The merry-go-round in the sportswear sector is in full swing as iconic football kit manufacturer Umbro loses its general counsel to Reebok.
Katherine Roseveare, Umbro’s sole in-house lawyer, is leaving the UK-listed company to join Reebok as European general counsel. Roseveare will be replacing Sarah Eaton-Stewart, who is returning to the US to become Reebok’s chief marketing lawyer when she returns from maternity football team, outsources virtually all of its legal work to Lovells. Umbro was floated last May by private equity house Doughty Hanson, which stills owns a 33 per cent stake in the company.
leave.
Roseveare will be based at Reebok’s new European headquarters in Bolton and will be charged with building the company’s UK-based legal function from scratch. Eaton-Stewart was based in Rotterdam.
Macfarlanes, which has a longstanding relationship with Reebok, handles the lion’s share of the company’s work. Additionally, Reebok outsources IP and enforcement work to Simmons & Simmons.
Meanwhile, Umbro, which makes football kits for the England
Umbro is in the process of appointing a successor for Roseveare, who is currently working out her notice.
Umbro did not return calls for comment. Roseveare and Eaton-Stewart were unavailable for comment.
