'Dream partnership' - Crawley Town announces Rentokil Initial as new principal sponsor

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Crawley Town Football Club have revealed their new principal sponsor – and general manager Tom Allman has said it’s a ‘dream partnership’.

Manor Royal-based Rentokil Initial have team up with the Reds and will have their logo on the front of the new shirt – which is due to be revealed soon.

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Last season, Reds had the Crawley Town Community Foundation on the front of their shirts but this season will have Rentokil following a one-year deal that has been in the pipeline ‘for a few years’.

Allman told us: “It's really exciting for us and a good time for them to join us on our journey. Believe it or not it’s been [in discussions] a few years. We had conversations a while ago and for whatever reason it just didn’t come off. But with the promotion we start having conversations again around the turn of the year. It’s been a long process with a lot of people involved but today’s announcement is fantastic and we are now looking forward to getting the shirt unveiled."

Andy Ransom, CEO of Rentokil signs a deal with General Manager of Crawley Town Football Club Tom Allman, to become the Official Principal Partners of the club | Picture: James BoardmanAndy Ransom, CEO of Rentokil signs a deal with General Manager of Crawley Town Football Club Tom Allman, to become the Official Principal Partners of the club | Picture: James Boardman
Andy Ransom, CEO of Rentokil signs a deal with General Manager of Crawley Town Football Club Tom Allman, to become the Official Principal Partners of the club | Picture: James Boardman

And how important was it for the club to have a local company as principal sponsor? “It was massively important,” said Allman. “With all our commercial partners, fans will no we do try to go local. With Rentokil, a FTSE 100 company which is based in Crawley, it’s a dream partnership for us really. They are a big employer and a lot of our fans work for Rentokil Initial.”

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Rentokil Initial chief executive Andy Ransom was also delighted to get the deal done and said ‘everyone likes to follow a winner’.

"I’m really excited. This is fantastic. We love football at the company and this is an opportunity for us to give something back to the town which we are based.

“We have been here a long, long time. We always say we are not a multinational, we are a multi-local. It’s about being relevant and involved and giving something back to the community.

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Andy Ransom, CEO of Rentokil signs a deal with General Manager of Crawley Town Football Club Tom Allman, to become the Official Principal Partners of the club | Picture: James BoardmanAndy Ransom, CEO of Rentokil signs a deal with General Manager of Crawley Town Football Club Tom Allman, to become the Official Principal Partners of the club | Picture: James Boardman
Andy Ransom, CEO of Rentokil signs a deal with General Manager of Crawley Town Football Club Tom Allman, to become the Official Principal Partners of the club | Picture: James Boardman

“And with Crawley being promoted, which was just fantastic, what a great time for us to be part of the Crawley family.

"Everyone likes to follow a winner, don’t they? It’s always more fun when your team is winning. Rentokil’s 100th anniversary is coming up next year and this is part of what we wanted to celebrate in the town based in.

It’s great the team has done well and got promoted but it’s more about being part of the Crawley family and hopefully the success they will have in future years.”

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Being a big employer in the town, Ransom believes the partnership is going to beneficial to both parties.

He said: “We want people to come and work for us and be part of the Local community. For us it’s a little bit give and get.

"We want to give something to the town and club but we are hoping our association of our brand with the great football club is good for us as well. We want people to come and learn about Rentokil and maybe come and see what we are about.”

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This is the latest in a number of sponsorship deals Crawley have sorted ahead of their League One campaign – including Brick Borrow renewing their partnership, which was so successful last season. Allman said: “We have had some deals released already, some new, some renewals and we have a few more to come before the season starts and hopefully some new signings on the pitch. It’s a busy time but everybody is just really excited to get going.

“The Brick Borrow guys are fantastic and I think they are a great example of a partner who came to us with ideas and ways to activate their brand through us which has been brilliant. And none more so than the Orsi goal makeover. We have already had some chats with what we can do next season so there will be some news coming on that.

“We have Eden Utilities on the back of the shirt this season, a short partner we will hopefully be announcing soon. For all of our partners, everyone here is a fan first which is fantastic for us but if we can get some commercial value added on both sides, that’s the dream for us.”

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Player signings so far

Crawley Town ins so far: Jeremy Kelly (re-signed), Antony Papadopoulos (free), Charlie Barker (undisclosed fee), Josh Flint (free), Rushian Hepburn-Murphy (free), Scott Malone (undisclosed fee), Toby Mullarkey (undisclosed fee), Gavan Holohan (free), Michael Dacosta González (on loan until end of season from Bournemouth).

Crawley Town outs so far: Nick Tsaroulla (free), Adam Campbell (free), Will Wright (free), Danilo Orsi (undisclosed fee), Corey Addai (undisclosed fee), Klaidi Lolos (undisclosed fee), Liam Kelly (undisclosed fee).

Released: Jed Brown, Travis Johnson, Tobi Omole, Florian Kastrati, Jayden Davis, Harry Ransom, Roshan Greenshall, Mustapha Olagunju

Still in negotiation: Kellan Gordon

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