Bishop & Sewell are advisors to the Swansea City Supporters Trust (Swans Trust) which has been in the news recently. David Little of our Corporate & Commercial team (and a lifetime Swans fan) has been advising.
Swans Trust which represents the supporters owns 21% of the shares in the football club. You may have seen reports recently in the press that an American consortium has recently acquired a controlling stake in Swansea City in a deal valued at over £100 million:
Bishop & Sewell via David continue to negotiate the terms of ongoing governance arrangements with the new owners.
David has commented that “as a lifetime fan and having been involved as Legal Adviser to Swans Trust for over 12 years which has coincided with the remarkable rise of Swansea City from the basement division to the Premier League I am keen to ensure that the fans retain a powerful voice in the Boardroom so that Swansea City will continue to remain an important part of the local community and local economy”.
David is also heavily involved with the UK Supporters Trust community and was recently elected to the Board of Directors for Supporters Trust which helps supporters gain influence in the running and ownership of their club. In the last 15 years over 192 Supporters Trusts have been established in the UK.
David was also invited to serve on the Expert Working Group committee set up by the previous Minister for Sport to investigate how supporters would be able to have more regular dialogue with club owners. Other participants involved the Premier League, FA and Football League.
- https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-up-experts-group-to-forge-stronger-links-between-supporters-and-professional-football-clubs
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-expert-working-group-on-football-supporter-ownership-and-engagement
If you are seeking legal advice for your business for all types of Corporate & Commercial matters, please contact David Little or another member of our expert Corporate & Commercial Team on 020 7631 4141 or you can email company@bishopandsewell.co.uk.
