Barclays to alter name of Premiership sponsorship
Barclays Bank is poised to transfer Barclaycard’s £48m Premier League football sponsorship into its own name when the existing deal ends this season.
The bank is in negotiations with the Premier League about extending the three-year deal, which expires at the end of the current season. Industry sources say the bank now considers the promotion of its core brand name to be more important than Barclaycard.
A Barclays spokesman confirms the bank is considering changing the naming of the deal next year. He says: “We have always said the sponsorship is a long-term investment. We are looking at renewal terms, but whether it is as Barclays or Barclaycard remains to be seen.”
An industry insider says the bank considers the Barclaycard sponsorship to have been a success, but that it wants to change the emphasis to give the overall Barclays name a greater global significance.
He adds: “The Premiership is shown around the world, which gives Barclays a great opportunity to spread its core brand name very widely.”
The decision to extend the sponsorship agreement will be made by Barclaycard sponsorship director Nic Gault, who has taken over responsibility for wider Barclays deals since the departure of head of sponsorship Andrew Dufty (MW July 10). Barclays is understood to be considering merging the two positions.
