Knights’ Corporate team advised on the acquisition of a 96.89% stake in Oldham Athletic Association Football Club, alongside a commitment to purchase the company that owns the club’s stadium.

Led by Corporate Partner Karen Procter, Knights’ team advised Frank Rothwell, Luke Rothwell and Su Schofield on the acquisition, which will bring the club and its stadium Boundary Park back under one ownership following a long-running dispute over rent and use of the main stand.

The Rothwell family completed the undisclosed acquisition of the National League club from RLJ Capital Global FZC, while also committing to the purchase of Brass Bank Limited – which owns Boundary Park and surrounding land.

This ends speculation over the future of both the club and its home, as the club seeks promotion back into the Football League following relegation in 2022.

In a statement, Oldham Athletic A.F.C said:

“This is a significant and hugely exciting development in the proud history of Oldham Athletic and ensures the club can now approach the new season and beyond with a genuine sense of anticipation.

“The Rothwell family would like to place on record their thanks to their legal due diligence advisors Knights.”

Karen Procter, Corporate Partner at Knights, said:

“Throughout this process it’s been clear that Oldham Athletic is a massive part of the local community, so it’s been a pleasure to support the Rothwell family to secure the future of both the club and its stadium.

“It’s a testament to the breadth of expertise across our team at Knights that we’ve been able to work quickly to meet the four-week timeframe. So, I’d like to thank our team for their hard work.”

Karen led a team of Knights colleagues that included Corporate colleagues David Hayes, Matthew Hitchen and Alana Pearson, alongside Real Estate advice from Rachel McIlroy and Stephen Crook, plus the Regulatory and Licencing expertise of David Roberts.

Their work was complemented by support from RSM UK’s Corporate Finance team.