Sports

We help sports stars and organisations overcome their hurdles.

Our work for sporting clients covers everything from governance advice, to funding for new facilities, to taking care of trade marks. Our clients are equally varied, ranging from grassroots clubs to national governing bodies (NGBs) and world-class sportspeople.

Sports charity work is a core focus for the team. We set up charities for the Rugby Football Union, British Gymnastics and the ECB. And thanks to campaigning by our founder, Andrew Phillips, amateur sports clubs get tax relief through the CASC scheme.

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Corporate foundations and their connected businesses: Key insights from our roundtable

We were delighted to welcome representatives from a variety of corporate foundations to our roundtable on 30 June. The event brought together a wealth of different experiences and provided an opportunity for peer learning and the sharing of practical insights. Legal principles Bates Wells partners, Philip Kirkpatrick and Lucy Rhodes, opened the roundtable with an …
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Faith-based charities and regulatory engagement: prevention and response

The regulatory landscape Regulatory action by the Charity Commission is increasing. There were 18% more regulatory concern cases, 25% more statutory inquiries and just under 60% more inquiry powers used in the Commission’s most recent financial period than its previous one. Common themes for the Commission opening investigations are governance failures, safeguarding issues, conflicts of …
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Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 30 June

Our weekly roundup of news and updates from across the sector. To help you navigate this week’s content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic. Charity Commission At the Third Sector Conference 2026, Charity Commission Chair Dame Julia Unwin gave a speech about “The Commission’s role in uncertain times”. She discussed …
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Drawing the lines: mutuality, control, and the tax test for employment status

On 1 May 2026, the First Tier (Tax) Tribunal (“FTT”) found that, despite HMRC’s assertions to the contrary, certain referees engaged by Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (“PGMOL”) were self-employed, rather than employed, for tax purposes (see the case here). This decision is the latest (though possibly not the last) installment in a long running …
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Immigration update: sponsor licence compliance for faith-based organisations

Faith-based organisations play a significant role in the UK’s migration system, regularly sponsoring overseas workers to fill specialist religious roles. Although sector-specific data is not published by the UKVI, it is widely understood that many of the UK’s 140,000 sponsor licence holders are prominent faith-based organisations. However, it is a challenging time to be a …
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Meet our team