Wiggin advises Sports Alpha Capital in acquiring a majority interest in Northampton Town Football Club

The Wiggin Sports team is pleased to confirm it has advised Sports Alpha Capital in acquiring a majority interest in Northampton Town Football Club.

Sports Alpha Capital is a sport, media and entertainment investment vehicle, created and dedicated to the acquisition, ownership and long-term management of a historical football club in the UK. That ambition has now been realised, in a transaction which was one of the very first to require approval of both the English Football League and the newly formed Independent Football Regulator. The approval from the Independent Football Regulator was in fact only the second new ownership group approved under the new regime, and the first in respect of a Football League club.

The Wiggin team was led by Legal Director, Christian Slinger and Senior Associate, Tim Howden. They were supported by Shaney Stevens-Neale (Sport), James Hope and Charlotte Palmer (Property), Christian Burchardt (Tax) and Ellie Sergeant (Employment).

The founders of Sports Alpha Capital, João Xavier, Tim Chamberlain and Pedro Piquet praised the Wiggin team, saying: “This was not a simple deal, and at every turn, Christian, Tim, Shaney and the rest of the Wiggin team helped us through. We couldn’t have asked for a better team! The real work starts now, and we look forward to working with Wiggin to help us navigate what lies ahead.” 

Christian Slinger commented: “We’re really pleased to have helped the Sports Alpha Capital team realise their ambition of owning a historic football club here in the UK. It’s been a pleasure to help them begin that ownership journey with Northampton Town and to overcome the various hurdles that were presented during the process. The added complexity of the new regulatory landscape presented its challenges, but we’re pleased to have helped the team navigate that new process, and in particular to see one of the very first new ownership approvals come through the IFR’s ODSE regime. We look forward to supporting the new ownership group as they put their exciting plans into practice at Northampton Town.”

The Wiggin Sports team, headed up by Partner and Head of Sport David Hinchliffe, are leading experts in football M&A work, regularly advising on transactions throughout the English football pyramid, and globally. This transaction is the latest reinforcement of the team’s position at the forefront of an ever-changing commercial and regulatory landscape.