Rugby Finances
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UK government with more public bailout money for Premiership.
Another £88m loan.
Premiership Rugby clubs to benefit from £88m loan from government to finish 2020/21 season
UK govt pledges £88million in loans for Premiership Rugby clubs to allow season to be concluded; Fans set to return in reduced capacity from May 17; Premiership Rugby chief Darren Childs: In our hour of need, this Government offered the financial help [we] so urgently needed
Premiership Rugby clubs will benefit of an £88million loan support from the Government in order to allow the 2020/21 season to be completed.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced on Saturday the latest tranche of funding from the winter phase of its Sport Survival Package aimed at helping sports, clubs and leagues hit by restrictions on fan attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic. It follows on from the £135m of government funding that rugby union received in November - with £44m going to the Rugby Football Union, £59m to Premiership Rugby clubs, £9m to clubs in the Championship and £23m to clubs below the Championship.
Earlier in March, the DCMS also pledged up to £5.5 million to support the launch of the men's Championship season and £40 million for grassroots clubs, making rugby union one of the main beneficiaries of government support.
Very rich mean must not be prevented from paying athletes more than they can afford or are worth and risk affecting the owner's egos or tax write offs.
It's disgusting.
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Financial woes force Wasps to halt recruitment
News, features and match reports from The Rugby Paper, the UK-based newspaper which specialises in rugby union at all levels ready for your viewing every Sunday of the year.
By Neil Fissler
Wasps have placed a freeze on recruitment despite Lee Blackett aiming to sign another two players before the new season kicks off at Gloucester next month.
The financially distressed outfit have already missed one deadline to repay the £35m retail bond they took to finance the purchase of their 35,000 seater ground in 2015. The bond, which was due to return 6.5 per cent interest, was suspended on the London Stock Exchange in May on the last day of trading before it was set to mature.
The club have had talks with HSBC about a refinancing deal defaulted on their repayment, and a new deadline of August 12 was set, but they are now going to miss that date as well.
Wasps will need to ask bondholders to agree to another extension to the redemption deadline, which would remove the default status and ease some of the pressure. Earlier this summer, Wasps applied to The West Midlands Combined Authority for £13m in public funds and hoped to have a couple more new signings in place.
Blackett has seen 11 players depart, including Malakai Fekitoa, Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, Thomas Young, and Jimmy Gopperth. He has only been able to recruit seven new signings, which have included Vincent Koch from Saracens and former Ireland prop John Ryan from Munster.
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Worcester Warriors hit by winding up petition
Premiership club says it has suffered ‘unavoidable delays’ in receiving funding that will ‘secure its long-term future’
Rugby Union
Read all the latest Rugby Union news and results on Telegraph Sport. Results, interviews, video and expert analysis.
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Fiji rocked by 3 sackings as CEO takes 'annual leave' as internal audit launched
The Fiji Rugby Union is conducting an internal investigation with three staff members sacked while John O’Connor...
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So it looks like some clubs have already blown their share of the part sale of the Premiership that was supposed to secure their future about three and a bit years back.
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isn't this basically "trickle down economics"? the top level may make money the the foundations (the clubs) just aren't financially viable
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Different code, but relevant in that the owner also owns the Newcastle Falcons union team. Both play at Falcon's stadium. Not major news, just an indication of lower future spending accross owner's teams.
Newcastle Thunder returning part-time less than a year after going professional
The Championship club informed players of the decision earlier today.
Newcastle Thunder will revert to part-time status next year. Players were informed in a meeting on Wednesday morning that the club would no longer be operating on a full-time basis.
Thunder, who set out a plan to win Super League by 2030, went full-time ahead of the current campaign having consolidated in the Championship. But less than 12 months since making that move, the club has now decided to reverse its decision.
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Wasps Rugby club being chased by HMRC over unpaid tax bill
Premiership club pursued after not paying bill and comes after it missed £35m bond scheme repayment date
Wasps are being pursued by HM Revenue & Customs over an unpaid tax bill.
After Telegraph Sport revealed Worcester Warriors had been hit by a winding-up petition from HMRC, their Midlands rivals were said to be another Premiership club being chased by the taxman.
Their chief executive, Stephen Vaughan, did not respond to repeated requests for comment, while HMRC declined to comment.
Unlike Worcester, HMRC is not currently seeking the liquidation of Wasps, whose owner, Derek Richardson, was forced to deny last week that the club was to enter administration amid suggestions to that effect on social media.
No Premiership club has gone bankrupt since 1999 but the coronavirus pandemic left some on the brink, with a Government bailout worth tens of millions of pounds seemingly not enough to ensure their survival.
Fears over Wasps’s future were raised in May after they announced a delay in repaying those to have invested in a £35 million bond scheme that helped bankroll their 2014 purchase of a 250-year lease on the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Those concerns were compounded the following month when they requested £13 million in public money from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to help pay stadium costs.
The most recent set of accounts for Wasps Holdings, covering the year ending June 2021, showed it recorded a loss of £18.5 million over a two-year period and had net current liabilities of £54.7 million.
The bondholder debt was initially secured against the value of the stadium, which the accounts valued at £52.4 million.
Wasps are the only Premiership club whose Companies House filings do not include notification of a charge being issued against them for taking out a multi-million-pound loan under the Government’s Covid-19 Sports Winter Survival Package.
But Telegraph Sport has been told they did borrow money under the scheme and that, like other teams, their loan is a secured one.
