Oakwell Sports Advisory

What Oakwell Sports Advisory does

Oakwell Sports Advisory is a London-based sports-dedicated corporate finance and strategic consulting boutique founded in 2014 by Andrew Umbers and Doug Harmer as Oakwell Capital Limited. The firm serves three principal client segments: sports rightsholders (international federations, leagues, clubs, and franchises), sports investors (private equity, family offices, sovereign and credit funds, and high-net-worth individuals), and high-growth sportstech companies. It operates a quoted, project-based fee model without published pricing, generating revenue from advisory fees on M&A, capital raises, restructurings, expert witness mandates, and strategic consultancy engagements. The firm is sales-led, originating deals through partner networks, reputation, and targeted thought leadership content distributed via its website, newsletter, LinkedIn, and earned media in sports industry publications. Oakwell reports having pioneered over £1bn of investment into global sport and completing more than ten football club transactions, with flagship advisory mandates including CVC Capital Partners' rugby investments into Premiership Rugby (£200m, 2019), PRO14/URC (£120m, 2020), and Six Nations (£365m, 2021); 777 Partners' acquisition of Standard Liege; and sportstech mandates such as Total Performance Data's growth capital raise and Interregional Sports Group's sale to TGI Sport/Bruin Capital. The organization is structured around an 11-person core team supported by an external Advisory Board (chaired by Andrew Croker), and in October 2021 it formalized a dedicated Sportstech M&A and Fundraising practice to complement its corporate finance advisory and 360° strategic consulting pillars.

Name

Oakwell Sports Advisory

Legal name

Oakwell Capital Limited

Website

https://oakwellsports.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

London-based sports-dedicated corporate finance and strategic consulting boutique advising federations, leagues, clubs, sportstech companies, and sports investors on M&A, capital raising, and strategic engagements across the global sports ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Advisory Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Business Consulting & Advisory (Strategy, Valuation, Due Diligence) (MPAKAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fairness Opinions & Independent Financial Advice (BPAHAOAF)

Keywords

• Sports corporate finance
• Sports advisory services
• Sportstech fundraising
• Sports M&A advisory
• Strategic sports consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Finance Advisory: Advisory fees for M&A transactions, capital raising, and financial restructuring engagements with sports rightsholders, clubs, and investors.
2. Strategic Consulting: Fees for strategic and commercial consultancy engagements with federations, leagues, clubs, and sports companies.
3. Sportstech M&A and Fundraising: Advisory fees for equity fundraising and M&A transactions for sportstech companies seeking investment partners.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Oakwell Sports Advisory is a sports-dedicated advisory boutique that provides corporate finance and strategic consultancy services exclusively for the global sports industry. The firm advises sports rightsholders (federations, leagues, clubs, franchises), sports investors (private equity, family offices, HNWIs), and sportstech companies on M&A transactions, equity and debt fundraising, financial restructuring, valuation, expert witness services, and strategic and commercial consulting.

Product overview

Oakwell Sports Advisory is a sports-dedicated advisory boutique offering three core service pillars: Corporate Finance Advisory, 360° Strategic Consulting, and Sportstech M&A and Fundraising. The firm provides full transaction origination and management services, strategic and financing advice to stakeholders across the sports ecosystem, including international federations, national governing bodies, professional sports leagues, teams, franchises, and investors. The company operates at the intersection of sports, sportstech, and the investment community, originating and executing game-changing investment opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corporate Finance Advisory

Quantifiable outcome

• Over £1bn of investment pioneered into global sport
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• World RugbycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing strategic advisory relationship with World Rugby, including evaluation of business model adaptation and exploration of external capital options.
• World AthleticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic advisory services on commercial strategy. Produced detailed financial analysis of existing business and constructed business cases for strategic growth options.
• International Tennis Federation (ITF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvised ITF on the sale of a minority stake in Billie Jean King Cup Limited. Their financial, structuring, and commercial focus were pivotal in ensuring a successful transaction.
• Six Nations RugbycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvised CVC on strategic investment in Six Nations Rugby. The partnership aims to develop the Six Nations Championships and Autumn International series for the benefit of players, fans, and the wider rugby community.
• Total Performance Data (TPD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvised TPD (world's largest live horse racing data company) on growth capital fundraise from VCs and HNWIs. The significantly oversubscribed fundraise enables TPD to unlock in-play data markets.
• Discovery NetworksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiscovery acquired Play Sports Group (including Global Cycling Network) in 2019, a company associated with Andrew Croker. Discovery is a client logo appearing on Oakwell's website.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Drake Star Partners: Global tech-focused M&A advisory with a dedicated Sportstech practice covering fan engagement, betting, OTT, and performance analytics. Directly comparable to Oakwell's Sportstech M&A and Fundraising pillar.
• North Ridge Partners: Sports-focused corporate finance advisor specializing in club transactions, fundraises and strategic advisory. Closely comparable boutique peer for football and broader sports M&A advisory work.
• Inner Circle Sports: Sports-focused investment bank advising on M&A, capital raises and strategic transactions across leagues, clubs and sportstech. Closest direct peer to Oakwell's corporate finance and sportstech M&A pillars, with overlapping client base among PE sports investors and rightsholders.
• The Sports Consultancy: Sports-focused strategy and commercial advisory firm working with federations, leagues, clubs and brands. Overlaps with Oakwell's 360° Strategic Consulting pillar and serves a similar rightsholder client base (note: an Oakwell associate previously interned there).
• Tifosy Capital: Sports-focused advisory and capital advisory firm supporting clubs, leagues and investors on minority stake sales, fundraising and strategic transactions. Highly comparable boutique competitor to Oakwell in European football and rugby advisory.
• 23 Capital: Sports and entertainment-focused advisory and principal investor providing capital raising, M&A and strategic advisory to leagues, clubs and sportstech companies. Comparable to Oakwell in serving the intersection of sports rightsholders and institutional capital.

Broad incumbents

• KPMG: Big 4 professional services firm with dedicated sports advisory and corporate finance capabilities. Competes with Oakwell on valuation, due diligence and restructuring work (Doug Harmer, Oakwell's Senior Consultant, qualified as a Chartered Accountant at KPMG).
• Houlihan Lokey: Global investment bank with a sizable sports, media and entertainment M&A practice. Direct competitor on mid- and large-cap sports transactions and an alumni feeder for Oakwell (Alex Coral previously in Houlihan Lokey's TMT/consumer M&A team).

Emerging players

• Park Lane: Boutique sports strategy and commercial advisory firm serving federations, leagues and clubs on commercial strategy, partnerships and digital growth. Comparable to Oakwell's strategic consulting work, though narrower in transaction advisory.

Others

• Sport Industry Group: Sports business media, events and networking platform rather than a transaction advisor. Thematically related as a sports business ecosystem participant; relevant for industry intelligence and client relationship development but not a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oakwellsports

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Oakwell Sports Advisory