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UK Trade & Investment is the Government organisation that supports companies in the UK doing business internationally and overseas enterprises seeking to set up or expand in the UK. Since 2002 a dedicated team at UK Trade & Investment has been enabling British companies large and small to connect to opportunities at major sports events via a wide network including Business Link, Regional Offices and Overseas Embassies. This means that companies hear about opportunities early and can compete for them effectively. Our online database and web resource at www.sportsprojects.uktradeinvest.gov.uk allows UK companies to put themselves in a world wide shop window.
Friday, 29 June 2007, With keynote speakers:
And leading panelists including:
This year's themes will include convergence, sport and next generation internet, stadium as studio and state-of-the-art referee technology. For full programme and registration click here.
Introducing SportBusiness in Numbers One handy volume designed to fit your briefcase containing all the key numbers you need in the business of sport including: Sponsorship – biggest sponsors and largest recent deals, authoritative forecasts by category and sport and unique insights into sponsor and fan perspectives. TV Rights – top TV audiences globally and by territory/sport, top-10 TV rights deals of 2006, key values for mobile TV rights Teams, Leagues and Sports – leading events and leagues by attendance, 20 richest teams by value, revenue and profit click here for further details
Sport Business International If you need quality insights and value accurate data then you should read SportBusiness International. Each issue is packed with news, interviews and research into sports media, marketing and events. It is designed to ensure you have all the information you need to prosper in the business of sport. Don't miss:
SportBusiness editorial staff are dedicated to bringing you industry best practice. Sign up today and join the growing community of sports professionals who read SportBusiness International. click here for further details
Published by: SportBusiness, a division of SBG Companies Ltd Editor: Mathew Glendinning, Photos: Getty Images Sport. To advertise in Britsport Weekly or any of our other products please contact the advertising sales team: Telephone +44 (0)20 7954 3515 mediateam@sportbusiness.com Britsport Weekly © SBG Companies Ltd 2007. |
IT'S A LOCK OUT -
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American owners of Premier League clubs could move to banish promotion and relegation and install a closed top-tier league if their clubs fail to turn a profit, an expert on US and UK club management warns. This week, US-based property tycoon Daniel Williams confirmed he is leading a consortium to buy Blackburn Rovers, while Arsenal’s executive board said they would be willing to work with US billionaire Stan Kroenke, whose Sports Enterprises UK group now holds a 12 percent stake in the club. With US owners already in charge at Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa, a cabal of foreign owners could wield enough influence to make franchise football a reality, says University of London economist Stefan Szymanski. Full story... Click here for the Britsport 07 listings for Management Consultants |
Grand Depart to spark cash bonanza
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The authorities behind London’s successful bid to host the Grand Depart stage of the Tour de France believe it will deliver a £115 million bonanza to the south east of England – a more than tenfold return on their investment. Britsport Weekly has learnt that the Tour organisers, Amaury Sport Organisation, were paid £1.5 million by London’s stakeholders in the event, with total costs rising to £6.8 million to stage the two-day spectacular (July 7-8).
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Transport for London [TFL] invested £3.2 million to bring the Tour to the capital, while the London Development Agency [LDA] paid another £2.5 million. The balance of £1.1 million was taken up by other stakeholders in the event, including Kent County Council, UK Sport and Sport England. But the benefits to the UK economy far outweigh the costs, says Stephen Taylor, spokesperson for TFL, which led the bid to deliver the event on behalf of the Mayor of London. Full story... Click here for the Britsport 07 listings for Tourist Boards |
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SportBusiness title sponsors ISEMS awards
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SportBusiness, the specialist sports sector publishing and information group - and owner of Britsport Weekly - has become title sponsor of the International Sports Event Management & Security [ISEMS] Awards.
Designed to recognise the achievements, professionalism, ingenuity and diplomacy of the world leaders in a range of key sports event management disciplines, the SportBusiness ISEMS Awards will be the centrepiece of the International Sports Event Management & Security conference and exhibition to be held at Wembley Stadium, London on October 31 and November 1.
