NEC Group’s Arena deal aims to be a sustainable partnership
Arena Birmingham is to have its fourth name in six years after agreeing a five-year naming rights deal with energy firm Utilita.
The 15,800-capacity venue in Birmingham city centre will be known as Utilita Arena Birmingham from April.
The venue opened as the National Indoor Arena in 1991 before a sponsorship deal with Barclaycard began in 2014. The finance group exited the agreement in 2016 with the venue becoming Arena Birmingham the following year when a replacement sponsor could not be secured.
Utilita is a smart pay-as-you-go energy provider which has sought to grow its brand through live events partnerships, including naming rights at the Newcastle Arena.
The deal also reflects NEC Group’s focus on sustainability, with Utilita also becoming a partner at NEC Group’s other Birmingham arena, Resorts World Arena.
NEC Group chief executive Paul Thandi said: “Within our venues we’re working hard to have optimum energy usage, and we consider the new Utilita partnership to be an extension of the NEC Group’s award-winning environmental and sustainability commitments.
“The best partners are those who can add value to our visitors, and we’re looking forward to working with Utilita to get our audiences thinking about their environmental footprint.”
Hampshire-based Utilita was founded in 2003 and lays claim to having installed the first smart meter in Britain, in 2008. It is the 10th-largest energy company in Britain and now employs 1,500 people managing its 780,000 customers, having quadrupled in size since 2015.
However it has faced some commercial challenges common to the energy sector.
Accounts published before Christmas, for the year to March 2019, showed a 33% increase in revenues to £718m but losses of £31.9m. It blamed the government’s price cap and a poorly performing commercial division for its results.
Utilita founder and chief executive Bill Bullen said he was “thrilled” to have secured naming rights.
He said: “As well as providing our customers with fantastic opportunities to see some world class shows in the heart of the country, this will also help us to deliver our #EnergyHigh5 message to nearly a million visitors a year – and millions more across the region.”
It will use the Arena’s pre-show entertainment areas to get audiences thinking about their energy usage.
