Chester Zoo appoints PHAR to secure a headline sponsor for its new £30m development “Islands”

Chester Zoo, the most visited paid-for tourist attraction outside of London with over 1.4 million visitors per year, has appointed specialist agency Phar Partnerships to secure a headline sponsor for its new £30m development. “Islands” is one of the biggest and most ambitious projects in UK zoo history and will take its visitors on an adventure around the six South East Asian isles it represents – the Philippines, Papua, Bali, Sumatra, Sumba and Sulawesi. Phar Partnerships will lead the search for the headline sponsor with the project led by head of Phar’s North West office in Manchester, Ian Tussie, who recently secured Phones 4U as the title sponsor of the Manchester Arena.

Ian said “Chester Zoo is an incredible destination as shown by its continued success and consistently high visitor numbers. All of the research behind Islands points to further success and increased footfall.  We believe this is one of the most exciting sponsorship opportunities on the market given the already established audience a sponsor can engage with, its uniqueness as an experience in the UK and the chance to work with Chester Zoo who have a rich history of delivering conservation projects both in the UK and internationally. We’re thrilled to have been appointed and look forward to presenting this to the market.”

Islands opens in summer 2015 and will help Chester Zoo stand out as one of the world’s leading zoos and as a ‘must-see’ UK visitor attraction, drawing in visitors from all over the UK and abroad.Jamie Christon, Managing Director from Chester Zoo added “Connecting people with wildlife is at the heart of everything we do. Islands will help showcase the conservation importance of the South East Asian isles as our visitors go on their own personal expedition discovering extraordinary things along the way, including Monsoon Forest the largest indoor zoo exhibit in the UK. We look forward to working with Phar Partnerships to secure a sponsor who can join us on this exciting journey. For more information on Chester Zoo, please visit www.chesterzoo.org and www.actforwildlife.org.uk