It"s probably to do with the new sponsorship agreement with BlueSQ - which is part of the Rank Group that also owns the Grosvenor casinos.
I missed the event at Aspers last season (was at a wedding), but I heard it was a cracking venue and I wish I could have been there.
It wasn"t the largest though - the one in Cardiff had 220 runners, and the European event that was held in Luton had 300 runners (although spread over two day ones).