New Exiles CEO agrees sponsor deal with banking software leaders Petra Financial

London, UK, 03 September 2009---London Irish Chief Executive Andy Martin has marked his arrival at the Guinness Premiership club today with confirmation of a new sponsorship deal with leading financial software and mobile banking company Petra Financial.

The deal will see Petra Financial become an official kit sponsor of London Irish for the forthcoming season.

London Irish Rugby Club was founded in 1898 and has proven to be both a long lasting, highly competitive and innovative club over the last century. With its home base to the West of London in the Madejski stadium, the team play home matches in the largest stadium in the Premiership. Petra Financial will have three exclusive match day sponsorships for London Irish’s games against London Wasps, Llanelli Scarlets and Northampton Saints.
Petra Financial is a global software company developing solutions in payments and mobile banking. Its customers include HSBC, National Australia Group, ABSA, First National Bank, and Mizuho.

The deal comes on the same day as London Irish welcomed their new CEO, Andy Martin, former head of Global Sales at Barclays Commercial Bank.

Commenting on the deal with Petra, Andy Martin said, “We are delighted to have Petra Financial as a partner and sponsor for London Irish. The sponsorship is beneficial for both parties as Petra Financial is a company whose attributes are similar to those we embody in our team: commitment, teamwork, strength through unity, communication, and achievement. Petra Financial has the same ethos in developing software for the financial services markets, and we are delighted to welcome a new sponsor to the team who we can help generate brand awareness and, through the club facilities, provide a wonderful opportunity for hospitality, great matches, and some fun”.

David Sinclair, CEO of Petra Financial said, “Partnering with London Irish was an easy decision for me to make. We immediately felt comfortable with the people working behind the scenes at the club and that, along with the great strides London Irish are making on the pitch was attractive to us as a company. Equally important to us was the strategic direction that the club is moving in, in terms of planning for long term success and staying close to their historic roots. There is also a real focus on being part of the local community and extending the awareness of the sport and its core values to a wider and younger audience. We hope to play our part in assisting them in this process and are also really excited about bringing our guests to watch the matches in the superb facilities at the Madejski stadium, and seeing London Irish achieve the even more success this season. ”

John Burton, Marketing and Sales Director of Petra Financial added, “We found in London Irish a partner that we really feel comfortable with. The London Irish brand is going from strength to strength and this gives us great opportunity to associate with it. More importantly, this is a team that is strong, unified, has good strategic and tactical positioning where everyone knows what part they have to play, they trust each other to deliver, and that success is therefore a team result. We feel the same about what we do in our business. We look forward to this season being a great success for London Irish, and to enjoying some terrific matches.”