X-Trade Brokers, a Warsaw-based brokerage house specialising in foreign exchange (FOREX), commodity and stock market investments, has today announced a partnership with the McLaren F1 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.

"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.