Sports Club Advisors, Inc.

What Sports Club Advisors, Inc. does

Sports Club Advisors, Inc. is a privately held boutique M&A advisory firm founded in 2015 and headquartered in Libertyville, Illinois, that exclusively serves the sports, fitness, and recreation industries. The firm was co-founded by Jim Bates and Rich Jackim, who together bring over 50 years of combined M&A experience and have assisted in successful sales for over 100 entrepreneurs across their careers. The firm claims a 90% successful closing rate on sell-side transactions, and Rich Jackim's prior deals exceed $1 billion in combined value while Jim Bates' exceed $300 million. Clients are primarily SMB owners of tennis clubs, fitness centers, gymnastics schools, swim academies, pickleball facilities, social sports leagues, and sports technology businesses.

The firm's service portfolio is organized around six core advisory lines: sell-side advisory (offered in two tiers, full-service and a lower-cost Listing Service launched in 2025), buy-side advisory and outsourced corporate development, business valuation, exit planning, racquet sports consulting, and expert witness services. It also operates an online marketplace integrated with leading listing sites to surface businesses for sale, and produces thought leadership through two co-authored books (Business Valuation For Dummies, Wiley 2009; The $10 Trillion Opportunity) and an active blog. The team extends beyond the two founders to include subject matter experts in operations (Doug Cash, former COO of Tennis Corporation of America with oversight of 42 clubs), tennis fitness integration (Michele Krause, co-creator of Cardio Tennis), real estate and club start-up (Mark Bowers), retail merchandising (Lisa Goldberg, 28 years at Wilson Sporting Goods), facility management software (Alberto Genty, founder of RacquetDesk), and pickleball (Vicki Foster).

Sports Club Advisors generates revenue through professional services fees and commissions tied to closed M&A transactions, with no publicly disclosed pricing and no recurring subscription component. Lead generation is sales-led and relationship-driven, relying on content marketing, industry conference speaking (PTR, TIA, USPTA), referral networks through Managing Directors and subject matter experts, and a free no-obligation Opinion of Value offered as a discovery tool. The firm has no proprietary technology platform, no SaaS product, no mobile app, no API, no AI/ML capabilities, no disclosed institutional funding, and no parent or subsidiary structure; it operates as an independent partnership serving clients nationally across the United States.

Name

Sports Club Advisors, Inc.

Legal name

Sports Club Advisors, Inc.

Website

https://sportsclubadvisors.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sports Club Advisors is a boutique M&A advisory firm founded in 2015 in Libertyville, Illinois, that exclusively serves the sports, fitness, and recreation industries. The two-partner firm provides sell-side and buy-side advisory, business valuation, exit planning, and expert witness services to SMB facility owners across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Banking and M&A Advisory

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• M&a advisory services
• Business brokerage
• Business valuation
• Exit planning
• Sports industry consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Libertyville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Sell-Side Advisory – Full Service: Full-service sell-side advisory including preparation of offering memorandum, confidential information memorandum, integrated financial model, and proactive marketing to targeted buyers. Revenue is earned as a commission or fee upon successful transaction closing.
2. Sell-Side Advisory – Listing Service: A lower-cost alternative to full-service advisory where Sports Club Advisors prepares financial schedules and a summary memorandum, lists the business on major platforms, and manages NDAs, after which the seller handles buyer engagement directly. Services are billed based on time spent, with the full fee contingent on deal closing.
3. Buy-Side Advisory / Corporate Development: Outsourced corporate development services for clients pursuing acquisition-led growth strategies. The firm identifies targets, performs due diligence, assists with financing proposals, and manages transaction negotiations. Billed as professional services.
4. Business Valuation Services: Expert business valuation services tailored for sports and fitness facility owners, legal professionals, prospective purchasers, and financial institutions. Used to support M&A, funding, shareholder agreements, ownership disputes, and divorce proceedings. Billed as professional services.
5. Exit Planning: Strategic exit planning services including review of personal/business/financial goals, value driver analysis, benchmarking, valuation, value enhancement strategy, and development of exit timetables. Billed as professional services.
6. Expert Witness Services: Expert witness services for legal proceedings involving business valuations, franchisor/franchisee litigation, economic damages, purchase price allocation, goodwill valuation, earnout disputes, shareholder disputes, divorce settlements, and bankruptcy. Billed as professional services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Sports Club Advisors is a boutique M&A advisory firm that exclusively serves owners of sports, fitness, and recreation businesses, providing sell-side and buy-side advisory, business valuation, exit planning, racquet sports consulting, and expert witness services. The firm runs an online marketplace to showcase businesses for sale and manages the full transaction lifecycle from offering memorandum preparation through closing for tennis clubs, fitness centers, sports complexes, and similar facilities.

