Media
With the advent of digital media and the ability to instantly publish to a worldwide audience, the media and entertainment industries are in a constant state of evolution and flux – and so too are the people and entities involved in those sectors. In such a rapidly moving environment, clients need lawyers who not only know and understand the law but who can respond to the demands of this fast paced environment.
Our media practice has for many years been central to our wider commercial practice and we advise a wide range of clients ranging from international corporates, to entrepreneurial companies of all sizes, to high profile individuals from the world of sport, film and music.
We advise our media clients on a broad array of matters ranging from the negotiation of multi-million pound sports, advertising and marketing contracts to matters such as protecting intellectual property rights and reputation protection. We also advise on matters relating to the use and development of new multimedia platforms, regulatory issues, licensing issues and much more.
Whether you’re a broadcaster, an advertiser or a media celebrity, we’ll make sure you’re always fully up to speed on the issues that affect you, your industry and your business. More importantly, we will deploy our expertise and industry knowledge to ensure that your rights and interests are properly protected.
Representative Media Work
Examples of our team’s media work include:
- Advised a household name in connection with the purchase of airtime and advertising space from ITV.
- Advised an international sports star in relation to injunctive proceedings to restrain a newspaper from publishing defamatory material.
- Advised a digital services company on its response to tender relating to the provision of on-screen graphics to a major broadcasting organisation, and subsequently advised on the related services agreement.
- Advised a technology service company on its tender response to re-fit a television network studio.
- Advised an international footballer in relation to a contract to write a weekly column for a national newspaper.
Key contacts:
Biography
As head of the firm’s corporate and commercial practice, David’s broad transactional experience includes acquisitions, disposals, take-overs and mergers, asset sales/purchases, joint ventures and company restructuring. He also advises clients on a range of corporate and commercial matters, including company/partnership formation, partnership/shareholders agreements and employment issues.
David has particular experience in the field of sport, acting amongst others for prospective purchasers of Premiership and Football League clubs in takeovers. He is also at the forefront of the development in England of the investment in and transfer of the economic rights of sportsmen and women.
For property investor clients, he has particular expertise in the disposal and acquisition of corporate and similar structures which assist in mitigating stamp duty land tax.
David was listed as a ‘leading individual’ in the Legal 500 2020 rankings. He was also listed as a recommended lawyer in the 2024 rankings.
Representative Experience
David has experience:
- Acting for investors in the economic rights of football players playing in the Premier League and the top divisions in other European Countries as well as in South America. Over the years, David has been involved in providing advice connected with the transfers, economic rights participation and/or playing rights of various Premier League and foreign based players including Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano, Jo, Gonzalo Higuain, Luis Fabiano and Heurelho Gomes to name but a few. More recently David has provided advice in relation to the following players: Paulhino (Tottenham) Willian (Chelsea), Oscar (Chelsea) and Carlos Tevez (Juventus).
- Advising on a £430 million acquisition of a mixture of offshore and onshore companies owning 180 petrol stations and advising on the sale thereof three years later.
- Acting on a series joint ventures for a leading UK celebrity magazine and newspaper publisher with a combined value in excess of £280m.
- Acting for the prospective purchasers in their takeover of a Premier League Football Club.
- Advising on the £166 million sale of a group of companies with an industrial portfolio.
- Acting on the acquisition and financing of 545 public houses, worth £163 million.
- Advising on the £25 million sale to a UK plc of a leading UK independent internet service provider.
- Advising the founders and owners of a high end chain of London coffee shops on the sale, earn out and rollover of the owners’ differing interests in the business to a well known industry leading private equity firm.
- Advising the owners of a mining public relations agency on the sale of the worldwide operations to a UK quoted company.
Testimonials
‘David Salisbury is extremely personable, has an acute commercial sense and instils every confidence that he will provide sound reasoned advice with his clients best interests and not there to score points with the other side.’
Legal 500
Year qualified
Solicitor, 1992
Career History
Partner, Teacher Stern