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Awards will be presented in nine different categories: Security, Event 'Look’, Ceremonies, Volunteer Programme, Media Services, Hospitality, Host Broadcast, Event Overlay, Facilities and Event Marketing. Click here for the Britsport 07 listings for xxxxxx |
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Hamilton's great – but can Silverstone survive?
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Bernie Ecclestone’s demand for public money to bankroll upgrades to Silverstone - and save the British Grand Prix - will once again be turned down, according to government sources. Earlier this month, Ecclestone warned, "The government could and should do something to help ensure the BRDC [British Racing Drivers Club] does not lose the F1 event."
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But unlike governments in new F1 markets like Bahrain and China, the UK authorities are unwilling to get involved in financing the redevelopment of the flagship motorsport circuit. "The government has no ownership of Silverstone so to make financial contributions would be illegal state aid," a spokesperson for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport told Britsport Weekly. Moreover, the BRDC appears increasingly resigned to tapping other funding sources as planning permission to make the necessary changes reaches an advanced stage. Full story... Click here for the Britsport 07 listings for Architects, Construction and Engineering |
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Looking out for the lock out
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The prospect of a franchise-only Premier League is one that has attracted plenty of speculation, but the case made by Stefan Szymanksi is the most compelling so far.
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The strength of Szymanski’s argument is that it debunks conspiracy theories in favour of straightforward observation of business practices in US sports. The notion that US owners, like Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner [pictured above with Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore], have pre-planned a coup is clear fantasy. But when business imperatives kick-in, they could drive the league’s increasingly multi-national set of club owners to overhaul the league’s structure. Full story... Click here for the Britsport 07 listings for Management Consultants |
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AN OLYMPIC YOUTH CULTURE?
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With over ten years experience working in the British Olympic Movement, Marzena Bogdanowicz, managing director of independent sports consultancy b-focused, explains why the Olympic Games is still relevant to today’s youth.
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Someone asked me the other day, was the Olympic Movement still stuck in the Ancient Games and not really addressing the youth of today? Was it really able to talk to the new generation of youngsters brought up on a diet of Google, MSN messenger, txts and wii’s?
The Olympic Movement is in its second century, it has gone through two world wars, a cold war and numerous other boycotts, demonstrations and actions; yet still it attracts a worldwide audience of nearly four billion television viewers. There must be something there… Full story...
Click here for the Britsport 07 listings for Consultancy
Despite the ban on Tobacco sponsorship in many F1 markets, data provided by Ipsos MORI shows that Marlboro still gains one of the highest brand associations due to their heritage in the sport. Meanwhile, the 'Hamilton' factor appears to be kicking in - note Vodafone’s association with F1 is higher after the first four to five races this season than at any time last season when Michael Schumacher drove his last race in F1, almost winning the Championship in a Vodafone sponsored Ferrari. This rise will in part be a function of increased interest in the sport, but also increased media exposure.
Source: Ipsos MORI GB Sponsortest
Media
ITV and BBC have agreed a joint deal with UEFA for the rights to EURO 2008. Sportfive, representing UEFA, handled the deal for exclusive live UK television and new media rights to all 32 matches.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club, NBCSports.com, ESPN.com and online broadcaster MediaZone will again supply a raft of digital video services as part of the 'Wimbledon Live'channel during the Grand Slam tournament.
Reading chairman John Madejski has predicted that Premier League clubs will be all foreign owned by 2009 due to the global appeal of English football on television overseas. He said: "I think it [foreign ownership] is happening because of the international branding and global awareness of the Premiership."
Marketing
Fast Track has been named as the top UK sponsorship agency by fee income in a league table created by Marketing magazine. Fast Track recorded fee income of over £5.3m in 2006, ahead of SBI (£3.4m), The Works London (£2.7m), Karen Earl Sponsorship (£2.5m) and brandRapport (£2.4m).
Formula One sensation Lewis Hamilton is to feature in a television commercial for the Spanish bank Santander, which owns Abbey, reports Marketing magazine. Santander is a sponsor of Hamilton’s McLaren F1 team and this year signed a three-year £6m title sponsorship deal for the British Grand Prix.
