M&G ends blossoming Chelsea Flower Show deal

It is one of the highlights of the City's calendar, drawing scores of FTSE-100 chairs, chief executives and their advisers to its annual gala preview.

Now (Frankfurt: 11N.F - news) , the Chelsea Flower Show is hunting a new principal sponsor after the fund management giant which has backed it since 2010 decided not to renew its association.

Sky News understands that M&G Investments, the giant asset manager owned by Prudential (SES: K6S.SI - news) , will end its headline sponsorship of one of the world's best-known botanical shows after this year's event in May.

The decision has been taken by bosses including Anne Richards, the former Aberdeen Asset Management (Frankfurt: 899502 - news) executive who joined M&G (Shanghai: 603899.SS - news) as its chief executive last year.

It leaves open one of the most high-profile non-sporting sponsorship packages in the UK, and is expected to command a substantial seven-figure sum from a new backer.

M&G's commercial partnership is with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which is understood to have been informed about its sponsor's decision.

The annual preview evening and dinner, which take place in May, are among the best-attended events in the City calendar, with investment bankers hoping to catch the attention of prospective clients as they stroll around the gardens with their partners.

M&G is said to have decided that the partnership - while successful - has run its course, although sources said it hoped to retain some form of relationship with the RHS.

The RHS could not be reached for comment on Monday evening, while M&G declined to comment.