Aegon becomes lead partner for British Tennis in £25m deal
 

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)has announced that leading life assurance and pensions company AEGON is to become the first ever Lead Partner of British Tennis following the launch of its new commercial programme in early summer this year. AEGON has signed a landmark five year deal that will run from 2009 through to 2013. The deal is rumoured to be worth £25m.

As the Lead Partner, AEGON will be involved in all aspects of the sport, including the parks and schools programmes and supporting key junior elite athletes, as well as holding naming rights to the international grass court events including the AEGON Championships (The Queen’s Club, London), the AEGON International (Devonshire Park, Eastbourne) and the AEGON Classic (Priory Club, Edgbaston). AEGON's role over the course of the sponsorship period will be central to the development of tennis, in a bid to help promote and build the sport across Britain. Focus The announcement follows a period of redefining the LTA’s assets and a relaunch of its commercial strategy in May 2008, which made it clear that the LTA was seeking a Lead Partner underpinned by Supporter and Supplier sponsors. The primary focus has been on the Lead Partner and now this is secure, further work will take place on the rest of the commercial programme. Investment AEGON UK's Chief Executive Otto Thoresen set out the company's goals for the new partnership thus: “British Tennis is at a breakthrough stage in its development and it is a very exciting time to be involved in the sport. AEGON is delighted to become the Lead Partner of British Tennis and our investment over the next five years will enable the sport to grow from grassroots level,   encouraging more young people to take up the sport, through to elite performance level, where we can support our leading athletes as they seek to make an impression on the world stage". "We see a number of similarities between British Tennis and AEGON as we look to take our UK business on to a new phase of growth. It’s a strong partnership and we’re looking forward to being a part of it". AEGON will play an integral part within the four pillars of the commercial programme that make up British Tennis. Community: primarily the parks and schools programmes Competition: including junior national and international tournaments Performance: including elite and matrix funded players Events: including the ATP, WTA and ITF tournaments. LTA Chief Executive Roger Draper underlined the importance of the partnership for British Tennis: “We are delighted that AEGON has joined us as the Lead Partner of British Tennis in what is a very exciting time for the sport", he said. "We are looking forward to developing a close working partnership with them over the coming years. "We share a joint desire to grow the sport at all levels from our major international events and supporting elite young players to improving facilities and access across the country and AEGON will play a vital role in this.”