City Diary: On the Chase

[Fiona]

By Martin Waller

CHASE DE VERE Mortgage Management has been caught in a trap that, I suspect, is going to ensnare a lot more companies in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics. The British Olympic Association is jealously guarding any mention of the Olympics and other linked words, such as “games”, “gold”, “bronze” and “silver”, which can be used only by sponsors of the British team.

Chase recently, in all innocence, launched an Olympic Bonus Mortgage, paying out a sum based on the number of gold medals the team wins. “We got quite a ticking-off,” says a chastened Simon Tyler, managing director, who was contacted immediately by the BOA’s brand protection lawyers.

Worse, once legislation being rushed through Parliament is in place, a similar slip could cost the firm involved a hefty fine. It leaves Chase with an interesting problem. The mortgages will continue, but the wording will somehow have to explain the terms of the bonus without any obvious reference to the Games.

Timesonline