2019 challenges

What were the key highlights for Lagardère Sports and Entertainment in 2018?

2018 saw a number of successes take place across our business. In April, Lagardère Sports provided several services including sponsorship, hospitality and broadcast rights sales at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games as well as signing a record number of sponsors.

Our Lagardère Plus team also successfully managed on-the-ground and online campaigns for Hisense, an official sponsor of the 2018 FIFA World Cup^TM. The Hisense "See the Incredible Tour" saw the team build a social movement and constant stream of video content following the excitement of the FIFA World Cup.

In addition to this, 2018 saw us renew key contracts in European football with the extension of our collaboration with Borussia Dortmund until 2026. We also became the media distribution partner for the International Handball Federation (IHF) covering men's and women's World Championships until 2025.

Furthermore, our global sponsorship sales organisations delivered a stellar performance, especially regarding cross border sales, connecting even more brands and rights holders across Europe, Asia and the United States of America.

What are your challenges and priorities for 2019?

At the end of 2018, the Lagardère group confirmed that it had begun the disposal process for Lagardère Sports and Lagardère Plus. In doing so, the Lagardère group has confirmed that the Lagardère Sports and Lagardère Plus businesses are to be sold as a whole, with the exception of Lagardère Live Entertainment, Lagardère Paris Racing and Saddlebrook. In the meantime, we will continue to operate as normal until a commercial offer is received which is acceptable to the Group.

2019 will be a big year for us and one of the most profitable and peak years in the history of our organisation starting with the Asian Cup which launched in January, and the Total Africa Cup of Nations taking place for the first time in June.

Overall, as our business continues to grow, we are well placed within the market and are recognised for our capability to maximise value for clients through our broad local and global expertise. We continue to cement our position within the sports and entertainment industry and expect 2019 to be an exceptional year for the company.