Cereal and protein bar brand Nature Valley has agreed a deal to title sponsor three events organised by the Lawn Tennis Association, the sport’s governing body in the UK.
Under the three-year agreement, the women’s WTA event in Birmingham will be known as the Nature Valley Classic. Events in Nottingham and Eastbourne, which form part of the WTA and men’s ATP circuits, will become the Nature Valley Open and Nature Valley International, respectively.
The deal builds upon Nature Valley’s presence within the sport, with the brand having signed on as the official snack bar of British Tennis in 2016.
Through its new agreement with the LTA, Nature Valley will promote tennis and an active lifestyle among consumers.
Richard Williams, marketing director at General Mills Northern Europe, Nature Valley’s parent company, said: “Having more than quadrupled our investment in the sport since we first started in 2016, this elevated sponsorship deal is a demonstration of Nature Valley’s unwavering commitment to British Tennis from the grassroots right to its premier summer events and represents our largest global sports partnership since the 2012 Olympics.”
Scott Lloyd, LTA chief executive, added: “Nature Valley has been building on its commitment to the sport and this new partnership extension highlights the tremendous success of the relationship. We both share our goal to get Britain active and healthy. Nature Valley will continue to play an important role in helping more people play tennis more often and creating more historic championship moments.”
The grass-court events are warm-up tournaments for the Wimbledon Championships, the third grand slam of the year, and were previously title sponsored by life insurance and pensions firm Aegon.