What WE DO

Strategic communications and stakeholder advisory for investment firms and their portfolio businesses in sport.

Investment firms acquiring sports assets or backing structural change in sport face a category of risk that does not always appear on a balance sheet. Stakeholder confidence, public narrative, fan sentiment and the perception of governing bodies, governments and commercial partners are all financial variables. When they are managed well they support returns. When they are left unmanaged they erode value.

We help investors identify and map those risks before they affect returns. We build proactive stakeholder relations programmes that create awareness, understanding and support for the changes being made. And we provide ongoing communications counsel to portfolio businesses navigating growth, scrutiny and complex stakeholder environments.

Who is this for:    

Private equity and growth capital firms active in sport. Investment firms considering acquisitions or structural changes to sports assets. Portfolio businesses needing board-level communications support.

Integrated communications strategies that align stakeholders, protect reputation and support organisational goals.

Strategic communications is not about producing content or managing media. At its most valuable it is about ensuring that the people whose support, confidence or neutrality matters most to an organisation understand what that organisation is doing and why it matters. That includes boards and senior leadership, government and regulators, commercial partners, media and the communities that define whether a sports organisation has a genuine licence to operate.

We audit existing communications, map stakeholder landscapes, identify risk and opportunity and develop integrated strategies with clear objectives, measurable outcomes and the senior advisory support needed to implement them effectively.

Who is this for: 

Governing bodies, federations and national associations. Leagues and clubs navigating growth, governance or change. Organisations in periods of heightened scrutiny or public interest.

Structured stakeholder engagement that builds the awareness, understanding and support organisations need to deliver their goals.

The most expensive stakeholder problem is the one that was avoidable. A void in the narrative does not stay empty. It gets filled by the most vocal critics, the most anxious stakeholders and the least informed commentators. Once those voices dominate the early conversation it becomes very expensive to recover the ground.

We design and deliver stakeholder engagement programmes that identify the audiences who matter most, understand what they need to hear and ensure they hear it before opposition has a chance to organise. That applies whether the organisation is navigating a structural change, a governance challenge, a major investment or simply a period of growth that has outpaced its public narrative.

Who is this for: 

Organisations navigating ownership change, structural reform or governance transition. Investment firms backing significant change in sport. Rights holders managing relationships with government, regulators or commercial partners.

Communications and stakeholder strategy for major international events, from bid through to legacy.

Major events exist at the intersection of public life, political will, commercial opportunity and sporting ambition. The communications challenge is as significant as the operational one. Getting the narrative right, aligning delivery partners, managing public expectation, maintaining political support and protecting the commercial environment around a major event all require sustained strategic attention from the earliest stages of planning.

We have led communications at the largest level, including as executive lead for Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the largest Commonwealth Games ever held, and as director of communications for Baku 2015 European Games and 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games. We understand what that work requires and what it costs when it goes wrong.

Who is this for:

Local organising committees. Bid teams. Host governments and delivery partners. Rights holders managing the communications environment around major events on their calendar.