Prestigious new hire for Penningtons Manches' specialist sports and entertainment group

Posted: 19/07/2017

Leading law firm Penningtons Manches has expanded its thriving sports and entertainment practice with the appointment of business development consultant Steve Norton.

Steve will work closely with partners Richard Marshall and Andrew Haywood (head of the sports and entertainment group) to help deliver enhanced services to clients and drive the continued development of the business.

Steve, a former professional sportsman, has forged a highly successful career in sports consultancy, sponsorship and management over three decades.

He first worked in sports publishing before setting up BBA Advertising, a London-based full service agency. BBA was instrumental in producing the Daihatsu Challenge, Europe’s leading ladies’ tennis tournament at the time.

Steve then joined the board of US-based Advantage International and was responsible for European development. During this period he launched the Budweiser American Football League, the Football Association’s “Standard Bearers of Football” initiative and the United Distillers/Guinness sponsorship of the Commonwealth Games in Scotland.

He has represented many professional athletes including the likes of Steffi Graff, Stefan Edberg, Dan Marino, Freddie Couples and Severiano Ballesteros amongst others.

Steve has consulted on many major sports projects including the launch of Mastercard’s Football World Cup sponsorship programme, American Airlines' Pan-European Tennis Programme, and DHL’s sponsorship of the Jersey Open and the Ryder Cup in Europe.

He has also consulted on sports strategy for the Football Association, Football League, PGA European Tour, PGA European Seniors Tour, PGA European Challenge Tour, and Ryder Cup; corporations such as DHL, Hertz, Credit Suisse and Intellectual Property Management; and global communications groups M&C Saatchi and TBWA/Omnicom.

In 2006 Steve was appointed to consult for HSBC Private Bank with the specific remit of developing and launching a global sports strategy group. The group is now recognised as an international market leader, representing hundreds of high net worth clients from across the full spectrum of sports.

Andrew Haywood said: “We’re delighted to announce Steve’s appointment. He is extremely highly regarded and brings with him a wealth of experience that will be of great value to the team and our clients. We are all very much looking forward to working with him.”

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