Culture-conscious lawyers deliver Comedy Festival deal to boost local economy

Release date: 11/10/2011

Leicester Comedy Festival's success in securing a major funding and coverage sponsorship deal with national TV station Dave will bring an economic boost to local businesses.

Leicester Comedy Festival's success in securing a major funding and coverage sponsorship deal with national TV station Dave will bring an economic boost to local businesses. Law firm Harvey Ingram developed and brokered the contract, balancing the business needs of the sponsor with the organisers' ambitions for a distinctive national profile.

Harvey Ingram partner John Stobart (pictured right) put together the contract that will see Leicester�s 17 day-long Festival improve on this year�s �2 million contribution to the local economy. The commercial deal was created by branded comedy specialists Sparkle Productions.

He says: "The Festival plays an increasingly broad cultural role within Leicester but the organisers' vision is to have a truly national presence. The relationship with Dave does this. This year the Festival contributed around £2 million to the local economy and with Dave onboard the profile nationally will result in more people coming here, more tickets sold, more hotel rooms stayed in, more meals eaten here and a far greater boost to the economy. It's also a fillip for the Arts and Culture mission of the city which is key to Leicester's strategy to be a destination for culture."

Commercial deal drawn-up in Leicester

John Stobart's team of media and entertainment industry experts structured a package that worked for both parties. For the first time there will be a national tour showcasing unique Festival shows and this will be supported by Dave's branding, creating spinouts in the broadcast media.

John Stobart explains the business motivation behind the deal:

"In 2011 the Festival featured 346 shows and sold over 45,000 tickets. With Dave delivering a major national profile we confidently expect those figures to be beaten in 2012 and that can only be very good news for Leicester. Much of the focus is on the wider benefits for the region's hospitality sector."

Emulating Montreal's success

With the Dave deal signed people are talking about Leicester Comedy Festival in the same bracket as the world famous Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal which was also elevated in status through media exposure.

"Just for Laughs is the world's best-known comedy festival," says John Stobart, "but we feel that Leicester is now well on the way to emulating that city's profile and success, as the Dave deal delivers the coverage we need to really become a market leader."

Geoff Rowe (pictured left)the Festival chief executive said: "Harvey Ingram has approached this with both business and legal skills, balancing the corporate needs of a major broadcaster with the quirky and sometimes irreverent character of a major comedy Festival. In doing so the firm delivered a deal that will benefit the sponsor, the Festival and the city."