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Epsom unveil Derby sponsor4th May 2009
Leading South African bank specialists Investec are to sponsor the Derby Festival at Epsom for the next five years.
The announcement ends speculation that the Premier Classic could be run without a sponsor and the news comes just two weeks after the opening of the Duchess Stand as part of the course's £38million redevelopment.
Investec have agreed to be Epsom's long-term partners and will back the two-day meeting until 2013.
Epsom managing director Nick Blofeld said: "We are very excited by the news and believe there is a great fit between the two companies which will mean we are both able to benefit from a long-term relationship.
"These days it is much more about strategic partnerships and there are many ways Investec and Epsom Downs can work together to keep the Derby Festival a hugely 
successful event but also bring some fresh creativity and reach new audiences.
"Investec are a very successful international company and have worked in other sports already, probably best known in the UK is their England Autumn International Rugby sponsorship at Twickenham, the Investec Challenge Series.
"Investec have great respect for the traditions of the Derby and Oaks, but also want to bring such great races and the event to more of their clients and contacts who haven't yet felt that buzz and excitement."
There have only been two sponsors of the world's most famous Classic - Ever Ready in 1984 followed by Vodafone, whose 14-year association ended in 2008.
Raymond van Niekerk, Investec’s global marketing head, said the deal was clinched in weeks rather than months. The bank are better known for cornering the rugby and cricket markets, backing the Autumn Rugby Internationals, the Super 14 and Tri-Nations tournaments in the southern hemisphere and the Lord’s Media Centre.
Van Niekerk said: "We don’t want to be talking about the value (of the deal), suffice to say that both parties believe it is fair value. The Derby gives us a powerful television footprint in the UK and, of course, the race is broadcast into some 160 million homes around the world."
Despite this reticence to reveal the commercial side of the sponsorship, the five-year deal is thought to be worth up to £400,000 for the racecourse and it has been suggested the presence of Sir David Prosser on the boards of both Investec and Epsom Downs could have been the catalyst of the partnership.