Premiership Rugby’s Sale Sharks today announced that credit card lender MBNA will become the club’s Principal Partner for the next three seasons.

MBNA will continue its sponsorship of the Main Stand at Sale Sharks’ Edgeley Park home as well as maintaining its current support via Premiership Rugby’s Central Partner Programme and Tackling Numbers Community Scheme.

The new shirts, bearing the MBNA logo, will be unveiled in July this year.

MBNA, based in Chester, is a subsidiary of Bank of America – one of the largest financial institutions in the world. It is also one of the UK’s largest credit card lenders.

Ian O’Doherty, Europe Card Executive for Bank of America, said: “We are delighted to be strengthening our two-year partnership with Sale Sharks. As Principal Partner we will be much more than a club sponsor; we want to support the growth and success of the club on and off the field and maximise the opportunities this partnership offers both the club and our business.

“The British sports landscape and rugby in particular is a sizable business and represents a significant growth opportunity for us in the UK under our MBNA brand. Sports investment has been part of the Bank of America culture for the better part of 130 years and this rich heritage is grounded in the bank’s belief that sports can bring individuals, communities and the country closer together, while making opportunities possible for customers, clients and communities.”

Commenting on the launch of the partnership, Sale Sharks’ CEO Mick Hogan said: “It is tremendously exciting news that MBNA has agreed to become the Principal Partner of Sale Sharks. Like us, they are based in the North West of England but they operate on a national and international scale. They are no strangers to Premiership Rugby and Sale Sharks, as sponsors of both. It is very encouraging that they have decided to extend their support with the club by becoming our new Principal Partners.

“They do so at a time that is very exciting for this club. We have a new coaching and management team in place under Steve Diamond, more than 20 new players including a host of internationals joining next season, new training facilities at Carrington and key off-field personal now established at Edgeley Park. With the additional support from MBNA everyone is working to get Sale Sharks back to the heights we enjoyed several years ago. We look forward to working with all the staff at MBNA for the benefit of both their organisation and the on-field success of the Sharks.”