Nationalisation of Northern Rock - Nationalisation - Sponsorship

Sponsorship

See also: Northern Rock Sponsorship

It was confirmed on 20 May 2008 that Northern Rock would continue to sponsor both Newcastle United and the Newcastle Falcons, the former due to the long-term agreement between them and the club. Chief Executive Ron Sandler was quoted as saying:

"We have already ended a number of sponsorships that I inherited... but we have chosen to continue the sponsorship of Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons, partly because of commitments we have entered into there - sometimes sponsorships continue until they come to a contractual end - and partly because I believe it is in the commercial interest of the bank that we should continue with both of these."

In 2007, almost three weeks before the bank had to appeal to the Bank of England for an emergency loan, the bank bought the home ground of Newcastle Falcons Rugby Club, Kingston Park stadium for £15 million. In February 2008, documents relating to the sale came to light, attracting much criticism that the purchase has been made at a time of impending crisis. In late 2008 the bank sold Kingston Park stadium to Northumbria University for an undisclosed fee.

On 18 January 2010 Northern Rock announced that they had signed a new 4 year sponsorship deal with Newcastle United, worth between £1.5 million and £10 million, starting from the 2010/11 season. The sponsorship agreement with the Newcastle Falcons came to an end before the start of the 2010/11 season.

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