Covering sports ranging from football and Formula 1 to cricket and tennis, Norton Rose Fulbright’s offering is ‘extremely broad’, focusing on stadium financing and high-end sponsorship deals. Stephen Rigby heads the team, primarily specialising in M&A and equity capital markets; Claire O’Donnell is an expert on corporate governance matters; while Sarah Fitzpatrick is a notable planning lawyer. Alex Wills and Tom Maturi are also cited as key contacts.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘In my experience, Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF)'s strength as a firm lies in the consistency with which they deliver the highest level of legal guidance across an extremely broad range of practice areas. I have also been impressed by NRF's efforts to provide tailored legal advice that accounts for our company's overall commercial strategy and concerns, outside of and in addition to the specific legal issue for which we have requested their input. NRF have proven many times over that they view their client's problems as their own, and in providing their services go above and beyond the traditional role of external legal counsel.’
‘In the face of myriad legal difficulties and complications, Nicholas Berry has distinguished himself time and time again by (i) exceeding expectations with respect to his availability and responsiveness, (ii) swiftly providing sound judgement, from both a legal and commercial perspective, on the potential downstream implications of each new matter and possible avenues for addressing each matter, and (iii) liaising internally within NRF to ensure that we receive the expertise needed to adequately address each specific issue, while continuing to remain engaged in the management of these open matters.'
- 'Tom Maturi, Alex Wills and Craig O'Malley have each distinguished themselves as thoughtful advocates and problem solvers who have provided consistent support and guidance across numerous transactions and disputes, some of which remained in process for upwards of six months.'
- 'James Lockwood, Ruth Cowley and Oliver Jamieson have similarly gone above and beyond in providing insightful legal counsel with respect to litigation and regulatory matters.'
- 'Christopher Grieves, Stephen Rigby, James Dunnett and James Tong have each impressed myself and my colleagues on their knowledgeability, speed of service, and advocacy in connection with complex M&A transactions.’
Key clients
- Envision Virgin Racing
- British Racing Drivers Club Limited
- Crusaders Cricket Australia Inc.
- Southampton FC
- London Development Agency
- Société Générale
- 777 Partners LLC
- Modern Times Group (MTG)
Work highlights
- Advising 777 Partners LLC on its ongoing acquisition of Everton Football Club.
- Advised 777 Partners LLC on the acquisition of a majority stake in Hertha BSC GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien (Hertha BSC).
- Advised a consortium on the subsequent increases in its shareholding in Sunderland Association FC in June 2022, March 2023 and May 2023 by way of acquisitions from certain minority shareholders.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Stephen Rigby