British Cycling's future has been guaranteed by a "landmark" sponsorship deal with Lloyds Bank, which will see the company become the governing body's lead partner, it was announced on Thursday.
Lloyds will be the title partner of the Tours of Britain, National Series events, the National Championships, and the brand's logo will feature on the Great Britain Cycling Team's kit. The deal was signed last week, and the first evidence of it will be seen at the Tour of Britain Women, which starts in a fortnight.
Lloyds is the largest retail bank in Britain.
BC has been without a lead sponsor since 2021, when HSBC ended its partnership with the organisation, with the body going through financially turbulent times in the interim. This new, "game-changing" deal, will help to take some of that pressure off.
"We’re absolutely delighted, this is a landmark deal for cycling," BC CEO Jon Dutton said on Thursday. "[It's] game-changing. It's one of the biggest deals in British sport in recent years. We're very proud to partner with a great British institution, and also someone who shares our values and determination.
"The partnership in a very challenging commercial landscape has not been through luck or good fortune, but through a number of actions we've taken over the last few months."
Dutton would not be drawn on an exact amount, or the length of the deal, but said that it was "in the region of five years" and it is understood to be worth millions.
"The situation 12 months ago was difficult, no different to other national governing bodies, and we’ve had a desire to grow our commercial revenue," he continued. "This is an opportunity to invest into things that we believe are important. This is only the start of the journey, we have some more exciting things that we are working on in the future.
"In terms of financial sustainability, which is the overall objective, that will take us a number of years, but this is a huge step in the right direction."
"It takes the pressure off the whole of the organisation, but it doesn’t mean we take our foot off the gas," Dutton said. The deal was "important but not critical", he added.
The partnership will see Lloyds sponsor a "a suite of pioneering new events that are part of British Cycling’s recently launched major events vision", a press release said.
"These brand-new events will include the delivery of an international urban cycling festival featuring BMX freestyle, and the development of a national track league concept, helping British Cycling to capitalise on the inspiration and success of the nation’s best riders," it continued.
"Lloyds Bank and British Cycling will work together to give people, families and communities the inspiration to move forward and achieve their goals. The long-term partnership will include supporting more people of all ages and abilities to access cycling and encourage a more healthy, inclusive and prosperous Britain."
In late 2022, BC announced a controversial long-term partnership with the multinational oil and gas giant Shell, which continues despite this announcement. The eight-year deal saw Shell become an "official partner" of British Cycling, but they still lacked a headline deal. That gap has now been filled.
