Insurance, investment and pensions group LV= has announced its sponsorship of the new Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, which is due to open its doors to the public in 2012.

The Bournemouth-based friendly society has signed up to sponsor the high profile visitor attraction for five years from its opening (to the end of 2016), and has also committed to support the project over the next two years as the new museum moves towards completion.

As one of this country’s most important heritage projects, £35 million will be spent on the final conservation phase of the legendary Tudor warship’s hull and the building of this permanent, state of the art museum in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. By offering the public a highly personal and interactive experience of the Mary Rose and its history, the museum expects to attract around half a million UK and international visitors each year.

David Radford, LV= Group Marketing Director, said: "Our purpose is to help members and customers look after what they love in life, and this sponsorship provides an ideal fit with this approach. As a fast-growing south coast employer we value the importance of protecting our heritage whilst supporting a state-of-the-art project and we’re proud to support the new Mary Rose Museum".

Rear Admiral John Lippiett, Chief Executive of the Mary Rose Trust, commented: "We are delighted to have LV= on-board as a major sponsor of the Mary Rose Museum. We have a unique opportunity to launch a world-class museum and to preserve for future generations this extraordinary ship and all her treasures. Soon people all over the UK, and indeed the world, will have chance to see the Mary Rose reunited with her artefact collection, up close and providing a remarkable and personal insight into life 500 years ago".

The sponsorship is the latest in a range of LV= hands-on initiatives to support Bournemouth and the surrounding south coast region, including:

  •  The long-running LV= KidZone child safety initiative, which last year alone helped reunite 182 lost children with their families when they became separated on Bournemouth's beaches.

  •  The award-winning LV=Streetwise interactive education centre, visited in 2009 by 13,000 children to learn how to stay safe in real life street, transport and home situations.

  •   The Kiss It Better appeal via which last year LV= raised £90,000 for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital through a series of events.

David Radford continued: "All these initiatives strongly involve our focus to help protect children and their future and we are proud of LV=’s contributions to our local community through sponsorship and employee volunteering. We are also expanding our activities in 2010 and becoming part of the Government-sponsored CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions".

Katie Shephard, spokesperson for Brake, said: "Brake is delighted that QBE has decided to become a headline sponsor for Road Safety Week in 2010. Shockingly, every day in Britain ten children and young people are killed or seriously injured while on foot and bicycles. Thanks to QBE’s support, companies and communities across the UK can get involved in Road Safety Week, and together we can make a difference to save innocent lives".

Matthew Crane, Managing Director of Motor at QBE European Operations, said: "QBE has been a Corporate Sponsor of Brake for some time and the opportunity to expand on this successful partnership by supporting Road Safety Week was seen as a natural progression of our commitment to promoting all forms of road safety".

QBE insures in excess of 250,000 fleet vehicles in the UK, spanning general car, and bus, coach and minibus fleets to emergency services and haulage fleets.

Last summer ESRI (UK) responded to the curriculum changes, launching its GIS for Schools Programme which offers GIS software specially designed for schools and a wealth of resources. In an online resource centre teachers can watch video tutorials and download step by step lesson plans on topics ranging from tracking hurricanes to the spread of swine flu.

"We are delighted and honoured to be working with the GA in this groundbreaking partnership", said Dr Richard Waite, Managing Director, ESRI (UK). "We believe passionately that GIS brings a new dimension to the teaching of geography, giving students both a deeper understanding of their subject and skills they can take into the workplace. More than 120 schools have now signed up to our GIS for Schools Programme. Working with the GA and its members we can build on this success over the next three years, encouraging more schools to use GIS and creating a community of teachers who will share their knowledge of GIS, their enthusiasm and their resources".

Professor David Lambert, Chief Executive of the GA, commented: "The GA looks forward to embarking on this strategic partnership with such a significant and influential company as ESRI (UK). With 6,000 members we reach into most secondary schools in England - and a good many primary schools - with support and guidance for teachers of geography.

