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Supporting parkrun’s acquisition of a community-built app
Download the PDFPro bono case study: Supporting parkrun’s acquisition of a community-built app
Pro bono case study: Supporting parkrun’s acquisition of a community-built app
Acquisition of a community-built app by a global health and fitness charity.
Pro bono legal support across multiple areas of law.
One digital stride for millions of participants.
Another client success story, supported by Addleshaw Goddard.
Our client, parkrun, is a London-based charity that organises free, weekly, timed events in parks and green spaces all over the UK and internationally for runners and walkers. They provide volunteer-led, non-competitive, and inclusive social events and communities. parkrun collects data from every event, including individual times, total runs/walks completed, volunteer statistics, and attendance figures. Participants receive personalised results after each event, with long-term tracking that helps them monitor progress and stay motivated.
These statistics are central to parkrun’s community engagement. Over time it became clear that the data was available only in an outdated format that made it difficult for parkrunners to access and interpret, despite being public.
In response, a dedicated parkrun participant, Michael Clayton, independently developed the ‘5k app’ which was designed to make parkrun data, achievements, and progress more accessible and engaging for the community.
The free 5k app became so popular with the community that parkrun approached Michael to acquire his creation and asked him to join the team at their headquarters in Richmond, London on a permanent basis to develop parkrun’s tech offering.
As a small charity by headcount (though large by engagement and reach), parkrun had never undertaken a project of this kind and reached out to us through our pro bono programme for legal guidance.
What happened
To kick off the work, Aster Crawshaw, a trustee at parkrun, invited the CEO of parkrun, Elizabeth Duggan, to meet our team in London. At this meeting, we discussed the term sheet outlining the structure and key legal considerations of the deal.
An unusual aspect of the transaction was that Michael was bothing selling the 5k app to parkrun and joining parkrun as an employee. This meant Michael and parkrun took a collaborative and transparent approach to the negotiations, working to find the right balance between protecting the charity and fairness to Michael. Getting this right was critical to ensuring the long term success of the deal.
Throughout the process, we supported parkrun in securing the appropriate legal protections while facilitating a friendly and equitable agreement with Michael.
In addition to the core asset purchase agreement, we mobilised expertise across Addleshaw Goddard to support parkrun more broadly. We leveraged specialists in Intellectual Property, Employment, Charities, Corporate Tax, and Data Protection. In total, 10 lawyers contributed to the deal which is hoped to be a key step in positioning parkrun for future expansion.
The outcome
The acquisition of the 5k app positions parkrun to significantly enhance how it manages and presents its event data. The app will deliver personalised, user-friendly experiences for the entire parkrun community. It will also improve the visibility of cancellations, streamline volunteer rostering, and make results more accessible across platforms – vital operational improvements in the context of parkrun’s growth journey.
Michael will officially join the parkrun team on 1st December 2025. In parallel with this investment in the app and digital infrastructure, parkrun is also welcoming a new User Researcher focused on community engagement, and a Product Manager to support Michael.
The app itself has unlocked a new level of expansion for parkrun and aligns perfectly with their international expansion strategy, most notably their most recent launch into New York.
It was a great experience to provide pro bono support to a unique charitable client with a deep significance to its participants. Being a small part of parkrun’s future success and contributing to a community that truly values its events was very rewarding. parkrun is something of an institution in my household, so I’m excited to see how the tech platform evolves in the future.
Key contacts
Alex Stevens
Managing Associate, Corporate Finance
London
London
Carly Gulliver
Partner, Corporate Finance
London, UK
London, UK
Emily Nuttall-Wood
Partner, Head of Luxury, Commercial Disputes
London
London
Sarah Harrop
Partner, Employment & Immigration
London
Pervinder Kaur
Partner, Private Capital
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Hayley Anderson
Managing Associate, Commercial
Leeds, UK
Leeds, UK
Jade Chan
Managing Associate, Tax & Structuring
Manchester
Manchester
Noura AlGoblan
Associate, Corporate Finance
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
About Pro Bono at AG
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