Product overview

Sports Club Advisors is a boutique M&A advisory firm exclusively serving the sports, fitness, and recreation industries. Its core offering is not a unified software product but a portfolio of advisory services organized around business brokerage and exit planning. The primary service lines are: Sell Side Advisory (offered in two delivery modes — a full-service option and a Listing Service for cost-conscious sellers), Buy Side Advisory / Corporate Development, Business Valuation, Exit Planning, Racquet Sports Consulting, and Expert Witness Services. These services are delivered by a team of founding partners (Jim Bates and Rich Jackim) and subject matter experts. The firm also produces thought leadership through co-authored publications ('Business Valuation for Dummies' and 'The $10 Trillion Opportunity') and maintains an Online Market Place for listing sports and fitness businesses. There is no SaaS product, mobile app, or API offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sell-Side Advisory – Full Service Full-service sell-side advisory including preparation of a formal offering memorandum, confidential information memorandum, integrated financial model, and proactive marketing to targeted buyers. Designed for sports and fitness facility owners seeking to maximize price and terms at closing.
• Sell-Side Advisory – Listing Service Cost-effective hybrid between full-service advisory and 'For Sale by Owner' in which SCA prepares financial schedules and a confidential information memorandum, markets the listing across major platforms, and manages NDAs, after which the seller handles buyer vetting and negotiations with SCA available on a time-and-materials basis.
• Buy-Side Advisory / Corporate Development Outsourced corporate development services for clients pursuing acquisition-led growth, including strategic planning, market research, target identification, due diligence, valuation, financing proposals, negotiation, legal documentation, and post-closing PR support.
• Business Valuation Expert business valuation services tailored for sports and fitness facility owners, legal professionals, prospective purchasers, and financial institutions, used to support mergers and acquisitions, funding initiatives, shareholder agreements, ownership disputes, and divorce settlements.
• Exit Planning Strategic exit planning services analyzing personal, business, and financial goals, benchmarking value drivers and management metrics, assessing risk factors, valuing the business using two methodologies, creating a value enhancement strategy, and developing a strategic exit timetable.
• Racquet Sports Consulting

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% successful closing rate on sell-side transactions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

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.

• United States Tennis Association (USTA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Sports Club Advisors facilitated a strategic licensing agreement between Capestany Racquet Sports and the USTA, integrating TennisDrills.tv as a cornerstone resource for the USTA Coaching initiative. All USTA Coaching members receive complimentary access to the TennisDrills.tv digital training platform through the USTA Coaching website portal. The partnership was launched on August 13th, 2025, strategically timed ahead of the US Open.
• Capestany Racquet SportscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025SCA brokered a strategic licensing agreement between Capestany Racquet Sports (creator of TennisDrills.tv) and the USTA. Capestany Racquet Sports' founder Jorge Capestany is a noted tennis coach and platform developer. Jim Bates, Partner at SCA, led the transaction, aligning the digital training platform with USTA's mission.
• LI-KickcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Sports Club Advisors represented LI-Kick (Long Island's largest provider of co-ed social sports leagues and events) in its acquisition of Kickin It Women's Kickball League. Rich Jackim, Managing Partner at SCA, advised LI-Kick throughout the transaction, providing valuation guidance and deal structuring. The acquisition strengthens LI-Kick's women's-focused recreational programming.
• RecTech, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2025Sports Club Advisors facilitated the sale of RecTech, LLC's League Management App using its new Listing Service. The League Management App provides sports organizations with scheduling, member communications, and league administration tools. The buyer was an industry investor seeking to expand their sports operations technology portfolio.
• Midnight PickleminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 November 2024Sports Club Advisors partnered with Midnight Pickle, a pickleball racquet and apparel brand founded by Mo Morrison. The partnership provides SCA followers with exclusive access to Midnight's pickleball products via a 15% discount (code 'SCA15'). Midnight also hosts pop-up stores and works with sports leagues and country clubs on co-branded items.
• CashFlowTennisminorOthersDoug Cash founded CashFlowTennis, a consulting firm that assists sports facility owners in optimizing daily operations and enhancing facility value. Doug is a subject matter expert on the Sports Club Advisors team, specializing in operations and value enhancement for racquet sports facilities.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• KeyBanc Capital Markets: Large middle-market investment bank with a sports and active lifestyle practice. Relevant incumbent comparator as it competes for sell-side and buy-side mandates in the same fragmented sports/fitness categories at materially larger scale.
• D.A. Davidson: Middle-market investment bank with a consumer/services group covering leisure and recreation. Comparable in competing for M&A mandates in the same fragmented sports/fitness categories, with broader geographic reach.
• Houlihan Lokey: Large global investment bank with dedicated Consumer & Leisure coverage including fitness and sports. Relevant incumbent comparator as it competes for the same category of sports/fitness M&A mandates at materially larger scale.

Direct peers

• Generational Group: One of the largest US business M&A advisory and brokerage firms focused on selling privately held SMBs. Directly comparable to SCA in serving owner-operators of small/mid-sized businesses with contingent fee-based M&A services, though without sports/fitness specialization.
• Morgan & Westfield: Business broker and M&A firm serving SMB owners with sell-side advisory and exit planning. Comparable to SCA's full-service and listing-tier service model for entrepreneurial exits.
• Woodbridge International: Global M&A advisory firm focused on the lower middle market. Comparable to SCA in providing full-service sell-side advisory and business valuation to founder-led businesses, particularly in consumer/services verticals.
• Mirus Capital Advisors: Boutique M&A advisory firm serving technology-enabled and consumer-services businesses. Comparable in scale and service mix (sell-side, buy-side, valuation) to SCA's practice, though without the sports/fitness vertical focus.
• Transworld Business Advisors: Global business brokerage and M&A franchise with a strong focus on SMB main-street businesses. Comparable to SCA in serving entrepreneur-led exits with both full-service and listing-tier engagements and an owner-franchise distribution model.
• Benchmark International: Global M&A advisory firm serving SMB to mid-market privately held businesses. Comparable to SCA in deal sourcing, full-service sell-side execution, and valuation services across fragmented service industries.

Others

• Exit Planning Institute: Educational and certification organization co-founded by Rich Jackim of SCA, focused on training exit planning advisors. Adjacent peer in that it shapes the exit planning ecosystem from which SCA draws advisory mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sportsclubadvsr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sports-club-advisors-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Sports Club Advisors, Inc.