BUSINESS OPERATIONS

With a number of sponsorships due for renewal after the Rugby World Cup, revenue has continued to hold up thanks to our excellent relationship with current sponsors and broadcasters.

Our partnership with Sky Sports continues to develop and to give fans excellent coverage while providing significant revenue for the entire game. This was demonstrated by their commitment to the Barclays Churchill Cup in England this year, when they provided coverage of all nine matches from grounds ranging from Exeter to Sale, via Henley and Northampton and through to the finals at Twickenham. The existing Sky contract remains in place until 2010.

The BBC took over the broadcasting rights for the Emirates London Sevens at Twickenham in May, which also gave them the right to bring the IRB Sevens Series from around the world to British fans.

Lehman Brothers came on board during the year and enjoyed a very successful first Varsity Match last December. Based upon the success of the Lehman Brothers Varsity Match in 2006, the company has extended the agreement to sponsor this event for a further four years, until 2010. For the first time this sponsorship also includes the women’s Varsity Match. The date for Twickenham’s Lehman Brothers Varsity Match has been adjusted this year to Thursday, 6 December with a 4pm kick off in line with customer demand. This will also allow the crowd to watch the U20s game after lunch and prior to the main match. It also means that bars will be open after the Varsity Match for the first time.

Greene King IPA became the official beer of England Rugby last autumn, with their own pub ‘The Rose & Crown’ in the West

Car Park on match days, offering fans cask conditioned ale and a real rugby pub atmosphere. As part of their agreement the company is investing in the bar infrastructure of Twickenham Stadium by upgrading equipment and installing state of the art pouring equipment to enable more fans to be served more quickly. This means that we are already serving three times more beer than anticipated but we are still not meeting the demand – we have more work to do!

Vanco, the pioneering global virtual network operator, has signed a six-year agreement with the RFU to become the Official Network Services Partner of England Rugby and the RFU. The Business Club – the premier corporate debenture facilities in Twickenham Stadium’s South Stand – will be known as ‘The Vanco Business Club’ and Vanco will also review the network services provided to the RFU and advise on any major rugby projects that may arise during the length of the deal.

We have also launched a major new initiative aimed at consumers spending their ‘rugby pound’. The Invest in Rugby Mark is in the tradition of other flagship consumer conscience brands, including Fairtrade, and aims to change buying behaviours by informing the public where the proceeds of their purchases go. The Invest in Rugby Mark is the first sportsspecific brand of its kind. Fans who buy anything with the Invest In Rugby Mark will be assured that all the profit will go back into the game in England.