18th August 2020 – Global Venue Services (GVS), the company launched this summer by Simon Bazalgette and Paul Fisher, who previously ran one of the largest sport businesses in the UK, The Jockey Club, today launched its first operating business: Global Venue Finance.

‘GV Finance’ will enable businesses within the equine and other sports industry to access finance for the capital costs of projects, such as racehorse trainers developing new gallops and other training facilities.

It will do so in partnership with Andrews Bowen, the world leading equine and sports surfaces and equipment company, who developed and installed the competition surface in the London 2012 equestrian arena and a number of top racehorse trainers, as well as the base layer for new pitches for Premier League champions Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC.

GV Finance will work closely with a group of finance providers chosen for their experience within sport and asset finance. Immediate clients will include customers of Andrews Bowen, to help them to raise finance to install gallops and other sports surfaces, and spread the cost of capital installations over several years. The service will rapidly be expanded to other categories of capital purchase.

The demand for investment into equine facilities, for example, continues to grow in horseracing and other equestrian sports, who need state-of-the art facilities in an increasingly competitive market. Given the financial pressures they have faced during the COVID-19 lockdown, many require the kind of additional financing that GV Finance can assist with to enable investment far sooner than would otherwise be feasible.

Andrews Bowen surfaces are installed on the patented Equaflow under-surface, which collects and retains water for re-use in irrigation or for grey water purposes. The installations are proven to maintain their quality long-term, but if required they are fully removable and reusable, which gives them an ongoing value and allows for GV Finance’s new lease finance options.

GV Finance and Andrews Bowen will offer a fully serviced option to increase the lifespan of the gallop or surface and improve the financing options.

Andrews Bowen also offer additional services such as stable construction and maintenance as part of their overall customer offering, and GV Finance their will assist their customers to access finance for this expenditure as well.

Paul Fisher, CEO of GVS, said:

“The launch of GVS’s first operating business, GV Finance, aims to help sport businesses to invest in their future at a time when sport has suffered from the COVID-19 lockdown. By working with a world leader in Andrews Bowen we’re expecting significant demand, which will also allow us to expand the range of services and products we can offer. We’ve worked closely together with the finance providers and potential customers to develop the offering and ensure it provides access to the type of innovative financing needed.”

David Andrews, Director of Andrews Bowen, said:

”Having seen the challenges that equestrian and wider sports businesses are facing with the current crisis, I’m pleased that by working with GVS we’re able to offer finance solutions to allow investment to speed up the return from the lockdown for those businesses. Andrews Bowen has proven its ability to innovate with its Equaflow system and GV Finance is the latest example. We’ve know Paul and Simon for many years and their level of innovation and integrity matches our own, so they were the perfect partners to work with us to put GV Finance together.”

Background

Global Venue Services (GVS) is a provider of advisory, investment, interim management and business services to the sports, leisure, media and entertainment sectors. It was launched by Simon Bazalgette and Paul Fisher, who until the end of 2019 were the Chairman and Chief Executive respectively of Jockey Club Racecourses, the UK’s largest racecourse group. Bernard Kantor, the co-founder of Investec Bank, and Trevor Watkins, the UK’s leading sports lawyer, have joined the GVS Advisory Board. More information can be found at www.globalvenueservices.com.

Andrews Bowen is a world leader in equestrian surface manufacture and installation, and was formed by David Andrews and Simon Bowen in 2005. They installed the surfaces for the 2012 Olympics and the British National Showjumping Championships, as well as for horserace trainers such as Grand National winner, Kim Bailey. More information can be found at www.andrewsbowen.co.uk.