British Cycling has confirmed that it has signed up banking firm HSBC as its "lead sponsor for the next eight years," according to Vern Pitt of CYCLING WEEKLY. The deal will see the global financial services company’s U.K. arm support British Cycling through the Olympics in '24. The pair "declined to disclose the value of the deal, which is understood to have been struck before Team GB’s recent success at the Rio Olympics," where it topped the cycling medal table. Current sponsor Sky puts in around £10M ($13M) every four years under its sponsorship deal, which will run out at the beginning of '17, when HSBC’s deal begins. HSBC has "a keen interest in building the mid-levels of the sport as well as the elite and beginner levels" where Sky focused its efforts with Team GB and its Sky Rides. The "exact details of what this will entail are still being worked out" but HSBC may take a "more prominent role" in supporting national and lower level racing that Sky has done. According to accounts filed at Companies House, British Cycling’s income in the year to March 31, 2015 totaled £26.1M. It said that £14.6M of this was from grant funding and £3.3M was from memberships and subscriptions. The remaining £8.1M was from sponsorship and other income (CYCLING WEEKLY, 9/18).
