Landmark sponsorship deal to provide skateboarding spaces in England

Photo: Rob Whiston

Habito will become the principal partner for Skateboard GB in the year that skateboarding makes its debut in the Olympic Games

Skateboard GB are pleased to announce that Habito, the online mortgage broker, lender and home-buying service, will be a principal partner in 2021, cementing the largest sponsorship deal in UK skateboarding history.

The investment is set to benefit skateboarders across the UK and will be used for developing skateable spaces, including DIY community projects and city centre skate spaces. Skateboard GB has hired Chris Lawton as Skateboard Community Development Officer to lead on the project. Chris, who spent recent years developing the Lady Bay Skatepark, Radcliffe Skatepark, and helped to reinvent Nottingham as a skateboarding hotspot, will work with groups to develop skateboarding destinations, with the aim of creating a number of skateboard facilities over the next 12 months.

In addition to the new skate spaces, the partnership will invest in a skateboard awards scheme to help facilitate more people taking up the sport, with a structured programme to help youngsters learn to skateboard.

Habito has supported the UK Skateboard Championships since 2019 and sees the sport as fundamental in helping make communities stronger.

Abba Newbery, chief marketing officer, at Habito said: “We recognise the impact that skateboarding has in the regeneration and urban development of our towns and cities. As well as all the many physical and mental health benefits for individuals, a flourishing skateboarding scene can add to an area’s sense of community, to its culture and make somewhere a great place to live. We’re passionate about supporting skateboarders at all ability levels and we hope more people will be encouraged to take part in this brilliant sport in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics and beyond.”

James Hope-Gill, CEO of Skateboard GB said “We’re delighted and really excited to announce this purpose-led partnership with Habito. This is the biggest sponsorship in the history of UK skateboarding which will see grassroots skateboarders directly benefit from the investment”.

Later this month, Skateboard GB is set to announce the date of the GB National Championships, the only Olympic qualifying event held in Great Britain this year, with the best skateboarders from around the country competing for a £7,000 prize fund. Habito will feature as the principal partner at the event in a separate deal, showing their commitment to support the whole skateboarding community.