"Driven by our charitable mission, to further geographical knowledge and understanding through education, we are passionate about the role of geography in schools and its engagement of young people to become informed and capable citizens. GIS can add enormous value to geography lessons and we are keen to encourage teachers to integrate it appropriately into their creative 'curriculum making'".

The first milestone of this partnership will be the GA's Annual Conference at the University of Derby, from 8th to 10th April. In the public lecture preceding the conference, Dr Waite will explore what GIS means for teachers and students, explaining why GI skills are becoming increasingly important in the workplace, how GIS can enhance the teaching of a broad range of subjects and how geography teachers can lead the way.

London 2012 Commercial Director Chris Townsend commented: "I'm thrilled that another fantastic British brand has joined us on our journey to 2012. Next is a great brand and I'm confident Next will create a great look for the athletes, officials and staff as well as helping us to make London 2012 product available across the country. We welcome them aboard".

Christos Angelides, Executive Director, Next Plc, was equally upbeat: "The London 2012 Games is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We are excited at the prospect of working with the BOA, BPA and LOCOG Team. We are all proud of the British athletes and look forward to helping in a small way to make them look great at the Olympic and Paralympic Ceremonies.

"As the official clothing and homeware licensee we look forward to providing our customers with exclusive access to a range of clothing and homeware that reflects the excitement and atmosphere of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games".

Next’s partnership with London 2012 begins with immediate effect.

Commenting on the agreement, Panasonic UK Advertising and Sponsorship Manager, David Bonney, said: "We are delighted to be working with LOCOG and the UK Film Council to engage young people in the craft of film making. These youngsters will be able to use the latest Panasonic consumer and broadcast camcorders to create a broad range of films, including Olympic-inspired ones, in the lead up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"We are looking forward to helping to identify new film making talent and seeing these short films recognised through regional and national competitions.”

Ruth Mackenzie, Director, London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, commented on the partnership: "Film is the leading language of innovation and inspiration round the world, and it is brilliant to have a world leading partner, Panasonic, to help us with the film programme for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"Panasonic is known worldwide for their quality and their innovation – most recently demonstrated with their pioneering work on 3D, with their recent support of the Oscar nominated Avatar the latest example of their amazing work. With Panasonic as our partner, I am confident we can inspire a new generation of film makers and excite audiences of all ages".

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"Like us, npower recognise the extraordinary attachment that Football League clubs have with people living in their local communities. This agreement will provide real benefit to those people".

As part of the new agreement, each of The League's seventy-two clubs will receive a grant from the npower charity fund for a bespoke community initiative in their local area. Fans will also be rewarded for switching their gas and/or electricity supply to npower.

npower will also become the new title sponsor of The Football League Community Cup, the annual six-a-side competitions for teams of mixed Under-11s and Under-13 girls played in towns and cities throughout the country, culminating in finals played at Wembley Stadium before the end of season npower Play-Off Finals.

Volker Beckers, Chief Executive Officer of RWE npower said: "We're absolutely delighted to be partnering The Football League. We share the enthusiasm of the fans that get behind their local teams and, like npower, football has always placed great emphasis on community involvement. We are committing a substantial amount to assist community initiatives at each of the seventy-two clubs through a Charity Fund administered by both npower and The Football League.

"npower is an evolving brand, moving from simply supplying electricity and gas to providing our customers with a whole home solution. Our sponsorship of The Football League will provide us with a cost-effective means of raising awareness of the range of services we now offer customers, such as npower hometeam, our boiler servicing and installation division. It’s also a perfect platform for putting something back into the community through sport in the UK".

Mark Arthur, Chief Executive of Nottingham Forest FC, is also very pleased to have reached an agreement to extend the current sponsorship deal. He commented: "We are proud of our record of forging strong associations with our principle sponsors and delivering success for them. And we are delighted Victor Chandler has agreed to extend the sponsorship agreement for a further two years".