The Daily Express is to be the official media partner for The Newham Academy, which launched last October to identify and nurture elite sporting talent in the Olympic borough. The deal, put together by sports marketing agency ENS, gives The Academy an estimated £5m worth of coverage in the newspaper.
Horse & Country TV, the UK’s first digital channel dedicated to equestrian and rural pursuit, has agreed a deal with the British Equestrian Federation to sponsor Team GBR. The partnership will also deliver media exposure of Team GBR in the run up to London 2012.
Sport England is seeking a commercial director as part of a marketing push to raise £50m though corporate sponsorship deals over the next five years, reports Marketing Week magazine. It is the first time that a role dedicated to marketing has been created by Sport England.
Events
The British University Sports Association is to launch the four-day 'British University Championships'bringing together 6500 university students across 22 sports, making it the UK’s biggest annual multi-sport event. The city of Sheffield has won the right to host the event for the next three years, starting March 13-16, 2008.
Fresh research has proposed guidelines for a new multi-purpose sports stadium for Northern Ireland. The study from the University of Ulster recommended an in-town location and a stadium size of between 20,000-30,000. The research indicated that the best funding model is a shared public-private initiative.
Finance
Essentially Group, the Jersey-based sports marketing and media group has agreed to buy Frontiers Group UK Ltd and Athletes 1 Sports Ltd for about £12.13m in cash and shares. The group said it is raising £5.4m in a share placement to part finance the acquisitions.
Daniel Williams, a Lancashire-born, American-based businessman is leading a consortium to buy Blackburn Rovers. The Walker Family Trust, which controls the club, has granted the consortium a period of due diligence ahead of a possible £67m offer.
The board of Manchester City is backing an £81.6m takeover bid led by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The board intends to recommend the bid from UK Sports Investments, a vehicle indirectly controlled by Thaksin and his children.
Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung is expected to follow up his £50 million bid to buy newly promoted Birmingham City. The billionaire has already had his representatives visit St Andrew's and inspect the club's finances.
IT’S A LOCK OUT -
Franchise threat from US owners
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Britsport 07 listings: Management Consultants - Cavendish Hospitality - Oxygen Consulting - Pawa Consulting - SMW - |
American owners of Premier League clubs could move to banish promotion and relegation and install a closed top-tier league if their clubs fail to turn a profit, an expert on US and UK club management warns.
This week, US-based property tycoon Daniel Williams confirmed he is leading a consortium to buy Blackburn Rovers, while Arsenal’s executive board said they would be willing to work with US billionaire Stan Kroenke, whose Sports Enterprises UK group now holds a 12 percent stake in the club.
With US owners already in charge at Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa, a cabal of foreign owners could wield enough influence to make franchise football a reality, says University of London economist Stefan Szymanski.
'They [US owners] can’t stay long in this business without trying to turn a profit," Szymanski explains. "People say that the clubs have turned the corner and are making money and in the short term a lot of money has come in.
"But the profit and loss accounts do not reflect this; there are still silly transfers being made and once all that money gets frittered away, this is when the US owners will get aggressive.
"In my experience when they come here and something is not familiar, they are very apologetic. They’ll sit back and say we have no experience and let others explain how the business works.
"But the US attitude to running these things is that they like winning and from a business point-of-view they get a kick out of making money. If the clubs fail to make money, they'll say, 'You told us this but now we want you to listen to us. We have a much better way of doing it. We know how to control costs by keeping a closed league, exclusive franchises and salary caps.’"
In changing the Premier League structure, the US owners would initially have to sway enough of the 20 member clubs to form a two-thirds majority. However, the Football Association is a special shareholder in the league and has the right of veto in crucial areas such as promotion and relegation.
But Szymanski argues that this should not prove insurmountable. "A constitution says we agree to abide by these rules, but it doesn’t mean abide by them forever. Clubs cannot have indentured themselves to the FA in perpetuity."
For background on this story see Analysis.
