Everton secure sponsor partnership for Finch Farm

Wednesday, 4 January, 2017 48comments  |  Jump to most recent
Everton are set to announce new commercial partnerships which include naming rights for the club's Finch Farm training complex.

CEO Robert Elstone announced at this evenings Annual General Meeting that £75m worth of commercial deals have been struck by the Board in the past six weeks which include "a significant new title sponsor partnership for the training ground and Academy" in Halewood.

Additionally, Elstone said that Everton expect to announce a new shirt sponsorship deal that will be worth 300% more than the current £5.3m the club receives from Chang.  



Reader Comments (48)

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Chris Williams
1 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:11:55
And so it begins... hopefully.
Colin Glassar
2 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:13:28
What's 300% of £5.3m? I'm rubbish at maths...
Ognjen Mojovic
3 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:13:38
MegaFon! :)
Ognjen Mojovic
4 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:14:25
It's about £16m. Metaloinvest for shirt sponsor! :)
Colin Glassar
5 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:15:23
Wtf are they like?
James Marshall
6 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:19:00
http://www.metalloinvest.com/upload/iblock/70c/9422854a75a43fe958765f2eb0b3c774.jpeg
Bobby Thomas
7 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:23:47
What were these people doing before Moshiri and his people got involved?

Same shirt sponsor for 10 years. Renew it for a bit extra every 3 years... Job done. Bobby Elstone lights another spliff.

"Oh, but what can we do, we've got no money."

Shaun Traynor
8 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:28:31
A Russian metal company...

Usmanov also on his way... or am I just putting 2 + 2 together and getting 9???

James Marshall
9 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:32:26
Great big fuck-off stadium made of lovely Russian steel to follow!

(I know, I know...)

Phil Sammon
10 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:32:26
My local Metaloinvest takes care of all my metal needs. Rarely a day goes by that I'm not in there buying a bronze 'this', or cast-iron 'that'...
Mike Mulhall
11 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:36:54
Nice one, Phil... I like how you roll!
Chris Bentham
13 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:45:48
Oh dear... they have red in the logo.

Ah, who cares for £16m?

Brian Harrison
14 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:52:34
Metaloinvest is owned 100% by Usmanov, so very interesting that they are sponsoring Finch Farm. Could this be the prelude to Usmanov joining Moshiri as the other 50% owner?
Shaun Traynor
15 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:57:06
Info taken from wiki...so not always 100% accurate.

But look who is the majority holder

Metalloinvest Management Company LLC (Russian: Металлоинвест) is a Russian mining and metallurgy company specializing in the manufacture of steel. It was founded in 1999 and is composed of a mining division (Lebedinsky GOK and Mikhailovsky GOK) and a steel division (Oskol Elektrometallurgical Plant (OEMK) and Ural Steel).

USM Holdings owns 100% of Metalloinvest JSC. Alisher Usmanov is the major beneficiary of USM Holdings (48%), with other major beneficiaries — the companies of Vladimir Skoch and Farhad Moshiri — owning 30% and 10%, respectively.

James Marshall
16 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:57:28
I just noticed that Usmanov was a fencer for the USSR (Uzbek) back in the day... let's hope some of his money is ring-fenced for our new castle!
Kevin Tully
17 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:58:46
300% increase on shirt sponsorship, that's very positive news indeed.

Good job Moshiri never listened to some commercial "experts" on this site who insisted we had maximised our sponsorship opportunities with the Chang deal... (which was plainly down to lazy & unambitious marketing).


Patrick Murphy
18 Posted 04/01/2017 at 19:59:23
Who at the AGM mentioned Metalloinvest as the new sponsor?

I didn't see it written on any report or tweet... or does somebody have inside info?

Don Alexander
19 Posted 04/01/2017 at 20:03:42
I just hope their steel is way stronger than Chang's "beer"!
Stephen Davies
20 Posted 04/01/2017 at 20:04:10
Perhaps they could put money into a new stadium, perhaps building off Queens Drive, near to Kremlin Drive and Moscow Drive. Might help them feel at home...
Pete Edwards
21 Posted 04/01/2017 at 20:12:44
If Moshiri has a stake, then a very clever way to get around FFP – very much like Man City and Ethiad!!
Kevin Tully
22 Posted 04/01/2017 at 20:18:42
Pete - I think people are reading too much into a throwaway comment from Ognjen @# 4.
James Marshall
23 Posted 04/01/2017 at 20:22:11
Kevin – I would hope most of us are having a laugh... ;)
Ste Wallace
24 Posted 04/01/2017 at 20:22:26
Looks like Mmoshiri has grand plans for us! Everton's future looks so blue (pun intended). I can't wait.
Jim Hardin
25 Posted 04/01/2017 at 20:36:06
If the sponsorship is true, then how exciting that we may finally get to circumvent the same set of rules that the big boys do. Will miss the elephants though and what the heck is the logo for the new company supposed to be? Is it the shape of our new stadium?
Colin Glassar
26 Posted 04/01/2017 at 20:52:45
A model worker holding a hammer and sickle, Jim.
John Crook
27 Posted 04/01/2017 at 21:10:40
I thought the new sponsor was going to be the same betting company that sponsor Hull??
Pete Edwards
28 Posted 04/01/2017 at 21:37:57
@ Kevin, true, I lost my sense of being an Evertonian for a moment then and allowed myself to be positive... ;)
John Keating
29 Posted 04/01/2017 at 21:47:12
Wasn't it only a year or so ago when the Club were telling us sponsorship had reached its max. We were extremely lucky to get what we got. Nobody buys merchandise etc etc etc.

