Worcestershire CCC are delighted to announce Blackfinch Investments have extended an already flourishing and fruitful relationship with the County by becoming their Official Main Sponsor for up to three years.
Blackfinch Investments were Worcestershire's official shirt sleeve sponsor across all formats for the 2016 campaign as they sought to raise the profile of the company locally and – through live television exposure – nationally.
In addition, Blackfinch have enjoyed plenty of in-ground branding at New Road and often entertained clients via their Worcestershire CCC membership & hospitality packages.
Now they are replacing Arctic Spas as Official Main Sponsor for 2017 – with an option to extend the sponsorship for a further two years for 2018 and 2019 – and Blackfinch CEO Richard Cook is hoping the partnership with Worcestershire will become "a long term relationship."
Blackfinch Investments – based in Blackfinch House, Chequers Close, Malvern – is an established UK provider of tax-efficient investment solutions.
Their philosophy is based on transparency and simplicity and whose services provide real solutions to real financial planning challenges faced by individuals today.
Richard Cook has been a Worcestershire CCC supporter for over 25 years and, along with Blackfinch Chief Investment Officer and fellow cricket fan Richard Simmonds, is a member of the MCC.
He has been Blackfinch Chief Executive Officer since 2009 having been involved in the structuring and management of tax-efficient investment assets for over 11 years and has overseen the growth and expansion of the company within the UK retail market and has evolved the company to where it is today.
He is delighted to be extending the relationship with Worcestershire CCC.
Richard Cook said: "We were shirt sleeve sponsors last year which gave us a good feel for how it is going to work as the main sponsor and we are over the moon to be taking on that role.
"It is a one year deal with the two year option and hopefully the relationship will be a long term one.
"Blackfinch have always had close links with Worcestershire and both partners at Blackfinch (Richard Cook and Richard Simmonds) have been big Graeme Hick fans, going down there since we were kids watching the County.
"We saw some of the great Hick and Botham innings, I have been a supporter for at least 25 years and we are both members of the MCC and big all-round cricket fans."
Richard Cook added: "What are the advantages of the partnership with Worcestershire CCC? We have a client base who are typically sympathetic with cricket support.
"We provide inheritance tax, investment services for investors – and we are investment managers as well, what we do with that money for clients is invest into property backed developments and young businesses.
"We are looking to access that network around the Worcestershire area so any property developers and businesses which are requiring funding, that kind of thing, so we see it (the Worcestershire CCC partnership) as a very good fit for us.
"We are going to use the facilities at New Road and take our clients there a lot. Getting our name out there locally is great but, also with the TV exposure, it is going to be great for us to increase awareness of our brand nationally.
"Blackfinch has been undergoing rapid growth during the past three years and we are hiring a lot more local people so we are really pleased for the staff that they can see their company sponsoring a local club.
"In terms of the current Worcestershire team, last season we could see a lot of potential and it will be good to see how that flourishes over the next couple of years."
Worcestershire CCC CEO Tom Scott is looking forward to a fruitful relationship with Blackfinch.
He said: "I am very pleased with the introduction of Blackfinch as our Official Main Sponsor. They have been loyal supporters and have committed to the Club for 2017 so we are really looking forward to working closely with them.
"They have already shown their commitment to the Club with their previous sponsorship deal and we are delighted that partnership is being further extended.
"We are keen to work with them to make sure they get the most from their sponsorship and that we can provide to them what they are looking to achieve."
Photo: Richard Cook, Chief Executive of Blackfinch Investments with Tom Scott, Chief Executive of Worcestershire County Cricket Club.
