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General Sports and Entertainment Acquires Derby County Football Club of the English Premier League

Rochester, MI — (January 28, 2008)
General Sports and Entertainment, LLC (GSE) is announcing today that it has completed the acquisition of the Derby County Football Club, an English Premier League football (soccer) club based at Pride Park Stadium in Derby, England. GSE leads an international investment group that has acquired the Derby County Rams, and GSE will oversee management of the club on behalf of the investment group. Derby County is one of the oldest established clubs in world soccer. Formed in 1884, the Rams were one of the founding members of the English Football League in 1888 and have twice won the League Championship honour currently held by Manchester United. GSE aims to establish the Rams as a global brand and a Premier League force of the future.

GSE, based in Rochester, Michigan, was founded in 1998 by Chairman Andy Appleby, 45, who is a former Senior Vice President of the Detroit Pistons and Palace Sports & Entertainment. Appleby, who represents the GSE ownership group, said: "We are excited about the opportunity to make a significant impact at Derby County with our collective sports industry knowledge of best practices in management, sales and marketing. We have visited Derby County over the last six months and experienced a match day at Pride Park Stadium, where we were impressed with the incredible potential of the club and the loyalty of the fan-base."

Current Derby County Chairman Adam Pearson made it clear that the investment in the club by GSE was in the form of cash, not debt, and that the financial future of the club is now solidified.

"This is a significant day in the history of this club," said Pearson, "and the takeover adds new financial firepower, underpinning a long term plan to establish Derby County as a major player in the Premier League and as an international club brand. The long-term aim is to establish the Derby County brand worldwide through successful alliances with sporting teams in the United States, Far East and other continents. The immediate aim though is to continue to build the infrastructure of the club at Pride Park and obviously develop a squad, which over the coming seasons is renowned as a Premier League force. The turnaround in the fortunes of Aston Villa, with their American investment in squad and club infrastructure, is a key model we would like to emulate over the coming seasons."

The club's new Board will include Appleby, Pearson and Tom Glick, who will be joining the club soon as new President and Chief Executive Officer. Pearson will remain with the Club as Chairman of Football Operations, together with current Finance Director and Company Secretary Martin Ridgeway, Operations Director John Vicars and Commercial Director Perry Deakin. Glick, 39, an experienced sports management professional, is relocating from the United States. Glick is part of the General Sports organization and most recently was Chief Marketing Officer for the New Jersey Nets of the NBA. Glick will be joined in Derby by another member of the General Sports organization, Tim Hinchey, who will be joining the club soon as an Executive Vice President. Hinchey most recently served as a Vice President with the Charlotte Bobcats of the NBA.

Don Amott and Peter Gadsby, members of the previous ownership group, will be reappointed as non-executive directors of the club, representing an important continuation in terms of the history of the club and the local Derby community.

Pearson added: "On behalf of everyone at Derby County and the supporters of the club, I want to thank the shareholders for their approval of the GSE arrangement. The achievements of the former Board, led by Peter Gadsby, in rescuing this club from financial difficulty cannot be under-estimated and will never be forgotten."

On a forward-going basis, GSE will be managing the investment of members of the international consortium they have brought together for the acquisition, but crucially will also bring their business expertise to the management of Derby County. Appleby said: "We have a company philosophy that we like to call 'The GSE Difference'. It is the standard of excellence that we expect and demand in the service that we provide to all our clients, and that standard of excellence carries through to every aspect of our business. Everything we do is held to the highest standards of first-class operation and professionalism."

ABOUT GENERAL SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
General Sports and Entertainment, LLC (GSE), based in Rochester, Michigan, was founded in 1998 by Andrew D. Appleby, former Senior Vice President of the Detroit Pistons and Palace Sports & Entertainment. GSE is one of the premier sports marketing and sports management companies in North America. GSE operates business divisions that include team acquisition and management, corporate consulting, executive placement, and hospitality and event management. In 2006, GSE launched General Sports Alliances, LLC, a subsidiary that focuses on naming rights and sponsorship sales and consulting services. In 2003, GSE founded General Sports Venue, LLC, an affiliated synthetic turf company that has the exclusive licensing rights to the AstroTurf(R) brand in the United States. GSE also created and operates the Sports Executive Leadership Conference - the premier annual leadership conference for the global sports industry. In 2000, GSE established the General Sports Foundation, a Michigan 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that operates The Suite Dreams Project (R), a charity that creates healing spaces for chronically ill children.

ABOUT DERBY COUNTY FOOTBALL CLUB
The Derby County Football Club is one of the oldest established clubs in world soccer. Formed in 1884, the Rams were one of the founding members of the English Football League in 1888 and have twice won the League Championship honour currently held by Manchester United. The Rams can boast soccer's first superstar, Steve Bloomer, who played for Derby County from 1892. The David Beckham of his day was captain of England and his club record of 332 goals stands to this day. His impact on the game is measured by the fact that Rams fans still sing the club anthem "Steve Bloomer's Watching" before every home game - 95 years after he last played for the Rams!

Derby County were the first post-World War II FA Cup winners at Wembley Stadium and, with the legendary Brian Clough as manager, won their first League Championship in 1971/72, besting the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal. The Rams repeated the League Championship feat in 1974/75 and the following season beat mighty Real Madrid 4-1 in a European Cup (now Champions League) round at the Baseball Ground, the club's former stadium site, which was known as one of English soccer's true theatres. Derby left the Baseball Ground, their home for 100 years, in 1997, moving to the new Pride Park Stadium, a purpose-built facility so well respected that it has hosted a full England international game and has broken the domestic record attendance for England U21 internationals three times. In 1999, the club visited the United States on a pre-season tour, playing against Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire at Soldier Field and against the United States national team at Mile High Stadium in Denver. The Rams currently have two American international players on their roster - Eddie Lewis and Benny Feilhaber.

For More Information, Please Contact:

Dana L. Schmitt
Chief Operating Officer
General Sports and Entertainment, LLC
400 Water Street, Suite 250
Rochester, MI 48307
Tel/248.601.2200 ext. 116