Northampton Saints Continues Longest Shirt Sponsorship Deal in Elite Sport

English Rugby Union club Northampton Saints have announced that main sponsor Travis Perkins has extended its sponsorship with the club for a further four years until at least 2016.

The deal cements the relationship as the longest between a club and main shirt sponsor in elite sport in the UK.

Travis Perkins became the Saints’ main sponsor in 2002. However the relationship between club, Travis Perkins, its predecessor Travis and Arnold, and the Travis family as a whole stretches back over 90 years.

As club president in the early 1920s, and as a director of Franklin’s Gardens Sports and Pleasure Co Ltd, Ernest Travis was instrumental in establishing the legacy of the Saints’ home ground being the best rugby facility in the country. Then in the 1940s and onwards Travis and Arnold was one of the club’s main advertisers in its match programmes.

And now, as one of the UK’s leading companies in the builders’ merchant and home improvement markets, Travis Perkins – also one of Northampton’s main employers – has wholeheartedly continued its commitment to the Saints, from National League One all the way to the Heineken Cup final.

Saints chief executive Allan Robson welcomed Travis Perkins’ decision to renew their position as main club sponsor.

“The Saints and Travis Perkins have had a relationship for a very long time and the two brands are almost synonymous with each other,” he said. “Having a bond like this is not just good for the Saints and Travis Perkins; it is good for Northampton as a whole.

“We are proud to represent the town on the highest stage of English and European rugby and also to carry the name of a Northampton-based company which is also the leading light nationally in its sector.

“Travis Perkins has supported us through good and bad times and their commitment during the dark days that came with our relegation was instrumental in both ensuring stability and in laying the foundations for the successes that have followed.

“Everyone at Franklin’s Gardens is delighted that Travis Perkins will remain as our main sponsor for the next four years, and we’re looking forward to this affiliation continuing long after 2016.”

Travis Perkins’ deputy chief executive officer John Carter says that the company had no hesitation in signing the new sponsorship deal.

“At Travis Perkins we are delighted to be renewing our position as Northampton Saints’ main club sponsor,” he said. “They have worn our name on the front of their shirts with distinction during the past decade, especially over the past few years when they have been bringing silverware to the people of Northampton.

“Since 2002 we have developed an outstanding relationship at all levels with the Saints that has benefitted both parties and we are looking forward to our winning combination continuing over the next four years.”