Sponsorship
Virgin Money leads the sponsorship of the London Marathon. Virgin Money also lent its name to the yacht that Sir Richard Branson used to attempt to break the transatlantic record. Northern Rock also has a number of sponsorship deals. In 2011 Virgin Money sponsored events at the Edinburgh Festival.
Virgin Money are the shirt sponsor of Newcastle United F.C. for the 2012–13 season, a club that had a sponsorship deal with Northern Rock until the purchase by Virgin. Newcastle United's shirts also displayed the Virgin Money logo for the remainder of the 2011–12 season, fulfilling Northern Rock's current deal. Northern Rock had been sponsoring Newcastle United since 2003. To coincide with the launch of Virgin Money's rebranded stores, Richard Branson appeared in Newcastle, wearing a Newcastle United shirt, with a number of Newcastle United's footballers. The deal between Virgin Money and Newcastle United had also covered the 2012–13 season, but the club decided to end the deal a year early.
Virgin Money are the title sponsor the Cyclone, the UK's biggest cycling festival, which had previously also been sponsored by Northern Rock. The first Virgin Money Cyclone will be held in Summer 2012.
Read more about this topic: Virgin Money