Click here for the Britsport 07 listings for Management Consultants
Grand Depart to spark cash bonanza
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Britsport 07 listings: Tourist Boards - Air Partner Plc - Event Scotland - Glasgow 2012 - Jenson Corporation - |
The authorities behind London’s successful bid to host the Grand Depart stage of the Tour de France believe it will deliver a £115 million bonanza to the south east of England – a more than tenfold return on their investment.
Britsport Weekly has learnt that the Tour organisers, Amaury Sport Organisation, were paid £1.5 million by London’s stakeholders in the event, with total costs rising to £6.8 million to stage the two-day spectacular (July 7-8).
Transport for London [TFL] invested £3.2 million to bring the Tour to the capital, while the London Development Agency [LDA] paid another £2.5 million. The balance of £1.1 million was taken up by other stakeholders in the event, including Kent County Council, UK Sport and Sport England.
But the benefits to the UK economy far outweigh the costs, says Stephen Taylor, spokesperson for TFL, which led the bid to deliver the event on behalf of the Mayor of London. "In terms of tourism alone, the Tour will bring around £115m to London and the south east, with two million spectators expected to attend the race across the whole weekend," says Taylor.
"The Prologue on Saturday, July 7, should attract 500,000 people, with a further 1.5 million watching the stage from London to Canterbury. Awareness levels of the Tour in Kent are around 80 per cent."
Hosting the showpiece start is another sporting coup for London, which fought off competition from Holland, Switzerland and Belgium to stage the event.
As Manny Lewis, chief executive of the London Development Agency, explains, "This will bring up to one million people into London out on the streets to watch the sport live. It’s a fantastic opportunity to promote London to a new audience through one of the world’s most amazing annual sporting spectacles."
The £2.5 million paid by the LDA came out its tourism promotion spend, while the £3.2 million investment from TFL was set against the promotion of cycling in the capital, an activity which has doubled in the past five years.
The next major event on the LDA’s radar is the start of the Tour of Britain in September, with the TFL-sponsored Prologue taking place in Crystal Palace Park.
Click here for the Britsport 07 listings for Tourist Boards
SportBusiness title sponsors ISEMS awards
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Britsport 07 listings: Security - Mojo Barriers - Showsec - |
SportBusiness, the specialist sports sector publishing and information group - and owner of Britsport Weekly - has become title sponsor of the International Sports Event Management & Security [ISEMS] Awards.
Designed to recognise the achievements, professionalism, ingenuity and diplomacy of the world leaders in a range of key sports event management disciplines, the SportBusiness ISEMS Awards will be the centrepiece of the International Sports Event Management & Security conference and exhibition to be held at Wembley Stadium, London on October 31 and November 1.
Awards will be presented in nine different categories: Security, Event 'Look’, Ceremonies, Volunteer Programme, Media Services, Hospitality, Host Broadcast, Event Overlay, Facilities and Event Marketing.
They will be presented at a gala dinner at the stadium on the evening of October 3.
"The SportBusiness ISEMS Awards recognise the invaluable contribution of the people who make live sport happen,'said Phil Savage, managing director of SportBusiness Group. "Without live events there would be no business of sport as we know it. It is a multi-billion dollar business and we are proud to join forces with ISEMS to recognise achievement in this sector."
Nigel Rushman, managing director of organisers Rushmans, added: "The launch of the ISEMS Awards will help ensure that International Sports Event Management & Security 2007 is the must-attend event of 2007 for all those involved in planning and staging sports events."
Nominations for the awards will be considered by a panel of qualified peers and experienced observers. Details of the award criteria and all the information necessary to make a nomination will be available online at www.isems.com from July 1.
Click here for the Britsport 07 listings for Security
Hamilton's great - but can Silverstone survive?
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Britsport 07 listings: Architects, Construction and Engineering |
Bernie Ecclestone’s demand for public money to bankroll upgrades to Silverstone - and save the British Grand Prix - will once again be turned down, according to government sources.
Earlier this month, Ecclestone warned, "The government could and should do something to help ensure the BRDC [British Racing Drivers Club] does not lose the F1 event."
But unlike governments in new F1 markets like Bahrain and China, the UK authorities are unwilling to get involved in financing the redevelopment of the flagship motorsport circuit.
