Official Corporate Hospitality Agents Announced

RWC 2011 Official Corporate Hospitality Agents Announced

December 14, 2009

Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) and Rugby Travel and Hospitality (NZ) Limited (RTH) are pleased to announce the appointed Official Corporate Hospitality Agents (OCHAs) for Rugby World Cup 2011, New Zealand.

The first Official Corporate Hospitality packages for the Tournament will go on sale from February 1, 2010 through two vastly experienced consortiums, presenting an opportunity for the global Rugby family to secure packages for Rugby’s showcase event a year and a half ahead of kick-off.

A consortium comprising The Eden Park Trust, Auckland Rugby Union and the Experience Group from New Zealand and another comprising Ticketek and International Quarterback from Australia were appointed following a comprehensive tender and evaluation process. Both consortiums will market and sell a wide range of superior Rugby World Cup 2011 official hospitality packages to corporate consumers.

“Rugby World Cup is one of the top five sports events in the world and the strength of the corporate ticketing and hospitality programmes was one of the major success stories of a record-breaking RWC 2007 Tournament with combined ticket package and corporate sales exceeding 100,000, more than the 1999 and 2003 Tournaments combined,” said RWCL Managing Director Mike Miller.

“We are delighted that both the Official Travel Agents and Official Corporate Hospitality Agents for RWC 2011 are now confirmed. This key partnership of experienced providers under the RTH umbrella will ensure that supporters can look forward to unrivalled delivery for an event that is globally renowned for providing a world class Official Corporate Hospitality Programme.”

RTH Chief Executive Andrew Burton said: “We are pleased to have appointed the two stand out consortiums. Both organisations bring a wealth of sales experience and knowledge coupled with unrivalled networks in the global Rugby community and corporate markets.”

Burton added: “We anticipate huge demand for corporate hospitality for what is now one of the top sporting events in the world. Corporate consumers and Rugby supporters will have the opportunity to purchase match ticket inclusive hospitality from 1 February 2010.”

Information on the Official Corporate Hospitality programme will be available from January 2010 through the official Tournament website www.rugbyworldcup.com. and RTH website www.rth2011.com

Editor’s Notes

RWCL exclusively appointed RTH to create, implement and manage the global travel & hospitality programmes for RWC 2011, New Zealand. RTH is a joint venture between multi-national catering and support service provider Sodexo and corporate hospitality, sports travel, and event management specialists Mike Burton Group.

Rugby World Cup 2007, France was the most successful Rugby World Cup ever. The Tournament was broadcast to a global television audience of over 4 billion and generated a record net surplus of £122.4 million. RWC 2007 enjoyed 2.2 million public ticket sales with an attendance rate of 97% for the matches in France, a full corporate sponsorship inventory and unprecedented corporate hospitality sales with over 100,000 packages sold (greater than the last two Tournaments combined).

An independent Deloitte report identified the total economic benefits for the host nation as being up to £2.1 billion. Other major attractions of hosting the Tournament include promotion of the country, a Rugby and sports legacy and a feel good factor.

ENDS