Many posters, led by our Caspian Correspondent Martin Mason, were continually telling us to prove the then Board were not maximising our potential etc etc etc.

Where is Mr Mason these days by the way? Anyway, changed days it seems. We just need Bill to retire and exit stage right, taking his sidekick Elstone with him.

Dave Abrahams
30 Posted 04/01/2017 at 22:08:12
I went to the AGM but didn't realise how much my hearing is fading, I couldn't honestly hear a lot that was said. Going by the reading coming up on the screen and bits and pieces that came across, there wasn't a lot to get excited about.

We are getting new sponsors which will bring in £75M, don't think that is per year. Joe Anderson got a great round of applause when he finished his speech, which was about the new ground, him, the council are working very hard along with Everton to get the new ground.

Going by the applause, it seemed the Bramley-Moore Dock site was the preferred one – no more than preferred.

Mr. Moshiri seemed to know his stuff about football and when asked about the future, indicated that although the FA Cup was important he wanted to concentrate on and improve the league position, that seemed more important to him. He said he joined Arsenal because his mate was there but he is glad he joined Everton and feels like an Evertonian and is very happy he is part of the club.

Other news is the season ticket prices will be frozen again next season and some will be further reduced, no season ticket will cost more than £570, that equals £30 a game, the dearest price any away supporter will pay next season.

Every director put themselves up for re election and all were voted back in. A few questions were asked at the end but none seemed of any importance as far as I could hear.

Dave Abrahams
31 Posted 04/01/2017 at 22:21:46
John (29) it doesn't look like either of them are going any time soon. Kenwright did the introductions and made a point of getting up, when some one asked about the new stadium, getting a mic and walking straight over the stage to gave it to Joe Anderson, who was ready for it, and he gave his speech about the stadium.

Elstrone also looked like part of the furniture, Jon Woods yawned once or twice but said nothing, Moshiri's right-hand man introduced himself by name, because Kenwright couldn't pronounce it, but said nothing else; seems he's an expert in banking, according to Elstrone.

Dave Abrahams
32 Posted 04/01/2017 at 22:32:49
Sorry about these posts, didn't realise there was another thread on the AGM.
Anthony Dwyer
33 Posted 05/01/2017 at 00:42:33
Fuck yeah .. The Russians are coming to town.
Mick Davies
34 Posted 05/01/2017 at 01:13:20
Do the club own Finch Farm? I'm sure we sold it, so how can we make money by allowing a business to sponsor it?
Phil Martin
35 Posted 05/01/2017 at 01:27:28
Wasn't it a few years ago we were being told parts of Goodison would need to be condemned, as we wouldn't get the legal safety certificate for certain areas?

I wonder what happened there...

Jim Hardin
36 Posted 05/01/2017 at 02:53:11
Dave,

Keep the insights coming on either or both threads. Good to hear the observations of someone at the meeting and not what the journos tell us.

Matt Traynor
37 Posted 05/01/2017 at 03:02:04
Mick (#34),

Everton sold the land for Finch Farm to a developer, and leased it back once complete. The developer then sold FF to Liverpool City Council as a Strategic Investment for the Council (controversial at the time, natch) and so it's probably done with agreement with the owners (LCC).

Man Utd did this a few years ago. They had a Sponsorship deal with DHL for the training kit that was worth a few million a year. Then they were courted by Chevrolet, and so terminated early their main sponsorship with Aon, who then took over their training academy – which included the training kits, so DHL were bought out of their sponsorship contract.

Clubs like Man Utd and the RS have hundreds of sponsors. Chinese paint manufacturers; Japanese clock makers – all clamouring to have association with success, or the RS. They've had these deals for years and add more every year.

It's a nice move but many years too late. Any increase in income allows us to spend more on players, to a degree, that isn't swallowed up by wage inflation.

