54 has announced the appointment of Nowtash Alsafar to its Commercial Department, marking the launch of a dedicated sports capital markets line within the firm’s expanding commercial offering.

Nowtash joins with experience across private equity, asset management, and sports finance, including playing a key role as one of the GP Directors in scaling Blue Horizon to £300m AUM. In this role he led on investments and strategies across multiple asset classes, including in the sports, media and entertainment industries. Prior to his time in private equity, he was a lawyer at Clifford Chance.

His work also includes fundraising, creating innovative investment strategies, and leading complex negotiations and M&A in both sports and financial markets. This experience will underpin 54’s expansion into the capital markets space and strengthen its ability to support clients navigating an increasingly sophisticated sports investment landscape. 

Alsafar’s immediate priorities will focus on developing 54’s sports capital markets practice, enabling the firm to offer strategic support to investors, rights holders, and governing bodies seeking to raise, deploy, or manage capital across the global sports economy.

George Quick, Executive Director (Commercial), said. “We’re thrilled to welcome Nowtash to the team. His experience at the intersection of private equity, capital markets, and football operations gives us a unique capability to advise our clients in an evolving era of capital injection and strategic investment across sport. Building out this line of business is an exciting evolution of 54’s commercial platform, allowing us to partner with investors and rights holders in more innovative ways than ever before.”