M+C Saatchi buys women’s sports agency

M+C Saatchi Group has completed a 100 per cent acquisition of specialist advisory and media rights consultancy, Women’s Sports Group (WSG), gaining three full-time employees.

WSG will maintain its brand, operating as part of M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment. Rachel Knight and Steph Harries will continue to serve as co-managing directors of WSG, reporting to Robin Clarke, global chief executive of M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment.

The move is intended to bolster M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment’s international women’s sports consultancy offer, by bringing together WSG’s top-of-funnel rights and production dealmaking expertise with M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment’s branding, creative and audience-building capabilities.

M+C Saatchi highlighted that the move comes at a time of growth for women’s sports, hoping to “help clients capture this value through strategy, commercial models and measurable fan growth, while also building cultural resonance and advocacy” with its new combined offer.

WSG was founded in 2020 by Dame Heather Rabbatts, former chief executive of Millwall FC, who became the Football Association’s first female non-executive director and board member when she was appointed in 2012.

Heather Rabbatts is the chair of M+C Saatchi. She has held the role since June 2025, after first joining the PLC board as a non-executive director in January 2024.

Before the acquisition, Rabbatts was a 25 per cent shareholder of WSG. Following this transaction, she does not maintain any ownership or contractual obligations with WSG, M+C Saatchi said.

Since launching in 2020, WSG has advised clients including the Barclays Women’s Super League, Premiership Women’s Rugby, the Billie Jean King Cup, Arsenal FC, Dazn, Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, and Angel City FC.

Clarke said: “WSG brings rare rights market intelligence, senior negotiating muscle, and trusted relationships across the sports ecosystem. Coupled with our creativity, data, our global footprint and Cultural Power tools, we can now help brands, rights holders and broadcasters grow value end-to-end – particularly in the rapidly growing women’s sport economy.

“We’re uniquely placed to show brands not just the commercial upside, but how to become part of the cultural shifts redefining the future of sport.”

Knight, co-managing director of WSG, said: “Our ambition has always been to elevate women’s sport by unlocking its full commercial and cultural potential. We’ve delivered deals that helped shape the market to date.”

Fellow co-managing director Harries added: “Joining forces with M+C Saatchi will ensure even greater impact, with powerful storytelling and cultural intelligence to deepen connections with fans, brands and rights holders, unlocking long-term cultural and commercial growth.”

Earlier this month, M+C Saatchi and former England and Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp launched M+C Saatchi Football, a management agency for footballers.

In May, M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment acquired Dune | 23, a UAE-based sport and entertainment marketing and commercial agency.