July 18 – Premier League Manchester United, about to embark on a money-making tour to China with their big spending manager Jose Mourinho, have announced a partnership with Virgin Money who will become the club’s Official Retail Financial Services Partner in the UK.
The four-year agreement will start with the 2016/17 season. No figure has been put on the value of the partnership.
Virgin Money has 3 million UK customers. Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Money said: “This new partnership enables us to combine Virgin Money’s excellent financial products and customer service with the reach of Manchester United, one of the biggest football clubs in the world.
“We’re going to create some very special products and exclusive offers designed especially for fans, with real rewards that money can’t buy. We’ll be launching those soon.”
Manchester United boasts a global community of 659 million followers. The bulk of those followers will be unattainable to Virgin who are only licensed to operate in the UK. But the UK fan base is still significant in the UK though in reality probably close to the 3 million customer base Virgin Money already holds.
Manchester United Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold said: “This exciting partnership brings together for the first time two iconic brands; two industry leaders who have a reputation as innovators in their fields. I have every confidence the values we share will make this partnership a great success, above all for our loyal fans who will soon be introduced to a range of products that will bring them even closer to the club they support.” Or in further debt to the club’s partner they support.
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