London Irish seeks sponsor after Llanera goes bust
London Irish Rugby Union Club, is being forced to find a new sponsor after Spanish property company Llanera went out of business. It comes just weeks after football club Charlton Athletic was also forced to axe its deal with the company (MW last week).
The Guinness Premiership club signed a £2m threeyear contract with Llanera in July 2006, but both parties are understood to have agreed to end the deal at the end of this season, after two years.
According to a source at the club, it is talking to “a few companies” and is planning to make a decision in the next couple of months. It hoped to have a new sponsor in place for the start of the 2008/09 rugby union season.
London Irish, also known as The Exiles, is not a geographically focused club. It has roots in west London, but plays in the Thames Valley at Premier League football club Reading’s Madejski Stadium. Its Irish connection, location and London roots should provide a potential sponsor with access to a wide supporter base.
Llanera filed for insolvency in October after its plans for a development project, targeting ex-patriots in Murcia in Costa Blanca, collapsed. It signed deals with Charlton and London Irish in a bid to raise awareness of the development with people across the south of the country.