5:16 pm, March 11, 2021
Vehicle leasing specialist Vanarama has signed a major deal worth up to £4m to extend its long-running title sponsorship of the National League for another three years.
The new arrangement is the biggest commercial deal in the football league’s history and will take Vanarama’s sponsorship, which began in 2014, to the end of the 2024/25 season.
Vanarama said the deal signalled its steadfast commitment to the league, its clubs and fans, plus the brand’s desire to support what it sees as the very heart and soul of the football community.
The Vanarama National League – which comprises three divisions – will also get increased live coverage on BT Sport over the three years, giving the company even more exposure for its vehicle leasing e-commerce platform.
Andy Alderson, Vanarama chief executive, said: ‘We’re delighted to continue our relationship with the National League.
‘We have a great affinity for this level of football as it really helped us accelerate the growth of our commercial van leasing business back in 2014.
‘Now in 2021, having just launched our new brand campaign, we’re breathing a new lease of life into our sector.
‘As we undergo huge growth across our personal car leasing business, we wanted to show our commitment to do the same for grassroots football.
‘The clubs and communities at this level have gone through very hard times, so we hope that our investment will offer some stability and hope as we all work through the Covid pandemic together.’
Alderson started Vanarama in 2004 after spending some time in used car sales, switching the business fully to being a leasing broker in 2007.
He’s stayed with the Vanarama name even though he sells just as many cars these days, and it’s grown to become a hugely successful company – in 2019, it turned over £85m, up from £71m in 2018, and if Covid hadn’t happened, last year would have been better than 2019.
Last autumn, Alderson spoke to Car Dealer about why car dealers needed to focus on making online sales work.
National League chairman Brian Barwick said: ‘We are delighted to continue our title sponsorship with Vanarama and thank them for their steadfast support during the past 12 months.
‘This enhanced arrangement will take our partnership up to 11 years. That speaks volumes about the confidence we both have in each other.
‘The National League has found a great organisation to work with and we are pleased Vanarama find the relationship to be equally rewarding. We all look forward to four more years growing our unique partnership.’
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