TwoCircles
Liberty advises the management team of Two Circles on its investment by Charterhouse Capital Partners.
Liberty Corporate Finance is delighted to announce they have advised the management team of Two Circles on its investment by Charterhouse Capital Partners (CCP). CCP has agreed to take a majority stake in Two Circles with the deal expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.
We love working with Liberty! Of course they have helped us again to agree great management incentive arrangements with our new investors but they do much more than that. We particularly value how, in a fast moving process and dealing with significant complexity, they have helped us explain to our whole team in a straightforward and clear way how our MIP aligns our interests with CCP for the next phase of the Two Circles journey.
Gareth Balch
CEO of Two Circles
The business will continue to be led by co-founder and CEO, Gareth Balch, alongside the current management team, and the Two Circles team have reinvested in the company and increased their shareholding. Bruin Capital exits having helped to grow the revenues of Two Circles by 450% during its time as majority investor.
Two Circles is an international data-driven sports marketing company partnering with more than 400 sports properties. By managing billions of fan data interactions on behalf of these clients, Two Circles has more insight into fan behaviour and desire than any other organisation. These insights are used to influence board-level decision-making and generate transformational commercial returns through services including rights-managing, ticketing, event-hosting, streaming services, e-commerce, sponsorship sales, content creation and strategy consulting.
Two Circles has long-term partnerships with some of the most iconic sports properties in the world including the NFL, the IOC, LA28, F1, the Premier League, UEFA and FIFA. Since it was founded in 2011, 92% of the clients entering a retained relationship with Two Circles continue to partner with the company.
Following Bruin’s investment in 2019, Two Circles grew its team by 400% to more than 600 teammates, including 75% joining from outside of the sports industry, and opened new offices in Los Angeles, Paris and Melbourne while retaining 96% of its leadership team and 89% of its entire team. It diversified its services during this period through the acquisition of premium sponsorship sales agency, TRM, ticketing specialists, SportsInk, technology specialists, Codeware, and the creative content agency, Livewire.
Two Circles was also able to invest in joint-ventures with the DP World Tour, Ryder Cup Europe, FIBA and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to help accelerate the commercial growth of their properties.
London-based Charterhouse is one of the longest established private equity firms in the world, having invested £12bn+ in assets since 1994.
It has been incredible to see the growth achieved by Gareth and his team at Two Circles as they have delivered on their vision for the sports industry. The passion for sports at the centre of the business is infectious and we look forward to staying close to the team as they move forward with CCP’s backing.
Michael McDonagh
Partner
+44 (0) 7715 705 000
michael.mcdonagh@liberty-cf.com