Europe and Americas - London

We started in London and continue to have a strong presence in this vibrant, long-standing global hub for the sports industry. It remains the base for major national and international organisations, many of which have been and continue to be our clients.

Our Europe and Americas team covers most of our global practices, advising international and national organisations. Our global Football, Rugby Union and Women’s Sport advisory work in particular is led out of London. The team also oversees projects across North and Central America, as well as Europe. Recent projects include significant work for major corporations and sports federations in the USA, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Germany.

Alongside Football and Rugby, we have been trusted by federations in Cricket, Horse-racing, Tennis, Golf, and many others with major transformational projects in recent years, covering diverse aspects of sports from new competitions and calendars, to governance and operating model reviews, and financial structures and revenue generation. London is also the base for our growing data and analytics team, providing insights to clients and new ways of approaching challenges and opportunities.

We advise investors at competition and club levels on all aspects, from due diligence to commercial strategies. Our team includes globally renowned experts in competition and tournaments, governance, regulation and integrity, as well as sport for development, mass participation, and talent pathways.

We are especially proud to have built in London a world-leading team in all aspects of women’s sports, playing key roles in the FA Women’s Super League, the development of the game in Europe, and now across the world.

Regional Leadership Team

Patrick Massey

Partner

Patrick is a Partner at Portas. He leads Portas’ business the UK, Europe and Americas. He also leads our work in football, rugby and women’s sport globally. He has 15+ years of experience, with expertise in strategy and planning, revenue and cost optimisation, leagues and competitions, and growth strategy. Patrick previously worked as a Senior Manager at Accenture. He holds a First Class Masters of Chemistry degree from Durham University.

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Nic Coward

Expert Partner

Nic is an Expert Partner at Portas, bringing 30 years of unique senior leadership experience and insight to our work for clients across our offices and teams. He has been involved directly in all aspects of sports, including as chair or chief executive of governing bodies in football, golf, horseracing and athletics, as well as significant involvement in particular in kabaddi and cricket, and Wembley stadium. Originally a lawyer, in addition to his advisory work Nic is also chair, director and investor at sports related businesses from tracking and data, to hardware.

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Jon Culligan

Partner

Jon is a Partner at Portas, with over 15 years of experience. He is responsible for Portas' data offering globally and has expertise in commercial, innovation and digital. Jon works across sports, leading a significant amount of our football work across federations, leagues, clubs, and multi-sports groups. Jon previously worked at BCG and Deloitte and holds a Law degree from the University of Birmingham.

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Tom Hobkinson

Partner

Tom Hobkinson is a Partner at Portas, based in London. With 9 years of experience, he serves clients in the UK, Europe, and globally. Before joining Portas, Tom worked at Newton Europe, focusing on converting strategic vision into tangible results. He is an Oxford University Blues footballer and graduated with First Class Honours from Oxford University.

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