UP431 Gareth Balch on why Two Circles has bought KORE

Fresh from an excellent Leaders Summit at Twickenham, or should we say Allianz Stadium, is a conversation with Gareth Balch, founder and CEO of Two Circles agency about the agreement to buy KORE Software, a deal announced this week.Two Circles is buying the company from Serent Capital, the private equity firm that bought Kore in 2018. Earlier this year, Two Circles themselves sold a majority stake in their business to private equity firm Charterhouse Capital Partners, a transaction which valued the company at £250million. More recently, the company secured external investments from Otro Capital and David Blitzer’s Bolt Ventures.So, what have they bought, why and what does it mean, for Two Circles and for a sports industry seeking to predict the future shape of the agency sector.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.