Hibernian FC’s new principal partner announced

UTILITA GETS ‘UP FRONT’ TO CELEBRATE HIBERNIAN FC’s PRO-PLANET APPROACH TO FOOTBALL

Utilita – the UK’s only energy company created to help households use less energy – has officially announced this week that it will become the front of shirt sponsor as part of its two-year principal partner agreement with one of the UK’s greenest football clubs, Hibernian F.C.

The deal follows a successful partnership between Utilita and Hibernian F.C. during the 2020 and 2021 season, which saw the energy company’s logo on the back of shirt. Now in the fifth year of their long-term partnership, Utilita will feature in prime position on the front of the club’s home and away shirts and third kit strips, which are soon to be unveiled.

Both Utilita and Hibernian F.C. share many common values, with the two biggest being pro-planet and pro-local community.

Over the past few seasons, Utilita has been working with the club to make a difference within the local area, most recently donating significant sums to the Community Foundation’s “Famous Five a Day Campaign” – which provides food parcels to families who need them – and donating match passes to local schools.

Utilita also has offices and an exclusive high street Energy Hub in the buzzing port district of Leith.

Opened just two years ago, the hugely successful Energy Hub is a first-of-its-kind in Scotland, offering face-to-face customer service, energy efficiency advice and technology, access to interactive kid-friendly energy efficiency apps, and a dedicated community space that is open for the public to book and use from Monday to Saturday. Locals can also purchase Hibernian F.C. merchandise in-store.  

Central to the partnership will be Utilita’s industry award-winning Energy High 5 movement – helping households to avoid the five habits that waste energy, enabling households to save up to £163 per year, while helping the planet. Everyone can take part and start saving today, at www.utilita.co.uk/energyhigh5 . 

Greg McEwan, Hibernian F.C.’s Interim Chief Executive, commented on the support from Utilita: “The front of shirt sponsor needs to be just right, and must share the same values as our club.

“Therefore, I am delighted that we have exactly that in our partnership with Utilita, which is pro-planet and pro-community – it’s great to see an energy company with such high moral standards. 

“The team at Utilita are passionate and want to make a difference, not only in terms of reducing energy bills, but in the local community too.” 

Jem Maidment, Utilita’s Chief Marketing Officer, said: “We couldn’t be prouder to be Hibernian F.C.’s principal partner after what has already been a hugely successful four seasons with the club.

“As the greenest club in Scotland – and the third greenest club in the UK – we share many common values and we’re chuffed of the support they’ve given us in backing Energy High 5, a campaign which encourages people to cut down their energy usage with five free and easy-to-follow tips – saving both their pocket and the planet!

“We’re excited to see what next season brings as Hibs take on European opposition.”

The partnership announcement follows Utilita’s newly launched Football Rebooted campaign with environmentalist and former goalkeeper, David James MBE, which encourages people to donate and claim pre-played football boots and all-weather football trainers, to save families a small fortune, as well as 136,000 tonnes of carbon – the same as taking 7,000 cars off the road for a year, or turning the energy off in one million medium-sized houses for a week. Over 500 pairs of boots were donated in the first 48-hours of the campaign launching. 

Football Rebooted is designed to put an aspirational spin on a mechanic that will get good boots through to families struggling to afford new ones, after Utilita’s State of Play report revealed that out of the 74 percent of families who had been impacted financially by the pandemic, 18 percent won’t be able to send their kids back to grassroots football as they can’t afford boots and other items such as goalie gloves and shin pads. 

Founded in 2003, Utilita is one of the nation’s fastest-growing independent energy suppliers – currently powering more than 800,000 UK customers. It’s established itself as a hugely-recognisable brand within British football, having supplied power to a number of iconic stadiums while partnering with over 20 clubs.