Close Brothers, the leading UK merchant banking group, has become an Official Partner of The Jockey Club in a three-year agreement, it was announced today.

Close Brothers employs 2,800 people principally in the UK and provides lending, deposit taking, wealth management services and securities trading – for which it now receives a set of exclusive category rights from The Jockey Club – and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The partnership will help to heighten awareness and understanding of Close Brothers amongst The Jockey Club’s broad customer base, through branding and activities across its estate and via web and digital platforms, reaching audiences in venues, watching live on television and online.

Close Brothers will be able to offer its customers right across the UK, tickets to Jockey Club Racecourses, through its nationwide network of regional offices, and utilise world-class hospitality facilities for clients and stage meetings and events at The Jockey Club’s venues.

Founded in 1750, today The Jockey Club is the largest commercial group in British horseracing, and operates 15 of the leading racecourses in the UK, staging the likes of The Cheltenham Festival, Crabbie’s Grand National and The Investec Derby Festival. Governed by Royal Charter, with Her Majesty The Queen as its Patron, The Jockey Club acts as a champion for British Racing’s long-term prosperity, reinvesting all its profits to support Britain’s second-biggest spectator sport.

Simon Bazalgette, Group Chief Executive of The Jockey Club, said:

“The Jockey Club was founded in 1750 but takes a very modern approach to ensure British Racing has a relevant and national role in British life. That fits very well with Close Brothers who deliver modern financial services with traditional values. I look forward to this partnership providing mutual benefits and it helps The Jockey Club in our mission to support the long-term health of Britain’s second-biggest spectator sport.”

Theannual contribution of horse racing to the UK economy is calculated at £3.45 billion, and the industry supports around 100,000 jobs.

Notes to Editors

About Close Brothers

Close Brothers is a leading merchant banking group, providing lending, deposit taking, wealth management services, and securities trading. The group employs 2,900 people, principally in the UK. We are listed on the London Stock Exchange and are a member of the FTSE 250.

Close Brothers’ Banking division provides lending to small businesses and individuals, with an emphasis on specialist finance, and also offers deposit taking services to UK businesses and individuals.  We have a long track record of providing finance to SMEs and individuals throughout the economic cycle, and at 31 July 2015, we had a total loan book of £5.7 billion, of which £3.5 billion was lent to SMEs.

About The Jockey Club

The Jockey Club has been at the heart of British racing for more than 260 years. Today the largest commercial group in the sport, The Jockey Club runs the largest racecourse group in the UK by turnover (2014: £162.9m), courses (15) including those at Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and Newmarket, attendances (2014: 1.8m), total prize money (2014: £43.7m), contribution to prize money (2014: £19.1m) and quality racing (Group and Graded races); more than 3,000 acres of world-class training grounds in Newmarket, Lambourn and Epsom Downs; The National Stud breeding enterprise and education provider; and the charity for racing's people in need, Racing Welfare. Governed by Royal Charter, every penny The Jockey Club makes it puts back into British racing. More informationis available at www.thejockeyclub.co.uk.