for both buyers and sellers allows him to see the deal from both sides of the table and foresee potential issues. His role is generally as the point of contact on the negotiation and drafting of the sale and purchase agreement, managing the internal transaction team at Lewis Silkin, and coordinating with the client’s other external advisers on the project.

Having worked on deals in numerous sectors Karish appreciates that what is important to one client may not be to another and, therefore, knowledge of the client’s business and priorities is the key to a successful transaction.

Sports Business

Karish is a core member of the firm’s Sports Business Group and has worked in the sports industry for over a decade. Karish has a postgraduate qualification in sports law and acts for top-level football clubs, rugby clubs, sports marketing agencies, agents, players, and investors, particularly in football. His expertise includes buying and selling clubs, international player transfers, sponsorship, representation contracts, financing deals, sports regulation, and investment in football clubs and players. He has negotiated with many leading European football clubs, and been involved in numerous international transfers (with an aggregate value in excess of £200 million) and regularly provides commentary on football finance and the transfer market.

Advertising & Marketing

Karish is a member of the firm’s Advertising & Marketing Group and has worked with clients in this sector for over a decade. He has acted for large multinational agencies in their UK acquisitions and conversely for smaller owner-managed agencies on their sale or management buy-out. Whilst no two deals are ever the same, having experience on both sides of the table enables him to identify and predict potential traps and find creative solutions for clients who work in these sectors.

Karish has considerable experience of acting for clients in advertising and PR. These businesses rely heavily on the strength of their people and the relationship with their clients, and consequently, negotiation of deals in these sectors tends to focus on these areas.

Trained Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, qualified 2005, partner 2014.

English

British Association for Sport and Law (BASL).

Westminster School; Brasenose College, Oxford (2000 MA Modern History); College of Law (2001 PGDL); BPP Law School (2002 LPC); King’s College London (2007 Sports Law PGC)

Away from the office, Karish loves (in no particular order) are Lord’s, the Cape Winelands, the River Café, scuba diving, Arsenal, and his wife.