Graham Annesley confident Titans will have new sponsor by start of 2018 NRL season
TRAVIS MEYN, The Courier-Mail
November 10, 2017 8:15pm
Subscriber only
GOLD Coast boss Graham Annesley is adamant the Titans will enter the 2018 NRL season with the backing of a major sponsor.
The Titans hit the training paddock this week wearing kits devoid of a major sponsor’s logo following the withdrawal of development giant Aquis after one year of a five-year contract.
The structure of the Aquis deal — one year with two further two-year options — allowed the company to part ways with the Titans despite being in the infancy of a long-term contract.
Aquis supported the Titans following the most turbulent time in the club’s history, signing on as a major backer midway through 2015 with a $1.5 million-a-season deal after the NRL assumed ownership of the financially-stricken club.
For the first part of the 2015 season the Titans sported the logo of the Ronald McDonald House charity until they secured the paid partnership with Aquis.
Annesley said he would not be rushed into a fire sale and the looming ownership change at the club would help secure a major backer.
“I’m very confident that we will have a sponsor,” he said.
“We’re in a really strong position, particularly once the ownership is resolved. That is the final item of uncertainty that people have been waiting for clarity around.
“We’re currently in talks with a number of companies. While a deal is never done until the ink’s dry, I’m confident we’ll go into our campaign with a major sponsor.
“I could have sold it a couple of times at a lower price than we believe it’s worth. We will hold out because we know what it’s worth.
“If you sell it below its value that devalues the whole sponsorship market, not only on the Gold Coast but right through the NRL.”
The NRL is expected to finalise the Titans ownership change next week after meeting with the two remaining parties for the last time on Thursday in Sydney.
The commissioners requested more information from the rival consortia — Stuart McAuliffe and Rebecca Frizelle-Darryl Kelly’s joint bid — before determining who the club will go to.
The Titans were in a perilous state in early 2015 as a drugs scandal was followed by the club being taken over by the NRL.
With a new club headquarters and coach Garth Brennan assuming the reins, Annesley said the Titans were a more attractive proposition for potential backers.
“We’re in a far better position,” he said.
“That was the season the NRL took over. We were coming off the back of insolvency and other issues.
“We’re stable financially now, have new premises, announced the re-signing of Ash Taylor and a new coach.
“The final piece of the puzzle is the ownership. I am pretty confident we will be in a position to have a sponsor before we start playing games.”
Source: couriermail.com.au