A-D brings down curtain on pounds 1.1m RSC sponsorship

The UK’s biggest arts sponsorship is up for grabs, following Allied

Domecq’s decision to pull out of its pounds 1.1m a year commitment to

the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The existing deal comes to an end in February 2001. Allied said the move

was due to the sale of its UK pub operations to the Punch Taverns

group.

It has poured pounds 7m into the RSC sponsorship over seven years, but

said it could no longer justify the cost.

Iain Oag, Allied’s director of external affairs, said: ’Allied Domecq

has changed an awful lot. It was an international company with a

domestic base in pubs. Now there are no pubs and the UK spirits

operation isn’t of the size that warrants sponsorship support as big as

the RSC.’

The drinks firm wants to focus on its international spirits and wine

brands, and restaurants such as Beefeater and Baskin-Robbins.

This article was first published on Marketing