Cambridge & Counties Bank supports Leicester Comedy Festival
Ian McKenzie, Chief Financial Officer at Cambridge & Counties Bank, said: “Comedy does not suggest an immediate link with banking, but the Comedy Festival fits Cambridge & Counties’ somewhat unique approach to business.
“The Bank has a growing presence in Leicester, home to our HQ and the majority of our staff, plus increasing links with a whole range of professionals. In 2015 we accelerated our community programme, notably through Leicestershire Cares.
“As a business becoming embedded in Leicester, a next logical step was to get involved in the cultural life of the city which is so important to us and our people.
“The juxtaposition of comedy and banking appealed to us. It’s not an obvious link. But Cambridge & Counties is not a traditional bank, we do things differently and the Comedy Festival is a good fit for us.
“The amount the Bank contributes is not a large sum, and the combined sponsorship the Festival receives from all its sponsors is no doubt vital to its operation. We’ll also be supporting the festival by attending the business stand-up challenge.
“It’s our first year sponsoring, but we’re confident it will represent value for money. The Festival draws in a lot of the professional firms we are involved with – lawyers, valuers, accountants – who we get work from and share business with.
“The Comedy Festival is a flagship event for Leicester. It is not a business event, or even a business-driven event, and that is part of the attraction for us. It is very special because it’s something our staff are keen to get involved with, as do the staff of those organisations we do business with.
“Rather than having to engineer opportunities to meet up with people useful to our business, we can bond over comedy without business even being mentioned. Happy people enjoying a laugh together has to be a good way of building relationships.”