Latest News
James Grant Group announce appointment of Mick McGuire - 1st September 2009
The newly formed James Grant Group Ltd has made its first senior appointment since the £20.75 million management buyout of five businesses from the Formation Group plc.
Mick McGuire, 56, the former primary Deputy Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers Association, has been made Managing Director of the Group’s UK sports division. He begins his new post today (September 1).
McGuire brings the company a wealth of experience in sports administration both in the UK and abroad, having worked closely with the Premier League, Football League and Football Association, as well as soccer’s international governing bodies FIFA and UEFA.
McGuire was also vice president of FIFApro, the organisation that represents more than 40 national player associations from around the world.
At the PFA, he was the organisation’s senior representative of current players as well as those who have moved on to club management, both in terms of representing at disciplinary hearings and also with contract negotiations. He was also head of the PFA’s management agency and the commercial department based in London and Manchester.
The James Grant Group has an impressive collective roster of over 750 clients from the world of entertainment and sport on both sides of the Atlantic. Among them are Ryan Nelson, Clint Dempsey, John O’Shea and Jack Rodwell, and more than 20 household names in the entertainment industry.
Global Head of Sport Lyle Yorks said: Mick will add a new depth to the UK Sports division. I look forward to working with him and the other members of the senior management team as we seek to develop our proposition. “Mick’s role will be to bring new verve and purpose to our sports business as the group seeks to build on the already formidable reputation of our entertainment division.”
Chief Executive Neil Rodford said: “I am delighted the new company has been able to attract someone of the calibre of Mick McGuire. He is one of the best-known soccer administrators and player representatives in this country and is respected across the world at the highest level in the sport.”
McGuire spent 22 years with the PFA, having made his name as a player with Coventry City, Norwich City, Barnsley and Oldham.
He is married with two children and lives in Cheshire.
Editor’s note: James Grant Group Limited was formed from five divisions of the Formation Group plc. They are O.J.Kilkenny and Co Ltd., Proactive Sports Management USA Inc., Formation Sports Capital Ltd., Proactive Sports Management Ltd and James Grant Media Ltd.
The new company has two divisions; Management Services, which consists of the group’s media and sports management businesses and Professional Services, made up of the group’s accountancy practice and sports & media finance business.
The management buy-out was completed last week after it was ratified by shareholders of the Formation Group. The deal was backed by Gresham Private Equity.
