Milnes (pictured) joins the agency on January 7 and has worked for The Ageas Bowl and Hampshire Cricket Ltd for five-and-a-half years. He was heavily involved in the deal that saw financial brand Ageas UK take on the naming rights for the cricket venue and promote its redevelopment from a 9,500 capacity to a 15,000 all-seater venue. He has also worked on Hampshire Cricket’s extensive community outreach programmes.

Prior to joining Ageas he worked for Decathlon, the French sports brand. At Repucom, he will be responsible for helping the firm continue to consolidate its rapid growth in the UK following the acquisition of IFM Sports Marketing Surveys.

• In separate news, Sport+Markt and IFM Sports are to be renamed as Repucom in the first half of 2013. All three companies are part of the RSMG Insights holding group, which is to unite its sports marketing research businesses under the one global brand. The process of rebranding will be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2013. Marcel Cordes, President Europe of RSMG Insights, said: “It is in line with our objective of offering our clients truly global solutions and products combined with local market expertise and insight. A unified presence as Repucom will help us truly live up to our reputation as market and thought leaders in our industry.”