Provident Financial agrees sponsorship deal with Bradford Bulls

Provident Financial, the leading UK non-standard lender, has announced a new sponsorship agreement with rugby league club, Bradford Bulls.

The sponsorship, worth over £1 million over a four-year period and effective from the 2013 season, will see the Provident Personal Credit brand feature on the Bradford Bulls shirts, and the stadium will be named the Provident Stadium.

As part of the relationship, Provident will work with the Bradford Bulls Academy which works to develop the talent of local youngsters.

Provident Financial CEO Peter Crook was bullish about the new deal: "As a firm that was founded in Bradford over 130 years ago, we are proud to get behind the Bradford Bulls and support them in achieving success both for the club and the wider community in Bradford. We are particularly happy to be helping to support the Bradford Bulls Academy programme which develops young talent and has resulted in six of the current first team squad coming from that programme".

Bradford Bulls Chairman, Omar Khan, echoed Crook's enthusiasm: "We are delighted to announce Provident as our main sponsor and we welcome them to the Bulls", he said. "They are a long established Bradford company who have seen what we want to achieve for the club and the community of Bradford. Together we can help the club and the city grow stronger and help make the dreams and hopes of the stars of the future become a reality".

"This is a good deal for Bradford Bulls and Provident Financial", added Gerry Sutcliffe, MP for Bradford South and Bradford Bulls Honorary Chairman. "Provident has proved its commitment to the city of Bradford by relocating to a new city centre site. The recent announcement of 250 new jobs at the company shows that they are going from strength to strength and continue to be a major employer in the city.

"Omar Khan and I have called on the business community in Bradford to get behind the Bulls, to help make it a club that the whole city can be proud of. This deal demonstrates Provident's faith in our vision of putting the club at the heart of our community".