Richard Branson's "latest venture" is Virgin Sport, a series of "festival-style events that will take place in the U.K. and U.S. this year," according to Lucy Handley of CNBC. The two-year-old company will run its first event in London's Hackney later this month, and Virgin Sport Global CEO Mary Wittenberg said that the business is "now ready to do deals with sponsors." She said, "Sponsors [often] get involved in something that already fully exists, so [our] partners have a great chance to start out. ... We will go fewer rather than more partners and try and integrate partners across our events, our content and eventually our community." A footwear and apparel sponsor "will be announced soon," and Wittenberg is also "looking for a director of business development who will be responsible for finding sponsors." The aim with Virgin Sport is to "reach the sweet spot between more extreme challenges such as Tough Mudder," and lighter "fun run" style events, Wittenberg said. Her brief from Branson was simply to "get millions of people moving," and the Hackney festival will have half marathon and 5.5k options, as well as VIP "fit front row" upgrades (CNBC, 4/4).
