Car maker Vauxhall to end England sponsorship deal

Vauxhall has announced it will end its sponsorship of the England football team - just weeks after a deal was agreed to sell the car maker to the French company behind Peugeot (Other OTC: PUGOF - news) .

The deal will end following the 2018 World Cup after seven years and the company will also stop being the main sponsor for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A Vauxhall spokesman said the decision had been made before the agreement to sell the company, currently owned by America's General Motors (NYSE: GM - news) , to France's PSA - and was not connected to it.

GM agreed to offload its European business, also including Germany's Opel, earlier this month for £1.9bn, prompting fears for Vauxhall's 4,500 staff at Luton and Ellesmere Port.

Vauxhall has been the leading sponsor of the home nations since 2011, and in 2014 England announced their World Cup squad at its headquarters in Luton.

The company said in a statement: "Vauxhall Motors today announced that it will be stepping down from its role as lead sponsor of the England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland football teams beyond the World Cup in 2018.

"Vauxhall has, however, agreed to explore other opportunities to continue its relationship with the FAs beyond the conclusion of the existing contracts.

"Vauxhall will now concentrate its marketing resources on communicating the wealth of new, innovative and technologically advanced models that will be launched over the coming months and years."

The decision will leave the four associations to seek sponsorship elsewhere from next summer.