LTA and Stella split

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has announced the end of its 30-year association with Stella Artois and the Queen's Club Tennis Championships.

Previously known as the Stella Artois Championships and latterly called the Artois Championships, the tournament will be looking for a new sponsor from 2009 onwards.

Stella Artois brand owner InBev UK has claimed that the decision to conclude one of the longest sport sponsorships in Britain was taken by both parties by mutual consent.

The move is reportedly part of the LTA's new commercial strategy to boost income for British tennis by attracting a sponsor to support a wide range of activities rather than just one tournament. 

Roger Draper, LTA chief executive, said: "The association with Stella Artois has been extremely successful and rewarding for British tennis and the LTA is very grateful to InBev for the long-standing support and investment provided over the past 30 years.

"As part of our new commercial strategy we are looking to market the sport as a complete package, rather than as a series of individual events and programmes. Once we explained this new approach, ourselves and InBev both agreed that now is an appropriate time for a change."

Stuart MacFarlane, president of InBev UK, said: "We have been delighted to support British tennis over such a long period, and are proud to have created and been associated with such a prestigious event.

"The LTA's decision to expand the sponsorship deal no longer fitted with our own strategic vision for the brand and so we have, very amicably, agreed to go our separate ways."

Despite these comments, speculation will rage as to whether the recent spate of bad press and delistings suffered by the Stella brand is in fact a factor in for the termination of the sponsorship.