We are proud to confirm that Close Brothers will be one of the sponsors at this year's Punchestown Festival, the home of National Hunt Jump Racing in Ireland.
The sponsorship deal will see the bank support the Close Brothers Mares Listed Novice Hurdle on Thursday of the Irish National Hunt Festival, and will be our first sponsorship deal in Ireland.
Excitingly, the Close Brothers Mares Listed Novice Hurdle, which is a two-mile race with a prize of €35,000, has been upgraded to list status this year as the festival continues to enhance the mares programmes in Ireland.
This commercial sponsorship highlights Close Brothers' longstanding support of horse racing. We are proud to partner with The Jockey Club, and appointed renowned Champion Jockey, Sir Anthony McCoy as our brand ambassador in 2016.
Announcing the sponsorship, Managing Director of Close Brothers Commercial Finance Ciaran McAreavey said:
“In the ten years since Close Brothers opened its office in Belfast we have continued to increase our presence here with offices now in Dublin, Cork and Galway. Today’s announcement reflects the commitment we have to continuing this sustained growth in the Irish market. We are very much looking forward to expanding our current sponsorship portfolio to include the prestigious Punchestown Festival”.
Janet Creighton, Head of Sponsorship at Punchestown, commented:
“We are delighted to welcome Close Brothers as a new sponsor for the next three years at Punchestown. They have already showcased their commitment to racing in the UK and we at Punchestown look forward to working with the Close Brothers team to deliver a successful sponsorship experience here in Ireland”.
The 2018 Punchestown Festival gets underway from Tuesday 24th April and runs until Saturday 28th April. The Close Brothers Mares Listed Novice Hurdle will take place on Thursday 26th.
For full information on the 2018 Punchestown festival please visit www.punchestown.com or call +353 (0)45 897704.
