David
Hinchliffe

David is a Partner and our Head of Sport.  With a background in football restructuring, when it comes to advising on the acquisitions and disposals of football clubs, David is known to be one of the best in the field.  David acts for both buyers and sellers, and regularly advises on Premier League and Championship sales and purchases.

Although his work can cover anything that comes up in football for professional football clubs, David predominantly finds himself working on corporate M&A of sports franchises, litigation and regulatory issues within football.

Consiglieri and trusted confidante

Alongside his decades of experience, David is proud of the network of lifelong friends he has made in the football industry. “I enjoy building and maintaining excellent relationships with clients”, he says, which includes living the highs as well as the lows with them – he is truly part of his clients’ team.

David finds solving the difficult, unique and esoteric problems that crop up in the football industry to be the most rewarding part of his job and describes himself as “Consiglieri and trusted confidante” to his clients: “I often act for them from the moment they buy the football club all the way until they dispose of their ownership interest. Over those years, I’m generally a member of their Kitchen Cabinet, and there for them for any and every issue that arises”.

Always a new day

David has both a strong temperament and a calm demeanour, both of which are important in the football industry – an industry that has outsized influence across the globe. He says, “it’s important to realise that nothing is ever as good as you think or as bad as you think, and keep calm accordingly”.

In terms of the challenges he faces, Davis points out that every day is quite literally a new day when it comes to the issues and challenges that arise.  And this is not just for him, but often for anybody working in the industry, since he is often presented with challenges that the industry is facing for the very first time.

David’s working style is client facing and “full-on”.  This is both the nature of the industry and a reflection of the passion David has for helping his clients identify the best possible strategy for them. He fights hard for his clients and believes that if they lose, then he does as well. This is very much in sync with the firm’s client first approach to work.

A commercial, results driven focus

David began his career as an insolvency lawyer, but after resolving some complicated football insolvencies he became friends with a number of people in the industry and began to build his network.

“I adopt a commercial, results driven focus. I appreciate that circumstances change and I adapt my advice accordingly. I always provide my clients with the best opportunity for a beneficial outcome”.

David is endorsed by “The Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom” directory for insolvency and restructuring law.