COWES WEEK SEEKS HEADLINE PARTNER
AS SKANDIA PREPARES TO STEP DOWN FOLLOWING 2008 REGATTA
Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK: After a 14-year tenure as title sponsor of Cowes Week on the Isle of Wight, UK, long-term savings group, Skandia UK, has announced it will not be renewing its sponsorship once the current contract expires in August 2008.
The regatta organisers will now market this great British institution and world-class sporting event as a prime opportunity to alternative sponsors, the intention being to sign new partners in good time for the 2009 regatta.
Cowes Week has grown considerably since Skandia took on the title sponsorship in 1995 and the regatta now attracts over 1,000 boats, 8,500 sailors and around 50,000 visitors over the Week.
“Cowes Week has an international reach and a reputation that is second to none,” says Cowes Combined Clubs CEO, Stuart Quarrie. “Skandia has been a fantastic partner for over a decade but the door is now open for another company to come on board and benefit from the opportunities presented from 2009 onwards. On the basis of an independent valuation, we have a good view of the value of Cowes Week to a potential sponsor.”
“After such a long time as key sponsors of Cowes Week, it’s very sad that this great association will end after the 2008 Event but the time is right for us to focus our resources on alternative sailing-related initiatives,” says Skandia’s sponsorship manager, Tim Sewell. “We are leaving the Event in great shape and I have no doubt it will continue to go from strength to strength as the world’s premier sailing regatta.”
Skandia will continue to be a long-term investor in sailing through sponsorship of Skandia Team GBR, the team in training for Beijing 2008 and through other activities such as the Skandia Sail for Gold Olympic grade competition in Weymouth and as personal sponsor to the Star campaign team of Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson.
Liz Earle is all set to smooth and soothe at this year’s regatta
Cowes Week Sponsorship Limited (CWSL) has announced that Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare, the largest independent beauty brand in the UK, has joined the line-up of supporting sponsors as Official Skincare Sponsor of Skandia Cowes Week for 2007.
Founded in 1995 by Liz Earle and Kim Buckland, the Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare range is available worldwide through an award-winning mail order customer centre and website service as well as from their Isle of Wight-based shop Union and the new London flagship store on Kings Road, Duke of York Square.
Originally, Kim and Liz made Naturally Active Skincare for themselves as they wanted a pampering treat that was botanically-based, dependable, affordable and above all, that gave outstanding results. The range is for all skin types, colours and ages and is multi-generation – and there’s also a new men’s line.