A presentation on commercial partnerships for sport and recreation organisations. This presentation was given by Dolmans Solicitors as part of the Sport and Recreation Alliance's, Sport and the Law Conference 2015.

1. Commercial Partnerships
Paul Veysey & Jennifer Cottle
Dolmans Solicitors

2. Introduction
• What is a commercial partnership?
• Sponsorship
• Potential partners
• Potential benefits
• Key considerations

3. Introduction (cont’d)
• Ethical considerations
• Legal considerations
• Case study
• Practical considerations
• Discussion points

4. What is a commercial partnership?
A commercial partnership is when an association enters
into an arrangement with a commercial company
intending to:-
a) generate money for the association; and/or
b) receive a benefit in kind for the association; and/or
c) raise awareness of the association.

5. What is a commercial partnership?
(cont’d)
For sports organisations, commercial
partnerships can be based on sponsorship
agreements whereby commercial companies
pay for the right to be associated
with valuable assets owned by the
charity/association such as national teams or
events

6. Sponsorship
• Sponsorship is a form of marketing
• A sponsor contributes funds, products or
services to an event organiser, rights owner,
producer of an entertainment product,
participants, teams or individuals

7. Sponsorship (cont’d)
• In the majority of cases this will be in return for marketing
rights entitling the sponsor to promote its image and products
in connection with the event or individuals concerned.
• A commercial partnership can go further to encompass the
establishment of a working relationship between sporting
bodies and providers of services and/or goods.
Does your organisation have sponsorship
arrangements or commercial partnerships in place?

8. Potential partners
• Professional advisers e.g. lawyers, accountants, PR
specialists
• Events organisers
• Kit/clothing/equipment suppliers
• Venue managers/owners
• Vehicle providers
• Others?
Who are your potential partners?

9. Potential benefits
• Raising money
• Expert advice if partner is a professional
adviser (e.g. solicitor, accountant)
• Obtaining goods at a reduced/cost price
• Profile raising
What benefits do you envisage?

10. Key considerations
• Target market
• What are the parties’ objectives?
• Will the partnership assist the parties in
achieving those objectives?
• Will the partner commit to the NGBs overall
strategy?
• Timescales – for how long will the partnership
exist?

11. Key consideration (cont’d)
• Will the partner expect any control over the
athletes or event participants?
• What costs will be involved?
What key considerations would your organisation
wish to consider?

12. Ethical considerations
• What goods/services does the partner sell?
• Any bad publicity?
• Does the partner comply with legal
requirements (e.g. health & safety legislation,
data protection, employment law)?
• Is there a conflict of interest?
What ethical considerations would you or your
members want to take into account?

13. Legal considerations
• Written agreement including indemnities
• Formal retainer with professional partner –
this should reflect the agreed terms
• Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
• Brand protection

14. Disability Sport Wales (DSW) &
Dolmans Solicitors
• Legal adviser for 10 years
• Jennifer Cottle – board member since 2011
• Business in the Community, Wales Responsible Business
Awards - Employee Volunteer Award 2014
• Benefits:
– profile-raising and publicity for both parties
– financial savings, leading to increased funds being available for
front-line community and athlete programmes
– assisting DSW to establish new relationships with commercial
partners

15. Example
• Self assessment of your value
• Programmes divided into three strands
1. Grass roots
2. Academies
3. Elite athletes
• Each strand “sold off” to commercial partner for a
fee
q What can your organisation “sell”?

16. Practical considerations
• How will you source your commercial
partners?
• How will performance of the partnership be
measured?
• Who will be the partnership “team”?
• Who will take responsibility for which aspect?

17. Discussion points
• Have you encountered any issues with any
commercial partnerships your organisation
has in place?
• Do you think commercial partnerships are
worthwhile?
• Case study

18. Thank you
Paul Veysey
Partner
paulv@dolmans.co.uk
Jennifer Cottle
Associate
jenniferc@dolmans.co.uk
Dolmans Solicitors
One Kingsway
Cardiff
CF10 3DS