Wimbledon brand appears recession proof

By Pritha Sarkar

LONDON (Reuters) - If Wimbledon had any fears about how the global credit crunch would affect its finances, those worries were wiped out the moment 2,500 Centre Court debentures were snapped up last month for 26,731 pounds each.

While Formula One, golf and soccer have all been hit by the financial downturn, a brand like Wimbledon is going from strength to strength.

"When we were having the discussions about the debenture issue, particularly with the timing of it, you would be pretty foolish if you weren't a little bit apprehensive about how it was going to work in the market," All England Club chief executive Ian Ritchie told Reuters in an interview in the run-up to the grasscourt grand slam which begins on Monday.

"But we were heavily over subscribed. We were very pleasantly delighted with the response. Here was a significant investment coming from a market place that has been in difficulty and yet the response was as positive as it was.

"If there was going to be a real impact for us in the recession, particularly the timing of the offering, it didn't manifest itself."

Despite the global economic downturn, each debenture released for 2011-2015 costs 4,600 pounds more than those issued in the previous five-year cycle.

With each debenture holder receiving one Centre Court ticket for every day of the two-week long championships, Ritchie defended the price hike.

"We felt it was right to put the price up because what was available was extremely attractive ... especially with guaranteed play on Centre Court with the new roof," he said.