UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has exercised its right to withdraw from its four-year sponsorship of the British Athletics governing body at the midway point of the deal.
Sainsbury’s initially signed with British Athletics in 2013 for the inaugural Anniversary Games at London’s Olympic Park and secured its place as the national governing body’s Major Event Series partner in January 2014.
The announcement to withdraw from Sainsbury’s comes ahead of the IAAF World Athletics Championships, which begin in Beijing later this week. The partnership will come to a close at the current athletics season – less than a year before the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Sainsbury’s insisted that its withdrawal from the sponsorship under a break clause came as part of a “strategic review” and was not related to the current doping allegations engulfing the sport of athletics. In May, Sainsbury’s reported a loss of £72m (€101m/$111.7m) in the year to March 14 – its first full-year loss for a decade.
"Sainsbury's has been a proud supporter of British Athletics since 2013, following our sponsorship of the London 2012 Paralympic Games," the company said in a statement. "We wish British Athletics all the best with their future events programme."
BBC, Nike, the National Lottery, MG, Polar and Unilever remain as British Athletics sponsors but Sainsbury’s branding was the most prominent on its athletes during competitions.
According to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, the Sainsbury’s sponsorship was worth in the region of £5m annually. Sainsbury’s began sponsoring British Athletics after it ended a 14-year association with insurance company Aviva, seeking multiple partners under a new commercial model.