WHEN the Bulls secured a four-year £1.2million sponsorship tie-up with the city's Provident Financial Group in November 2012, it was hailed as the biggest deal in Super League history.

After the club were relegated last season, Provident could easily have pulled the plug on the arrangement – instead they chose to extend it for a further year.

Paul Mitchell, sponsorship manager at the Bradford-based firm, said: "It didn't even take a second's thought, to be honest.

"We were perfectly happy to carry on sponsoring the Bulls and we are so confident about the way the club is going under Marc Green that we extended the deal for another year until the end of 2017.

"To be honest, with the way the club is going off the pitch and the encouraging signs the team showed under Jimmy Lowes towards the end of last season, we're more confident that things are moving in the right direction.

"If the club was still in a downward spiral, as it was a couple of years ago, then it would have been a tougher decision. But this was an easy decision to make."

The sponsorship agreement with the Centenary Square money-lending firm sees their name emblazoned on the team's kit and the Odsal ground was renamed the Provident Stadium in 2012.

Provident also work closely with Bulls supporters and last season they took a coach of fans to the club's match against Catalans Dragons in Perpignan.

This year, the firm are organising a double-decker luxury coach trip to the Summer Bash in Blackpool in May. They also have a significant presence on match days at Odsal.

Mitchell said: "We're a Bradford-based business and our roots and heritage have been here since 1880.

"Our business is all about giving our customers a helping hand and we not only support the Bulls, but the club's supporters too.

"This season you can expect to see more of the same from us in terms of our fan activity and engagement, plus all sorts of hospitality giveaways."