"The government has no ownership of Silverstone so to make financial contributions would be illegal state aid," a spokesperson for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport told Britsport Weekly.
Moreover, the BRDC appears increasingly resigned to tapping other funding sources as planning permission to make the necessary changes reaches an advanced stage.
"We’ve been talking to the government over a number of years, including when Jackie Stewart was president [from 2000 to beginning of 2006]," says BRDC chairman Robert Brooks.
"What I will say is that the government has been very supportive through Richard Caborn in encouraging the BRDC and the two local authorities to facilitate the changes needed. There is enormous enthusiasm from Richard Caborn to retain the British Grand Prix."
Brooks says that the BRDC is aware of the need to upgrade various aspects of Silverstone, although at this stage, he cannot divulge what changes will be made.
More worryingly, it is still unclear where the money will come from, says Brooks. "Obviously we have business and land assets and that is the extent of the asset base. It’s not just about the British Grand Prix, but taking Silverstone forward and like any business we need capital investment to help us thrive."
On the Hamilton factor, Brooks adds, "It is very positive and helpful in keeping the British Grand Prix. He has led to a heightened awareness of British motorsports around the world and that in itself is immensely positive, not just for Silverstone, but for British motorsports. We are the centre of the motorsport world and Lewis is making us once again the focus of world attention."
More importantly, perhaps, Hamilton is putting bums on seats.
According to the Silverstone website, general access tickets sold out with almost four weeks still to go before the British Grand Prix on July 6-8.
Richard Phillips, managing director of Silverstone Circuits Limited, is confident that the Lewis effect will result in the event being close to a sell out.
"Ticket sales have been growing steadily since the start of the season, but demand has gone through the roof in recent weeks," Phillips said. Corporate hospitality sales for the event have followed a similar pattern with 95 per cent of race day packages sold by June 11.
All good news for the BRDC, yet the contract with Ecclestone is due to end in 2009 and remains in danger of not being renewed unless the circuit is given a reported £30 million facelift.
While Hamilton draws in the punters, the noises off-track from Ecclestone continue to intimidate.
"The government is bringing the Olympics here because they say the Games will help generate a vast amount of money ultimately for the country," Ecclestone said. "Perhaps they could loan some of that to Silverstone to be repaid when the new circuit is making a lot of money.
"Frankly, I am fed up talking about Silverstone. When I do a deal with other countries, we sign and it gets built. I hope they get their act together. If someone comes up with the agreement we want there will be a British Grand Prix after 2009. I don't care who comes up with that, but if we cannot strike a deal there are a lot of other countries desperate to have a race."
Click here for the Britsport 07 listings for Architects, Construction and Engineering
Looking out for the lock out
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Britsport 07 listings: Management Consultants - Cavendish Hospitality - Oxygen Consulting - Pawa Consulting - SMW - |
The prospect of a franchise-only Premier League is one that has attracted plenty of speculation, but the case made by Stefan Szymanksi is the most compelling so far.
The strength of Szymanski’s argument is that it debunks conspiracy theories in favour of straightforward observation of business practices in US sports.
The notion that US owners, like Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner [pictured above with Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore], have pre-planned a coup is clear fantasy.
But when business imperatives kick-in, they could drive the league’s increasingly multi-national set of club owners to overhaul the league’s structure.
"I don’t think it’s conspiratorial, but I do think there’s something going on here that has potential implications," says Szymanski. "They come over and say, 'We love this game, it’s a wonderful sport, but cost control is problem’. They cannot be anything other than struck that the way things are run in the US makes them money."
The difficulties of changing to an American-style closed league become more apparent, however, when analysing the potential response of other stakeholders in English football, including the Football Association.
According to the Premier League constitution, there are checks on what the clubs can do without the Football Association’s assent.
The constitution, as outlined by the Premier League, says:
"The Premier League is owned by 20 Shareholders - the member clubs, whose membership in the league is dependent on the performance of their football team in the Barclays Premiership.
"The shareholders meet quarterly. Any shareholder can table a motion to be discussed at the meeting. Each shareholder is entitled to one vote and all rule changes and major commercial contracts require the support of two thirds of the clubs voting at a general meeting.
