Chris Akers
CEO

Extensive experience as an investor in a number of public & private companies in the sports, media, entertainment, gaming, betting, leisure, travel, technology and IT sectors. He has been involved in over 30 UK Public market listings as either a Director and/or Strategic shareholder and/or M&A consultant.

From 1984-1986 Chris worked in Media Research at Saatchi & Saatchi’s HQ in London. From 1987 to 1991 he was a leading Media, Leisure and Small Companies Investment Analyst at CIBC and then Citicorp Scrimgeour Vickers before becoming an Executive Director at Swiss Bank Corp (now UBS) in Corporate Finance specialising in M&A in the sports, media, entertainment and leisure sectors from 1991 until 1995. During his time at SBC he advised the FA Premier League on the sale of their first Broadcast rights to Sky in 1992. Thereafter he became involved in a number of reverse takeovers in the public arena. In August 1996 he acquired Leeds United FC and became chairman and chief executive of its parent company Leeds Sporting plc until September 1998.

In March 1999, Chris founded Sports Internet Group, an Aim-listed sports content and bookmaking group, for £25,000. It was sold in July 2000 to BSkyB plc for £301 million. In September 2000 Chris co-founded Sports Resource Group and shortly thereafter listed it on the AIM market. In December 2000 SRG acquired 3 businesses, Fast Track, International Sports Management and Wind Group. In 2001 SRG purchased IEC in Sports.

In 2002 he was voted UK’s Sports Entrepreneur of the Year at the Sports Industry Awards ahead of Bernie Ecclestone.

Chris was formerly a Director of Billion Dollar Lottery, Concha, Executive Sport, Extreme Sports Group, Fans All Star, InTechnology, I Feel Good, Ingenuity Digital, Mobile Tornado, Power Play Golf, Professional Squash Association, Sporting Index, Sports Cafe Holdings Sportsworld Media Group and Virtual Internet.

Mark Horrocks
Director

An experienced hands-on manager of large scale, non leveraged, main stream UK equity & convertible debt monies for 15 years with a FTSE 100 Insurance Group. This developed into a personal interest to structure & develop younger businesses over the last 10 years.

Working at board level as a non-executive director, encouraging and mentoring boards as they develop their growth strategies across many industries/activities including media, property, retail, leisure, financial services & the internet. Maintaining contacts in the UK quoted market and within the fund management, broking and advisory sectors, currently operate within a self-owned FCA regulated business, Intrinsic Capital LLP.

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