EPL side West Ham is "looking for a new sponsor after partner Alpari (UK) collapsed in the aftermath of the Swiss currency shock," according to Tariq Panja of BLOOMBERG. It is the second time since '08 that the "east London-based team lost a principal sponsor mid-season." The Swiss franc surged following Friday's decision to "end a peg to the euro." West Ham said in a statement, "The board would like to reassure supporters that Alpari (UK) Limited's situation will have no impact on West Ham United. The club remains in a strong financial position" (BLOOMBERG, 1/16). In London, Owen Gibson reported West Ham is in the second year of a three-year deal with Alpari, which "also lends its name to one of the stands at Upton Park," and is believed to be owed around £4M ($6M) on a contract worth around £3M ($4.5M) per season. In '08, West Ham was forced to abandon a £4M-a-year deal with the travel company XL "at the height of Iceland's financial crisis" (GUARDIAN, 1/16). Also in London, Peter Spence reported traders were "caught unawares by the surprise decision" of the Swiss National Bank to "eliminate the ceiling it had maintained on the Swiss franc's value, causing many investors to lose out." Alpari said on its website, "the recent move ... has resulted in exceptional volatility and extreme lack of liquidity" (TELEGRAPH, 1/16). The BBC reported the SNB "shocked markets on Thursday by reversing a three-year-old policy." The bank had previously capped the value of the franc at 1.20 per euro. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ currency strategist Derek Halpenny described the currency move as "unprecedented" (BBC, 1/16).
