It was announced last week that Branston would continue to sponsor the Lincoln City home kit for the fifth season in a row.
A local company with a turnover of more than £300m, they’ve been a regular on the Imps shirts, and their fifth season takes them second in terms of the longest-serving sponsors on the Imps shirts.
In all, we’ve had 21 front-of-shirt sponsors on the home kit, with five in a single season, and a handful running to longer than five seasons. I would do a quiz ‘can you remember them all’ but as they go back more than 40 years, it’s a niche quiz.
So, why not show them all to you instead?
J Arthur Bowers, January 1983 to May 1983
The first time the Imps had a sponsor on the shirt was against Bristol Rovers in January 1983. J Arthur Bowers was a soil and fertiliser merchant.
Fossitt & Thorne, November 1984 to 1988
I have always thought a front-of-shirt sponsor was normal, and my first interaction was with tyre supplier Fossitt and Thorne. We went without in 83/84, but in 84/85 a deal was struck. The first appearance of the logo came against Newport in November 1984, and it continued to be emblazoned on the shirts until we won the GMVC in 1988.
Wheel Horse, 1988 to 1990
Our deal with Wheel Horse in 1988 was a special one, because not only did they appear on the front of the shirt, but they gave us a ride-on mower to cut the Sincil Bank pitch – a 512D no less. While they had a shop in Lincoln, Wheel Horse were the first non-UK company to sponsor the Imps, as they were based in Indiana.
Stuart Pickford, 1990 to 1991
Until this very day, I always thought Pickford’s was a travel agent, but no, it was a garage. The deal only ran for a single season, the one Allan Clarke started and Steve Thompson finished, but it was the first logo to seriously clash with the kit. It was bright yellow, and it certainly stood out.
Looking at it now, I notice the Renault sign as well. Doh.
Flindall’s, 1991 to 1992
Geoff Davey claimed the deal with Flindall’s was the ‘highest sponsorship deal we have had per annum’ when it dropped in 1992. It’s interesting, because between this season and 1992/93, we didn’t change our kit design, only the sponsor. Flindall’s were, mysteriously, a ‘business broker’.
Lincolnshire Echo, 1992 to 1998
For many, the Echo was a major part of our early Lincoln City life. The local paper, often happy to criticise, had its logo on the front of the shirt for years. Halycon days, when the Lincolnshire Echo was a vital part of your Imps’ supporting life. Away kits often had the Sports Echo logo on as well. No diversity at this stage!
Alstom, 1998 to 2003
Alstom, the trading name of Rustons, are a big employer in the city, and continues to be. At a time when football clubs were struggling, they sponsored our shirts through the ITV Digital crisis. For five years, they were on the shirts, starting in League One, and ending as we crept out of administration and went to the play-off final.
Siemens, 2003 to 2004
In 2003/04, Lincoln City had the same shirt sponsor as Real Madrid. R9 had nothing on our boys, and this might be the pinnacle in terms of recognisable brands.
The Contracting Solutions Group, 2004 to 2006
The Contracting Solution Group were a recruitment firm from Doddington Road, linked to director Ray Trew. This was the first deal that saw the away shirt sold separately, with Sports TV on the kits we wore away from the Bank. The logo was ironed on, and looked awful.
Starglaze, 2006 to 2010
Four years of the glazing company followed, while estate agent Haart, and then the University of Lincoln, took the away kits and third kits. The 2008/09 kit wasn’t actually bad; it just came at a bad time.
Gocar Motor Superstore, 2010 to 2011
Was anything about this season popular? A Scunthorpe-based car sales company sponsors the shirt, the logo looked awful, and the team was rubbish. It’s best to forget this season ever existed.
Timber Stair Management (TSM), 2011 to 2013
TSM were the first front-of-shirt sponsor I worked for, although they (rightly) sacked me in May 2010, before the logo appeared on the kit. I think the 2012/13 kit was really nice, but as the season was poor, it’s not remembered. This was the first season we really sold out fully, as the stadium was also renamed. Cathedral Business Services took the away kits.
Bishop Grosseteste University, 2013 to 2018
The second major educational facility in the city to align with the Imps, Bishop Grosseteste University, might just about have been the hardest for people to spell. They backed us throughout the National League seasons, right up to the Checkatrade Trophy win.
NSUK, 2018 to 2019
The worst-looking sponsor of modern times, the Asbestos Surveys company, ended up stuck on a terrible kit as well. We won League Two, it’s a famous season, but the one-year association is not memorable.
SRP Hire Solutions, 2019 to 2020
I quite liked the SRP logo, and given I liked the TSM one, maybe it’s the flash of blue that makes it. SRP are one of the few sponsors I use regularly as well, and the owner is a huge City fan, making this a really popular choice, even if it is related to toilets.
Peregrine Holdings, 2020 to 2021
COVID struck, and getting a company to sponsor the shirt was virtually impossible. Enter Clive and the company he worked with, Peregrine Holdings, to ensure a steady stream of revenue in the darkest of times.
Next up, five in a season! Rather than go through each one, we’ll drop images of four of them.
Virgin Wines 2021
Light Source 2021
Buildbase 2022
University of Lincoln 2022
Branston Ltd 2022-current
And finally, our current sponsor. They took up the deal at the end of the 2021/22 season and have remained on the shirts ever since. Last season was a solid kit, but their support has extended to using their different brands across home, away and third. It’s interesting that we started with a soil merchant, and all these years later, we’re still in farming and agriculture with a potato merchant.
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