ENGLAND’S RUBGY KIT PROVIDER REPORTS INCREASED PROFITS

Following the announcement by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) last month that it has renewed its long-term partnership with Canterbury as Official Team Kit Partner, the company is showing an increase in turnover in its latest accounts by 13%.

Stockport based Canterbury has filed accounts showing a turnover of £33.7m last year.

The four year extension to the RFU and Canterbury’s partnership, which begins on 31 August 2016 and runs until beyond the Rugby World Cup in 2019, will see the Pentland Group owned brand continue to supply kit and training wear to the England senior team, as well as the Saxons, England Sevens, England Women’s and age grade teams.

Although the England team are out of the running in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, they play their next game here in the North West this Saturday at Manchester City’s Etihad stadium against Uruguay – good luck England!

Canterbury, named after the place in New Zealand where the three founders began their business, is a committed partner of the grassroots game as Official Partner of All Schools, one of the RFU’s flagship legacy programmes to increase participation in rugby. The brand will also become Official Partner of the 2016 World Rugby U20 Championship which will be hosted in England.

Chris Stephenson, CEO, Canterbury, said:

“The extension to our partnership with England is the next exciting chapter in our 111 year history within rugby. Our commitment to the game spans from the grassroots to the very elite of rugby, and we are thrilled to continue our relationship with the RFU until beyond the next Rugby World Cup in 2019. This new agreement cements our standing as the leading brand in rugby, ahead of the biggest event in rugby’s history, the Rugby World Cup 2015.”

Read more at www.canterbury.com / www.pentland.com