The market belatedly greeted Villa's announcement of a deal with Easdaq-listed NTL with a 20p rise. The much expected agreement follows the pattern set by NTL's earlier deal with Newcastle United. The cable operator's subsidiary, Premium, has been appointed the exclusive media and advertising agent for the claret and blues. NTL will provide an interest-free £26m convertible loan repayable with 9.99% of Villa's shares and Premium will sponsor the club for two years. The news coincided with disappointing results for the six months to end of November. Lower gate receipts and a fall in merchandising income contributed to a 7% decline in turnover. Sustained salary inflation increased overheads significantly, pushing the football club £1.7m into the red (pre-tax profits of £2.2m), before taking account of player trades.