HOME looks for sponsorship

PHAR, the sponsorship agency that struck the Phones4U deal at the Manchester Arena, has been hired to work on corporate tie-ups for the new HOME arts centre.

HOME, which is replacing the Cornerhouse, will have five cinemas, a theatre, a gallery, bars and a restaurant at a new building at First Street.

PHAR is not selling naming rights but is looking at corporate involvement in the centre’s future programmes. The project will be led by Ian Tussie at its Manchester office.

He said: “We’re trying to engage with brands across the North West and the UK that are looking at how they can work with HOME and its audience.

“There’s nothing else quite like it in Manchester and the precedent set by the South Bank Centre, which has a plethora of sponsors, makes us very positive that there will be brands interested in investing in the project, engaging with an audience of around 750,000 each year and working with HOME on its fantastic corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.”

The £25m building is under construction and due to open in the spring. PHAR is also working on naming rights for Liverpool’s new exhibition centre where talks are “relatively advanced”.