"The Football Association is also a special shareholder. They have the right of veto in certain crucial areas, such as the appointment of Chairman and Chief Executive and promotion and relegation, but have no say on other areas of Premier League work."
Against this, Szymanski argues that, in reality, there is nothing to stop the member clubs breaking away from the governing body. "Even if the move was against the public interest what law would they (the member clubs) be contravening? People forget that they are private businesses, and the European Union can’t make them do anything."
However, Tom Usher, partner at law firm SJ Berwin, believes the legal profession would have a field day in the event of a breakaway. "The FA could say that they signed on the clubs to the rules of the league and that a breakaway would constitute a breach of contract. The allegation could be that damages caused by breach of contract would potentially be in the hundreds of millions of pounds.
"The question is what contracts bind the clubs to the FA? If this is a serious issue all the relevant parties will likely analyse what damages could result [from a breakaway league]. The Premier League could respond by questioning why any of the benefits of the contract should accrue to the FA and are likely to allege that no loss will be suffered [to the FA] and that the Premier League will continue to pay the grass roots of football."
Usher adds that the clubs which were entitled to be promoted in the season before a breakaway may seek to challenge the closed league, while football’s biggest stakeholders - the fans - could vote with their feet. "You’d have to say it would devalue the level of competition and the public might be completely disillusioned," says Usher.
Click here for the Britsport 07 listings for Management Consultants
AN OLYMPIC YOUTH CULTURE?
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Britsport 07 listings: Consultancy |
With over ten years experience working in the British Olympic Movement, Marzena Bogdanowicz, managing director of independent sports consultancy b-focused, explains why the Olympic Games is still relevant to today’s youth.
Someone asked me the other day, was the Olympic Movement still stuck in the Ancient Games and not really addressing the youth of today? Was it really able to talk to the new generation of youngsters brought up on a diet of Google, MSN messenger, txts and wii’s?
The Olympic Movement is in its second century, it has gone through two world wars, a cold war and numerous other boycotts, demonstrations and actions; yet still it attracts a worldwide audience of nearly four billion television viewers. There must be something there…
Embracing the next generation of youth is the next chapter and challenge for the development of the Olympic Movement. The IOC is already looking at the best means of communicating with them, through new youth targeted promotional campaigns, a youth website and plans are being discussed for a Youth Olympic Games.
The Summer and Winter Games have seen the introduction of new sports such as mountain biking, beach volleyball, BMX (2008), snowboarding and snowboard cross to name a few.
Many global sports adapt their rules and regulations to relate better to a changing world and become more spectator-friendly: cricket, rugby, volleyball, hockey and many others. So too are the IOC making changes but they are working with one of the worlds most complex multi-sport events that caters for over 10,000 athletes from over 200 nations across 35 different sports in a period of 16 days, not just one sport. Changes take time.
Recently reports referred to skateboarding as the next sport to join the Olympic fold but there is a process that must be followed: in the first instance the International Federation most closely linked with the sport will need to bring the sport within its own remit in a similar way to snowboarding and the International Ski Federation.
Once this process is complete then potential discussions could begin regarding the Olympic Games. Certainly, based on the number of youngsters regularly doing kickflips and nosewheelies on London’s Southbank it could be a good decision!
But what else? Adding new sports to the Olympic Games will attract some youngsters but convincing them to participate in sport and engage in healthy activities, that is a much more onerous task. The Olympic Movement can enthuse, inspire and provide dreams and ambitions but it is down to every nation to provide facilities and opportunities for their younger generation.
The London 2012 Games have provided the UK with a unique opportunity to inspire, motivate and engage future generations. The next five years should be grasped by all those organisations that have the responsibility and ability to make the UK a leading sporting nation. They should work cooperatively to maximise the impact and effect providing the necessary investment and infrastructure to leave a lasting legacy for the youth of the future.
Nothing will happen overnight but together there is a chance we could make a small, but significant, percentage change to the health of this nation.
Click here for the Britsport 07 listings for Consultancy
