Liverpool's new shirt sponsor has delivered an upbeat trading statement. Banking group Standard Chartered said it was in "excellent shape" in its pre-close trading update covering the half year period to June 30, reports the Liverpool Daily Post.
The group, which is predominantly focused on the Asia-Pacific region, revealed that by the end of May its income and profits were ahead of the same period in 2009, thanks to double digit growth over the second half of 2009.
Standard Chartered chief executive Peter Sands said: "The group has continued to see very good appetite for its name" and reported that during April and June the bank managed to raise £2.6bn of new funding.
Mortgage income is up strongly on a year-on-year basis and some 850 new staff have been recruited within the group's commercial and wholesale divisions.
A four-year performance-related shirt sponsorship deal worth up to £80m was unveiled by the company and Liverpool FC last September.
