Manchester United bring in Swissquote as forex trading sponsor
26/01/2015 14:15
MANCHESTER, England, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Manchester United
MANU.N have signed a deal to make Swissquote their global
forex and online financial trading sponsor, the latest of a
series of commercial deals agreed by the English Premier League
soccer club.
United did not give a value for the deal, the club's first
in the sector, but said on Monday it was a multi-year agreement.
The partnership is the latest struck by United, whose
ability to grow revenues off the pitch has made them the second
richest club in the world behind Spain's Real Madrid, despite a
big downturn in their playing fortunes. ID:nL6N0V01GV
Once indomitable in the Premier League, the Old Trafford
club has endured a tricky transition following the retirement of
manager Alex Ferguson in 2013, finishing seventh last season and
missing out on a place in the lucrative Champions League. This
season the club sit fourth in the 20-team League.
Swissquote is a Geneva-based online trading company that
allows retail investors to buy and sell foreign exchange,
equities, bonds and other asset classes.
Like other retail FX brokers, the Swiss-listed firm was left
with heavy losses on the Swiss franc after Switzerland's central
bank stunned markets this month by abandoning its cap on the
currency, driving up the franc's value by as much as 40 percent
in the minutes that followed the shock decision.
The abrupt move put rival and West Ham United shirt sponsor
Alpari UK into administration. Swissquote was forced to book a
25 million Swiss francs ($28 million) provision for its clients
who were left out of pocket following the franc's surge.
ID:nL6N0UV0DP ID:nL6N0UV1DI
($1 = 0.8910 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Andrew Winterbottom in Manchester, Neil Maidment
and Jemima Kelly in London; editing by Keith Weir)
((neil.maidment@thomsonreuters.com; +44)(0)(207 542 2292;
Reuters Messaging:
neil.maidment.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: MANCHESTER UNITED SWISSQUOTE/