THE BOAT RACE (TBR), one of the oldest and most iconic events in British sport, landed a new title sponsor this week with US bank BNY Mellon signing a five-year deal.
Reported in the November issue of the Sports Marketing Frontiers newsletter, The Boat Race Company (BRCL), which owns the rights to the event, was looking for a sponsor to pay between £1.5 and £2m per year.
Frontloaded can reveal that there was competitive interest in the property with two other "financial" companies coming close to finalising a deal, one of which reached the Heads of Terms stage.
Under the deal signed by BNY Mellon, the partnership with the Boat Race will consolidate UK investment firm Newton’s sponsorship of the openweight Women’s Boat Clubs.
Newton is a BNY Mellon company and will bring the Women’s Boat Race to the Thames in 2015 to race on the same day and the same course as the men’s race.
Frontloaded understands that the Women’s Boat Race requires significant funding. As a result, BNY Mellon's annual investment will be significantly higher than the yearly fee paid by The Boat Race’s incumbent title sponsor Xchanging, the back-office services group which signed a seven-year deal in 2005.
Key figures in the title sponsorship negotiations were Helena Morrissey, chief executive officer of Newton [part of BNY Mellon Asset Management], and Robert Gillespie, chairman of BRCL. David Searle and Rob Allen, the commercial representatives of the respective Boat Clubs on the TBR Board, were also integrally involved supported by Professional Sports Group and Matthew Pinsent.
Taking effect from May this year, the first race to carry BNY Mellon as the title sponsor, is scheduled for 2013.
Official commercial and category partnerships are likely to be announced in the coming weeks for 2012 and 2013.
Previous sponsors of the event include Ladbrokes, Beefeater and Aberdeen Angus Management.
By Matthew Glendinning
matthewg@sportbusiness.com