Rugby Football Union - RFU signs new five year deals with Official Licensed Hospitality Operators

RFU signs new five year deals with Official Licensed Hospitality Operators

by RFU Press Office


	Business Operations Director Paul Vaughan photo by RFU Press

13th February 2008

The Rugby Football Union has renewed its Official Hospitality Licensed Operators Scheme, first launched in 2003 for a further five years.

There are two renewals with Events International, who will be based at the Orchard Enclosure and Kneller Hall sites and Mike Burton Hospitality who will operate from Chase Bridge School.

The four new deals are with the National Sporting Club (Cardinal Vaughan playing fields site), Event Masters (Richmond College), Lucid (Cole Court) and Tiger Events (Kneller Hall).

The RFU Official Hospitality Licensed Operators Scheme was launched with the aim of reducing the black market in international tickets by restricting who the RFU member clubs could sell their tickets to. By allowing all 2,000 RFU member clubs to re-sell their ticket allocations for test matches at Twickenham solely to the Licensed Operators for prices higher than the face value, it meant that a proportion of revenues from the sale of corporate hospitality packages incorporating these tickets would remain within the game. The RFU would also receive a royalty from the Scheme which was then used for funding player insurance in all clubs.

Business Operations Director, Paul Vaughan said, "In anticipation of the current deal ending at the end of this season we held a thorough review and tendering process for the new five year agreements starting last summer.

"Seventeen companies applied for the invitation to tender of which 12 formerly applied to become an official agent, which underlines the demand for Official hospitality in the premium entertainment market.

"All of the new agreements are for off site official hospitality. The only Official Hospitality provider on site continues to be Twickenham Experience Limited."

In addition to the new five year agreements, the RFU has also confirmed that a new ‘Club Enclosure’ will be available at Kneller Hall to member clubs to entertain their members and sponsors. A donation of £5 per head from the 500 capacity facility will be donated to the RFU Charitable Trust.

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