Bristol Street Motors and LSH Auto strike new rugby and football sponsorships

Bristol Street Motors (BSM) has struck-up a sponsorship deal with Gallagher Premiership Rugby team Exeter Chiefs as fellow car retail group LSH Auto broadened its support of Macclesfield Town FC.

BSM, part of the AM100’s Vertu Motors PLC, is set to follow-up a series of high-profile sponsorship deals from its parent company with support for the rugby union side throughout its 2022/23 season.

Branding for the group, which operates two locations in Exeter, will feature around the dugouts and on all four corners of the Sandy Park stadium as part of the deal. 

Big screen advertising, product placement and the sponsorship of an upcoming match are also included along with the club’s ‘player of the day’ social media vote, which will carry the Bristol Street Motors name.

Vertu Motors chief executive Robert Forrester said: “Bristol Street Motors is passionate about being an integral part of the communities it works in, and our sports partnerships are key to this.

“I am delighted that we have formed our first rugby union partnership with Exeter Chiefs, a club that is at the heart of the community.”

Following publication of Vertu Motors’ latest trading update last month, Forrester told AM that his business was poised to leverage marketing and sponsorships to boost its profile to deliver "surprises" in the months ahead.

Bristol Street Motors and Macklin Motors already list Channel 4’s Formula One coverage, W Series and British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) teams, the Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Durham cricket teams and Burnley Football Club among its key sponsorships.

Vertu Motors’ partnerships, meanwhile, include Sunderland Football Club, Middlesbrough Football Club, the Newcastle Eagles basketball team and naming rights for the Eagles' Vertu Motors Arena in Gateshead.

In a recent guest opinion post for AM Forrester outlined the value and significance of the various deals to the car retail business. 

Mercedes-Benz franchisee LSH Auto’s new deal with Macclesfield Town has seen it become the exclusive sponsor of the club’s new VIP lounge as part of a new deal which also extends its existing support of the club’s men’s and women’s teams to shirt sponsorship of the BTEC Academy Kit and U7s, U8s, U10s, U11s, U15s and U16s.

Martyn Webb, Managing Director of LSH Auto, said: “It’s important to us to support the younger players as well as the first teams. Last season, the Under 15s and Under 16s won the league championship, and the Under 16s won the Cheshire County Cup, the Primary Cup and the Manchester FC County Cup, so the youth programme at Macclesfield FC is clearly working well.”

A Mercedes AMG G63 12V kids’ electric car that was donated to the club by LSH Auto, continues to be used at Macclesfield FC home fixtures by match ball carriers who travel onto the pitch in style.

Macclesfield FC’s director of Football, Robbie Savage said: “I’m delighted that a company as prestigious as LSH Auto has chosen to extend its presence here at the Leasing.com stadium, with the sponsorship of the VIP lounge, Junior and BTEC academy kits.

“As one of our most valued partners, I look forward to building a long-standing relationship with LSH Auto and I’m excited to see some of our plans come to life over the next few weeks and months.”