VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES AND X-TRADE BROKERS ANNOUNCE HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP

In a few days the historical comeback of F1-legend Michael Schumacher will take place at the 2010 Bahrain F1 Grand Prix in Manama. But today Vodafone McLaren already unveiled a historic partnership.

X-Trade Brokers, a Warsaw-based brokerage house specialising in foreign exchange (FOREX), commodity and stock market investments, announced today the historic partnership with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team.

X-Trade Brokers becomes the first Polish company to sign a partnership with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, and its logo (�XTB’) will appear on the overalls of reigning World Champion Jenson Button and 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, as well as on the upper engine cover of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-25 Formula 1 car.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is one of the most successful teams competing in Formula 1, having won 20 World Championships since it entered Formula 1 in 1966, and in 2010 it will become the first Formula 1 team ever to field a driver line-up consisting of the two most recent World Champions: Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.

“X-Trade Brokers stands for success, prestige and being the best. Therefore, it’s only right that we’ve chosen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to showcase our company to the world: success is the foundation of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and the two companies therefore make a very natural fit,� said Jakub Zablocki, Chief Executive Officer of X-Trade Brokers.

“When looking for a sponsorship property, we pondered at length which sport and which team would best reflect our own benchmarks of professionalism, high technology and need for speed. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes meets all those criteria as well as bringing with it attractive opportunities for X-Trade Brokers to increase its global brand footprint and awareness. Our partnership with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes marks a new stage of dynamic development and expansion for X-Trade Brokers. It’s also a great day for Poland.� Zablocki continued.

“Adding X-Trade Brokers to our already world-class group of partners is a testament to the unique and enduring appeal of Formula 1 and of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes,� said Jonathan Neale, Managing Director of McLaren Racing, who attended today’s announcement in Warsaw.

“As a truly international Formula 1 team, we’re proud that that we’re in partnership with companies from a wide variety of nations across a diverse spread of industry sectors; now, we’re delighted to be able to add Poland to that roster. Not only is the arrival of X-Trade Brokers excellent news for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes – it’s also a very exciting development for Poland and Polish business generally, as Poland further extends its footprint into Formula 1.

“We at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes always make great efforts to ensure that our partners gain unbeatable returns on their investments, and that our partnership is just that: a mutually beneficial meeting of minds and aims, the result of which is an exciting blend of sporting triumph and commercial success,� Neale concluded.

This year X-Trade Brokers plans further development and international expansion as throughout 2010 operations will open in four new European countries: France, Italy, Portugal and Hungary. At the same time, XTB is concentrating on the acquisition of brokerage houses in Asia and South America which will see the beginnings of developing distribution networks beyond the EU.

X-Trade Brokers is a Polish brokerage house specialising in financial instruments traded over the counter market and stock exchange. X-Trade Brokers DM SA is supervised by the Financial Supervision Commission. The company is also active in foreign markets, having offices in Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania.

X-Trade Brokers provides its customers with the most technologically advanced transactional applications, characterised by professionalism, honesty and openness to the action in the market.

The aim of X-Trade Brokers is to create the most efficient and user-friendly system to carry out transactions in foreign exchange markets, commodity and stock markets. Thanks to a restrictive cost policy and internet sales network, X-Trade Brokers can offer its customers one of the lowest spreads and exchange commissions. X-Trade Brokers aims to maintain its position as a leader among online trading platforms and to propose effective ways to trade on a stock exchange.

X-Trade Brokers does not aim to deal with investment advice, but aims to take action to increase awareness of the principles of the functioning of financial markets among its clients.

New Zealand racing driver Bruce McLaren founded the McLaren team in 1963. It entered its first grand prix in 1966 and won its first Formula 1 race in 1968. More than 40 years and 164 grand prix victories later, McLaren is still renowned as one of the sport’s most successful competitors and as one of the world’s most illustrious high-technology brands.

The McLaren Group has grown to encompass much more than just racing. Housing a cutting-edge electronics division that not only services the entire Formula 1 grid but also many racing series across the globe. McLaren Applied Technologies creates cutting-edge solutions for modern industry while McLaren Automotive not only produced the 1990s’ original supercar, the F1, and the unique Mercedes-Benz SLR but has recently unveiled the prototype of its newest vehicle – the MP4-12C.

The team kicks off its 2010 campaign with a stunning driver pairing: 2009 world champion Jenson Button and 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton. It is the first time since 1989 – when it ran Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna – that the team has fielded a joint-world champion driver line-up, and marks the first time in Formula 1 history that the sport’s two most recent world champions have been partnered together.

Vodafone is the most renowned mobile operator brand involved in the pinnacle of motorsport, the Formula One.

Formula 1 is becoming more and more popular in Egypt and the Middle East region. After Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, now also Qatar is applying to host a Formula 1 race soon.