Victor Chandler is hoping Forest gain promotion to the Premier League, although not as Champions, as this would cost Chandler in the region of £6m following his pre-season promotion pledge to season ticket holders to pay for next season's renewals should they win the league.

Viv Anderson, Forest legend and now Victor Chandler's football ambassador commented: "Victor thought he was offering a safe bet at the start of the season but the turnaround with Forest has been amazing. Billy Davies has built a tough, well organised side and even if they miss out on automatic promotion they will enter the play-offs as strong favourites to be promoted".

"dgm is delighted to be partnering with JD Williams as co-sponsors of this year's Awards", said Carl Davis, dgm's CEO. "We are both very pleased to be associated with this prestigious event that celebrates and rewards the high standard of work we all do as an industry. As a network we also champion innovation, so we are pleased to be able to sponsor the Best New Entrant category".

Dominic Smith, E Business Development Manager at J D Williams commented: "JD Williams is proud to co-sponsor this year's A4U Awards with DGM, who have been helping us improve and deliver the affiliate program over the last three years. With affiliates delivering increasingly more online sales, it is important to be associated with an event which celebrates their contribution".

The A4U Awards will take place on the 9th June, 2010 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, Mayfair.

Colin Hendry, former Scotland captain and ambassador for the MARS brand, said: "There is a growing optimism around the national team and its fans and we want to embrace and harness this for a number of reasons. Not only do we want to get people playing football but we also want to get the whole nation behind Craig Levein and his squad".

Fiona Dawson, managing director of MARS Chocolate UK, added: "This is the single biggest announcement the MARS brand has ever made in Scotland. We're huge football fans ourselves so we can't wait to start working with the Scottish FA on some exciting new initiatives. MARS is committed to encouraging its consumers to lead a healthy, active lifestyle so partnering with the Scottish FA to inspire adults to play football gives us the perfect opportunity to do this. We are extremely proud to support the Scotland national team in their quest to reach Ukraine and Poland in 2012".

The partnership with The Scottish FA is seen as part of MARS expanding commitment to football in the UK.

Motul will be using their partnership with the LBVCR to promote their premium and classic oil products to period motoring enthusiasts, owners and collectors, highlighting the importance of lubricants.

Motul Managing Director Herve Amelot said: "We are delighted to be joining the world famous London to Brighton Veteran Car, which we see as a great opportunity to promote Motul within the historic scene and showcase our long motoring history. We are involved in many events around the world from MotoGP to Le Mans and are pleased to add this important event to our partnerships".

Gareth Burnett, Managing Director of Pace Products, Motul's UK distributor added: "We know that London to Brighton Veteran Car Run participants are passionate about the event and their cars. We look forward to introducing Motul to them and promoting the role of lubricants in all ages of vehicles".

LBVCR Event Director Roger Etcell said: "We are extremely pleased to have Motul joining us on the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. Motul is well known for its excellent motorsport products. Interestingly we have several pre-1905 racers on the run each year, recent entrants being a Napier and Peerless, both from 1904, which show motor racing was as important to car development then as it is today".

Homing in on players' routines and the work that goes on before a game, Nivea For Men have adopted the concept of "Preparation is everything" to communicate the benefits of looking after your skin with a care regime.

Beiersdorf Managing Director, Ralph Gusko, said of the announcement: "We are very proud to be the Official Men’s Grooming Supplier to the England football team as everyone in the country will be watching these players in South Africa. While only one in five men claim to moisturise everyday, this association with the England football team aims to make male grooming more accessible. We know, preparation is everything - on the football pitch or at the bathroom. We wish the England team all the luck in the world now and in the future!"

The FA’s Head of Sponsorship Peter Daire, added: "Nivea For Men is a quality brand with a football pedigree. Their deal with us takes this to a new level and a direct association with a premium property like England is well suited to their ambitions. We welcome them on board as a long term partner".