OXFORD and Cambridge University Boat Clubs have signed a deal said to be worth in excess of £1.4m with fund managers Aberdeen Asset Management to sponsor their annual Boat Race.

The deal will last for three years, with the option to extend the contact to 2004.

The exact price has not been revealed but university clubs said it exceeded the £1.4m paid by the previous sponsor Beefeater Gin.

Over the last five years the Boat Race has been one of the top five most popular sporting events on terrest- rial television, along with the Grand National, the FA Cup Final, the Wimbledon men's final, and the British Grand Prix.

Aberdeen Asset Management handles around £14b worth of investments including Peps and unit trusts.

The group have offices around the world including London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Chicago as well as Aberdeen.

Story date: Tuesday 26 January

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.