The LTA today announced that leading life assurance and pensions company AEGON is to become the first ever Lead Partner of British Tennis following the launch of the new commercial programme in early summer this year. AEGON has signed a landmark five year deal that will run from 2009 through to 2013.

As the Lead Partner, AEGON will be involved in all aspects of the sport including the parks and schools programmes, supporting key junior elite athletes, as well as holding naming rights to the international grass court events including the AEGON Championships (The Queen’s Club, London), the AEGON International (Devonshire Park, Eastbourne), and the AEGON Classic (Priory Club, Edgbaston). AEGON will be involved in all aspects of the development of the sport making it a true partnership that will help promote and build the sport of tennis across Britain.

AEGON UK Chief Executive Otto Thoresen said:

“British Tennis is at a breakthrough stage in its development and it is a very exciting time to be involved in the sport. AEGON is delighted to become the Lead Partner of British Tennis and our investment over the next five years will enable the sport to grow from grassroots level, encouraging more young people to take up the sport, through to elite performance level, where we can support our leading athletes as they seek to make an impression on the world stage.”

“We see a number of similarities between British Tennis and AEGON as we look to take our UK business on to a new phase of growth. It’s a strong partnership and we’re looking forward to being a part of it.”

LTA Chief Executive Roger Draper said:

“We are delighted that AEGON has joined us as the Lead Partner of British Tennis in what is a very exciting time for the sport. We are looking forward to developing a close working partnership with them over the coming years. We share a joint desire to grow the sport at all levels from our major international events and supporting elite young players to improving facilities and access across the country and AEGON will play a vital role in this.”

AEGON UK Marketing Director Steve Clode said:

"As the Lead Partner of British Tennis, AEGON has an exceptional opportunity to develop our brand in the UK market. People of all ages enjoy tennis, and it's one of the country's most exciting and fast growing sports. We're delighted to have secured the sponsorship - it's a significant step forward in our brand strategy."

LTA Director of Communications and Commercial Bruce Philipps said:

“Our strategy has always been to partner with one lead company to make sure we are bringing the sport together rather than ‘selling off’ individual parts. AEGON’s investment in our sport will ensure we have more resources to invest in British Tennis. We are confident this new model will help accelerate our progress in all areas.”

The announcement follows a period of redefining the LTA’s assets and a re-launch of the commercial strategy in May 2008 which made it clear that the LTA was seeking a Lead Partner underpinned by Supporter and Supplier sponsors. The primary focus has been on the Lead Partner and now this is secure, further work will take place on the rest of the commercial programme.

AEGON will play an integral part within the four pillars of the commercial programme that make up British Tennis.

1. Community: primarily the parks and schools programmes
2. Competition: including junior national and international tournaments
3. Performance: including elite and matrix funded players
4. Events: including the ATP, WTA & ITF tournaments.

-ENDS-

For further information

• Rhian Evans
  LTA National Press Officer
  T. 0208 487 7118 or 07971 141 332
  
• Lesley McPherson
  AEGON UK Head of Media
  M. 07740 897541 | T. 0131 549 3782
  
• Mark Locke
  AEGON UK media team
  T. 0131 549 3766
  
• AEGON UK Media team
  T. 0131 549 5931
  

Notes to editors

About AEGON

• AEGON is one of the world’s leading insurance groups with approximately 30 thousand employees world wide and 40 million customers in the Americas, Europe and Asia. AEGON's revenue generating assets totaled EUR 344 billion at June 30, 2008.
• In the UK AEGON offers pensions, life insurance, asset management and financial advice to corporate and individual customers. AEGON UK has assets under administration of £51 billion and employs approximately 4,900 staff.

AEGON will become the ‘lead’ sponsor of the following:

Community

• AEGON Parks Programme
• AEGON Schools Programme

Competition

• AEGON British Tour
• AEGON Junior Internationals
• AEGON Junior National Tournaments
• AEGON Junior Grand Prix
• AEGON Team Tennis Series (Schools, Clubs and Counties)

Performance

• Team AEGON (All Elite Funded Players)
• AEGON FutureStars (All Matrix Funded Players)
• AEGON British Tennis Ratings
• AEGON British Tennis Rankings

AEGON will become the ‘solus’ naming rights sponsor of the following:

• AEGON Championships (London, The Queen’s Club)
• AEGON International (Devonshire Park, Eastbourne)
• AEGONAEGON Classic (Priory Club, Edgbaston)
• AEGONAEGON Pro-Series (Challengers & Futures)