Blackthorn Cider Announced as Rangers Shirt Sponsor

GLASGOW, Scotland, March 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Blackthorn Cider is delighted to announce that the brand will be Rangers Football Club's new main sponsor for the 2013/2014 season.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130301/600276 )

The deal will see the famous Blackthorn Cider brand feature on the Rangers strips for next season.

Blackthorn Cider and Rangers Football Club share ambitious plans for the future and this one year partnership will help both parties achieve this.

Rangers Chief Executive Charles Green said: "We are very pleased to have reached a sponsorship agreement that will see the Blackthorn Cider name on Rangers' strips next season.

"The arrangement is yet another example of leading brands wishing to be associated with Rangers and reflects the fact that the Club is one of football's great institutions. The deal we have reached is very much in keeping with our business plan and strategy of developing significant commercial partnerships for the benefit of the Club."

Blackthorn Cider has a track record of successful sports sponsorships and this will be the company's first partnership with a Scottish football club.  The Blackthorn team is currently working with Rangers to develop activity around the partnership that will benefit the brand, the Club and its fans.

Paolo Mortarotti, Managing Director of The Shepton Mallet Cider Company, owners of Blackthorn Cider, said: "The Rangers fans' reaction to the Club's recent troubles has been remarkable and we are immensely proud to partner with the Club.  Blackthorn is a popular cider across the UK, with traditional strongholds in both the South West of England and in Scotland, and we believe this partnership with Rangers will help deliver our ambitious growth plans for the brand.

"We wish Rangers every success this season and look forward to supporting the Club as it continues its journey back to the top flight of Scottish football."

Notes to Editors

• Blackthorn is a West Country legend, a proper cider with a distinctive and unforgettable dry taste made in Somerset at the Shepton Mallet Cider Mill.
• Blackthorn was first launched by Taunton Cider Company in 1972 and became the first draught cider in the UK in 1976. In the 1980s it gained national distribution and quickly became one of the best-known and most widely consumed ciders in the UK.
• Blackthorn uses mainly bittersweet cider apples from Somerset, which have low acid levels and high tannins - the perfect combination to give the crisp dry taste of Blackthorn.
• Blackthorn has an established pedigree in sports sponsorship and is currently proud sponsor of Bristol City FC, Bristol Rovers FC and Bristol Rugby.
• Blackthorn is the No. 5 draught cider in volume and value in the total GB On Trade and has the 3rd highest RoS of all draught ciders.