Thomas Lennon
38 Posted 05/01/2017 at 07:49:05
Moshiri made it clear Usmanov is a big Arsenal fan, so we should not conclude he will be coming up the M6.

Moshiri isn't Russian.

£75 million sponsorship is likely to be over several years.

Why not last year? There was a far weaker business plan compared with our current plans. Business wants to attach it's name to a club with plans to increase exposure.

We are improving, possibly even reducing the financial distance between us and one or two clubs above us.

Stadium is vitally important for future growth but consider that our last stadium project was only forecast to earn an additional £6 million per year.


Liam Reilly
39 Posted 05/01/2017 at 07:50:44
I don't believe it could ever be too late in our situation, Matt. These guys seem to know what they are doing and are slowly putting to bed all the nonsense we've been fed over the years regarding how they were doing a great job maximizing revenue.

I can't understand how Elstone survived. Maybe had a silver guardian angel protecting him.

Dave Abrahams
40 Posted 05/01/2017 at 09:19:24
Liam (39) I was half way down the hall, when the vote took place for Elstone, to be defeated – I didn't see one hand go up. I couldn't see behind me, so maybe my hand was the only one that went up to get him out.

Everyone seemed in a good mood and I think actual shareholders are different to proxy voters; I am one of the latter.

Liam Reilly
41 Posted 05/01/2017 at 10:11:11
Fair dues for having the nerve to go against the grain Dave and putting your hand up.

If I'd have been there, there would've been 2.

Colin Glassar
42 Posted 05/01/2017 at 12:04:29
Over 5 years, Thomas. It's better than what we have now but we still have a lot to do to catch up. Apparently, we are looking for a sleeve (?) sponsor to increase revenue. Hang your head in shame, Elstone.
James Marshall
43 Posted 05/01/2017 at 12:09:54
I do wonder if there has been a deliberate 'hold-back' period at Everton over the last couple of years in regard to things like sponsorship, while the sale of the club has been ongoing.

Elstone has taken a lot of flack, but it seems to me that aligning the club with new sponsors whilst undergoing a take-over might not have been something worth getting involved with when you have a new owner coming in.

I'm not defending Elstone here, just thinking about it from a business perspective – it could well have been that the club didn't want to go making changes, or signing contracts with other sponsors until Moshiri came on board.

Just a thought.

Bobby Thomas
44 Posted 05/01/2017 at 12:37:10
Thomas (#38)

Yes, Kirkby was projected to earn us an extra £6 million a year. However, the financial uplift from a shit stadium in the middle of nowhere, with commercially inept owners in charge, isn't at all comparable to the one that we hope comes off.

A top stadium on the waterfront within a development unlocks much more potential. Naming rights alone would be much more significant in value. And we now have people at the club who can actually negotiate these deals.

Kevin Tully
45 Posted 05/01/2017 at 12:51:57
It's far too simplistic to just point at the CEO regarding commercial income. Yes, it will be part of his remit to negotiate with sponsors and bring new business to the club, but I very much doubt he has had the backing required behind the scenes.

We were clearly quite happy to muddle along with Chang for the longest shirt sponsorship in Premier League history. Who is ultimately responsible for driving that tactic? The board, of course.

That doesn't mean Elstone is the best we can hope for either. The new guy has clearly put a structure in place to improve this part of the business, and I imagine everyone who negotiates commercial deals was left in no doubt that they had to deliver improved numbers, or their position would be under threat.

These words from Moshiri told the whole story "It's not enough to say that we are special. We don't want to be a museum."

He knew precisely how this club operated in the past. Hopefully he can deliver. I believe he will.

Thomas Lennon
46 Posted 05/01/2017 at 13:05:55
Bobby (#44),

There are an awful lot of subjective judgements in your comment that may or may not be true.

My experience of the waterfront is that it is a pretty deserted unfriendly place too, freezing salty winds will make the walk-up quite uninviting versus a pleasant Victorian park or even a retail carpark in Kirkby.

It might look good on a wideshot image of the famous waterfront but On a stormy day with a spring tide and a rise in water levels.... brrrrr.

If, however, this becomes the centre of massive social regeneration, all may be well – eventually.

Bobby Thomas
47 Posted 05/01/2017 at 13:52:07
Thomas (#46),

If it comes off, a significantly better stadium than the Kirkby design, which it will be, on the waterfront, can open a range of opportunities for the club to potentially generate more revenue than the £6 million a year for the mid-range design in Kirkby. That's stone-cold, nailed-on.

Even with the wind blowing.

Eric Myles
48 Posted 05/01/2017 at 13:59:49
We're lucky we didn't get King's Dock then, eh, Thomas (#46)!
Brian Furey
49 Posted 05/01/2017 at 14:53:15
We could put heaters in like they have in the Bernabeu.

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