Saxo Bank withdraws from its sponsorship past 2010

Saxo Bank withdraws from its sponsorship of ‘Team Saxo Bank’ past 2010. Below you can find a video interview with with Lars Seier Christensen, Co-CEO of Saxo Bank where he explains the reasons why.
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Saxo Bank, the specialist in online trading and investment, announced today that it will no longer continue its sponsorship of the cycling team, Team Saxo Bank, after 2010.

Saxo Bank has sponsored the team since 2008. At that time, the team was competing under the name of Team CSC-Saxo Bank. Saxo Bank took over as main sponsor on 1 January 2009, and the team changed its name to Team Saxo Bank.

In a joint statement, Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen, Co-CEOs and co-founders of Saxo Bank, said:
”Our collaboration with Bjarne Riis, the riders and the rest of Team Saxo Bank has been fantastic, and we are really looking forward to supporting the team in 2010. We have enjoyed the journey that we have travelled with them. We recognise that the sponsorship has given us a great branding opportunity and increased our name recognition around the world. However, we also have to acknowledge that the sponsorship has not been ideal in reaching our narrow target group. We have to take this seriously and after 2010 we will use our marketing funds differently. It is our belief that a sponsor with a broader profile will achieve much more from sponsoring the cycling team.”

”Saxo Bank’s sponsorship runs another year and we are already looking forward to the season to come. It goes without saying that we will support Team Saxo Bank and exploit the sponsorship to the full throughout the next year. As a company we still love cycling and we couldn’t have hoped for a better collaboration with the team. We have huge respect for, and trust in, Bjarne Riis and the riders, and we are certain that we will be able to celebrate many new victories in 2010.”

The team’s greatest successes in 2009 include Fabian Cancellera’s victory in Tour de Suisse, in the World Individual Championships for the third time, and his ownership of the yellow leader’s jersey for five days of the Tour de France. Argentinean rider Juan José Haedo won the GP Cholet, and German rider Jens Voigt won Criterium International for the fifth time. In addition, Andy Schleck won Liège-Bastogne-Liège, was number two in the Tour de France, and was awarded the white youth jersey for the second year running. His brother Fränk Schleck came fifth in this year’s Tour de France. Finally, the Danish rider Jakob Fuglsang won Post Danmark Rundt 2009. This is the first time a rider has won Post Danmark Rundt twice in a row.

Media enquiries

Kasper Elbjorn, Head of Group PR, Saxo Bank
Mob: +45 3065 4300
press@saxobank.com

Rasmus Bækvad, Communications Manager, Team Saxo Bank
Mob: +45 2868 2038
rb@riis-cycling.com

About Saxo Bank
Saxo Bank is an online trading and investment specialist, enabling clients to trade Forex, CFDs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives, as well as providing portfolio management via SaxoWebTrader and SaxoTrader, the leading online trading platforms. SaxoTrader is available directly through Saxo Bank or through one of the Bank’s global partners. White label is a significant business area for Saxo Bank, and involves customised and branding the Bank’s online trading platform for other financial institutions and brokers. Saxo Bank has more than 100 white label partners and boasts thousands of clients in over 180 countries. Saxo Bank is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices in Australia, China, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, UK, and the United Arab Emirates.