Man Utd sells training ground naming rights to Aon

PREMIER League leaders Manchester United has sold the naming rights to its Carrington training ground complex and its training kit to Aon – the financial services company in a bumper eight year deal.

Aon, which will be replaced as main club sponsor by Chevrolet from 2014, will also see its name emblazoned on the training kit and become “presenting partner” of club tours as part of the £160m deal.

Unlike rivals Manchester City and Arsenal, Manchester United has refused to sell naming rights to its Old Trafford stadium, but the sprawling training facility in Carrington will become the Aon Training Complex from July 1 this year.

This latest deal vindicated the decision to buy out the remainder of a £10m a year training kit sponsorship with logistics group DHL, on the grounds that a better partnership could be found.

Commercial director Richard Arnold said:  “Aon are a great partner and I am very excited about the possibilities for sustainable advantage this provides the club as we build our global presence.

“Aon knows that every employee, including the first team, drives the success of our club. The Aon Training Complex is all about winning and preparing individuals, identifying talent and performing at the highest level to achieve success. “

Phil Clement, Aon’s global chief marketing and communications officer,
added: “This announcement is the next step in the evolution of our partnership with Manchester United.

“Together, Aon and Manchester United have been working on two critical issues for a growing global business – managing risk and highly performing teams.

“The first phase of our relationship brought Aon an explosion in brand
awareness. This phase of our partnership is a more holistic approach where we can use our expertise and create a global dialogue and knowledge share around the fields of talent, healthcare, risk, retirement, and data and analytics to help deliver great performance and great results.”