Advising AF Eagle/All4golf, held by funds advised by Afinum Management GmbH, on the acquisition of Clubhouse Golf Limited

Clubhouse Golf is the leading online retailer of golf equipment in the UK. Funds advised by Afinum acquired the German online golf retailer all4golf in September 2019 with a view to international expansion.

Key highlights

• The strategic acquisition of Clubhouse Golf represented a significant inward investment in the UK by a leading European retailer backed by German private equity funds.  
• As a result of the combination, the AF Eagle group almost doubled its revenues. We handled all UK law aspects of this complex deal co-ordinating specialist input on employment, real estate, corporate tax and commercial contracts issues.  
• We worked closely with German law firm, GLNS, who advised on all German law aspects of the transaction.

The Brodies team, led by Neil Burgess, provided first class support to us on this key strategic acquisition for Afinum and the AF Eagle Group. I was particularly impressed by the seamless interaction with our German counsel throughout the entire transaction and their capability to bridge UK and German market practice to serve us in the best possible way. I also particularly liked Brodies' ability to remain calm and focused in a demanding and time-constrained deal environment. The outstanding responsiveness and dedication of the Brodies team was invaluable to us in ensuring the timely completion and success of the transaction. Client Kai Roolf (Partner, Afinum Management GmbH)

Outcome

As a combined business, all4golf and Clubhouse Golf aims to accelerate its international expansion as well as drive organic growth in their respective home markets. Afinum-backed all4golf is a strong strategic partner for Clubhouse Golf, and together the combined business will look to become the pan-European market leader for online golf equipment retail.

This was a complex acquisition conducted against the background of critical timing pressures, including taxation changes, financing deadlines and the onset of the COVID-19 restrictions. The transaction involved a split exchange and completion, with conditionality and gap period issues, and investment in a German private equity structure. The process required us to efficiently deliver our advice across different time zones and jurisdictions, co-ordinating with the German law advice provided by GLNS, and an ability to project manage multi-disciplinary teams across several practice areas.