RBS has found itself, along with Formula 1 and Williams in particular, in an all out attack from the media courtesy of the self proclaimed “world’s Greatest Newspaper” the Daily Express. With tax payer money bailing out the bank and the recent attack on Sir Fred Goodwin, the “lavish” spending on F1 has not gone over very well with certain members of the establishment. You can read the full story here.
Additionally, RBS has a stable of sports figures that are ambassadors to their respective sport on behalf o RBS. Apparently they pressuring their “Ambassadors” to be heroes and step down from their contracts. This includes Sir Jackie Stewart. GMM reports:
John Mann MP, a member of the Treasury Select Committee, said of the star figures’ ambassadorial deals: “I think it would go down very well with the British public if some of them were to cancel their contracts.
“Some of them would become real heroes if they did.”
It is thought that former triple world champion Stewart has earned more than 4m euros through his RBS deal, and is quoted in the media as confirming that he is still “very much” with the bank.
“My contract has nearly two years to run and they always honour contracts,” he insisted.
A RBS spokeswoman told The Guardian newspaper: “We are doing our best to strike the right balance between the benefits sponsorships bring … while managing costs down within contractual constraints.”
Now Jackie may think they always honor contracts and that may be true but will the tax payers of the UK think honoring Jackie still makes sense now that post-bailout they are calling the shots? Zara Phillips (equestrian), Andy Murray (tennis) and Jack Nicklaus (golf) all have other sources of revenue but I am not sure what Jackie is involved with now that would supplement a gap of four million pounds.
