Marex Scores Principal Partnership with Nottingham Forest FC in Global Financial Services Push

Marex Group Ltd has secured a multi-year Principal Partnership with Nottingham Forest Football Club, positioning the financial services platform at the center of Premier League visibility. For fintech professionals, this move signals a major shift in how diversified market infrastructure providers are leveraging high-profile sports to transition from niche commodity specialists to household financial brands.

What was announced

The agreement establishes Marex as the Global Markets Partner of Nottingham Forest FC, serving as the exclusive provider of foreign exchange and other financial services for the club. The deal is structured as a "Front of Shirt" partnership, meaning Marex branding will be prominently displayed on the playing and replica kits for the men’s and women’s football teams, as well as the dresses of the Forest netball team.

The partnership is slated to run through the 2026/27 season and beyond, ensuring long-term visibility at the City Ground and across the club’s digital platforms. Beyond branding, the collaboration includes a social impact component focused on financial literacy within the local community and initiatives designed to encourage women to pursue careers in the financial services sector. This comes at a time of significant sporting investment for the club, which recently appointed Oliver Glasner as head coach—a manager with a history of European success in both the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League.

"At Marex we have built our global business by developing trusted, long-term relationships with our clients and growing alongside them. Our partnership with Nottingham Forest, a team with a proud heritage and a clear determination to compete at the highest level, will introduce Marex and our broad capabilities to an even wider global audience. We are genuinely excited by the opportunity to work with Forest and support their goals, just as we support our clients in achieving theirs. High performance, ambition and teamwork unite our organizations and provide a strong foundation for this partnership. This marks an important step in Marex’s continued development, and we look forward to what we can achieve together."

Ian Lowitt, Marex Chief Executive.

The companies involved

Marex Group Ltd is a diversified global financial services platform. While the firm has a deep-rooted heritage as a commodities specialist, it has evolved into a comprehensive provider of market access, infrastructure services, and liquidity across global markets. The group operates as a critical intermediary in the financial ecosystem, connecting clients to exchange-traded and over-the-counter products.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is one of the oldest institutions in world football. The club holds a prestigious position in English sporting history as one of only four English teams to have won two or more European Cups. Currently competing in the Premier League, the club is owned by Evangelos Marinakis. The partnership with Marex represents a significant commercial milestone for the club as it seeks to cement its status in the top tier of English football and expand its global commercial footprint.

What FF News has reported before

The intersection of professional football and financial services has become a recurring theme in recent months. FF News previously reported on IG Scores Landmark Three-Season Sky Sports Premier League Sponsorship Deal, highlighting how trading platforms are vying for the attention of the league's massive global audience. Similarly, the trend of fintechs securing physical kit presence was evidenced when Newcastle United Scores Multi-Year Training Kit Partnership with Fintech Giant SumUp. These moves reflect a broader industry push toward mainstream brand recognition through elite sport.

What this means

This partnership moves the needle by demonstrating that "back-end" market infrastructure firms now feel the need to compete for the same level of public mindshare as consumer-facing fintechs. By securing the front-of-shirt slot, Marex is stepping directly into the spotlight usually reserved for retail banks or betting firms. This puts pressure on other mid-tier financial service providers to justify their own brand spend in an increasingly crowded market. The inclusion of the women’s football and netball teams also suggests that corporate social responsibility and diversity metrics are now mandatory components of these high-value sponsorship packages, rather than optional extras. The central question for the sector remains whether these multi-million pound outlays translate into meaningful B2B lead generation or simply serve as expensive vanity projects in a hyper-competitive league.