Mayor is talking to Santander over Boris bikes sponsorship

Mayor Boris Johnson has revealed that he is in talks with high street banking giant Santander about them replacing Barclays as the sponsor of his bike hire scheme.

The Mayor inadvertently disclosed the discussions at a West End fundraising ball for a children’s literacy charity earlier this week.

Giving an off-the-cuff speech at the Beanstalk Ball at the May Fair hotel Mr Johnson said “even today we are talking to Santander” about taking over the Boris bikes sponsorship.

His comments came as Transport for London officially launched the search for a replacement for Barclays. The bank will end its £5 million a year backing next summer, after five years. TfL wants its successor to pay £5.5 million annually over seven years in return for naming rights and the right to use corporate colours and branding on more than 10,000 cycles. The sponsor’s brand will also go on vehicles, docking points, pay terminals and staff uniforms.

A Santander spokeswoman said it already used sports personalities Jessica Ennis-Hill, Rory McIlroy and Jenson Button to promote the bank, but added:“We of course periodically monitor and review new opportunities — in fact we recently announced that we will be an official partner of ITV’s 2014 World Cup coverage. We will continue to review any suitable sponsorship opportunities as they arise.”