At the weekend, Telegraph Sport revealed Wasps were facing possible legal action from Coventry City after their Coventry Building Society Arena tenants were forced to postpone a second home match this season over an “unsafe and unplayable” pitch.
On Wednesday, both clubs announced “extensive work” would take place on the playing surface this week and that a “six-figure investment” would be made into pitch improvements amid the postponement of a third Coventry home game this Saturday.
WMCA told Telegraph Sport Wasps’s request for public money was still under consideration, while Coventry City Council, which owns to freehold to the arena, said: “The city council, including through the chief executive and senior officers, has regular communication and dialogue with many businesses and this has been particularly important throughout the pandemic as the economic context has been incredibly challenging.
“Wasps have been one of these businesses.”
Worcester on Thursday night remained in dialogue with HMRC over its own unpaid bill, having previously said: “The club owners and board are fully committed to preserving top-flight professional rugby in Worcester and have been working on solutions to secure the financial future of Worcester Warriors and to pay outstanding tax owed to HMRC.
“A solution, which would secure the long-term future of the club, has been approved. Unfortunately, there have been unavoidable delays beyond the club’s control to the final tasks required to complete the funding.
“Having kept HMRC fully apprised of the situation, we are disappointed that they have taken the decision to issue a winding-up petition.”
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Premiership rugby club Worcester Warriors is set to enter administration, putting £14 million of taxpayer funds at risk.
The cash-strapped club, whose players include the British & Irish Lions winger Duhan van der Merwe, was last week issued by HM Revenue & Customs with a winding-up petition over an unpaid tax bill.
SPONSORED
The club responded to reports of its troubles last week by saying it was “working on solutions to secure the future and to pay outstanding tax”.
However, Worcester is now understood to have asked the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport for permission to go into administration. Such approval is required because of the taxpayer cash it received during Covid.
Worcester is considering a range of administration options, which could mean the
Rest of the article is behind paywall.
Surely that 14 million wasn't for 1 club? Have to pay rupert to find out ....
Worcester Warriors: After £14m Covid bailout, this Premiership rugby club is going under
Premiership rugby club Worcester Warriors is set to enter administration, putting £14 million of taxpayer funds at risk.The cash-strapped club, whose players include the British & Irish Lions winger Duhan van der Merwe, was last week issued by HM Revenue & Customs with a winding-up petition over an
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Wow. Maybe they did get the 14million just for the one club.
Revealed: Premiership clubs took £124m in taxpayer cash
Exclusive: The average each Premiership club received in the coronavirus-induced Winter Survival Package loans is nearly £10m
Revealed: Premiership clubs took £124m in taxpayer cash
Exclusive: The average each Premiership club received in the coronavirus-induced Winter Survival Package loans is nearly £10m
The amount of taxpayers’ money poured into Premiership Rugby clubs to stop them going bust has more than doubled initial estimates to reach £124 million, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
The true scale of the financial crisis to have engulfed the professional game since the coronavirus pandemic can be laid bare in the week this newspaper disclosed Worcester Warriors had been hit with a winding up petition by HM Revenue & Customs and Wasps were also being pursued over unpaid tax.
It was originally calculated that the Government’s Covid-19 Sports Winter Survival Package would allocate £59m to Premiership clubs when the initiative was announced back in November 2020 as part of a sector-wide bailout for those starved of vital ticket revenue during various lockdowns.
Four months later, though, that figure had rocketed to £88m following detailed submissions from clubs chronicling their estimated losses. The department for digital, culture, media and sport tailored packages to meet the financial circumstances of individuals organisations, providing loans to give them the best possible chance of survival in the short term. Rugby union was comfortably the biggest beneficiary of this scheme among professional sports.
It has now emerged that has subsequently surged again by more than 40 per cent to an average of almost £10m for each of the 13 Premiership teams for what are 20-plus year loans they will soon need to begin paying back. Premiership Rugby have declined to comment.
In November 2020, as Premiership fixtures were being played out behind closed doors to obliterate vital income streams, the initial estimate of £59m was labelled as a “much-needed lifeline for our clubs” by Darren Childs, who stepped down from his post as the league’s chief executive the following April and has since been replaced by Simon Massie-Taylor.
In a statement earlier this week Worcester maintained they are working on "solutions to secure the financial future of Worcester Warriors and to pay outstanding tax owed to HMRC.
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“A solution, which would secure the long-term future of the club, has been approved. Unfortunately, there have been unavoidable delays beyond the club’s control to the final tasks required to complete the funding.
“Having kept HMRC fully apprised of the situation, we are disappointed that they have taken the decision to issue a winding-up petition.”
A spokesperson for Wasps said: “In common with a huge number of businesses, we agreed a time to pay arrangement with HMRC on coming out of the Covid-19 lockdowns. We have a strong relationship with HMRC and will continue to engage in proactive discussions with them.”
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@Rapido said in Rugby Finances:
Wow. Maybe they did get the 14million just for the one club.
Revealed: Premiership clubs took £124m in taxpayer cash
Exclusive: The average each Premiership club received in the coronavirus-induced Winter Survival Package loans is nearly £10m
Revealed: Premiership clubs took £124m in taxpayer cash
Exclusive: The average each Premiership club received in the coronavirus-induced Winter Survival Package loans is nearly £10m
The amount of taxpayers’ money poured into Premiership Rugby clubs to stop them going bust has more than doubled initial estimates to reach £124 million, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
The true scale of the financial crisis to have engulfed the professional game since the coronavirus pandemic can be laid bare in the week this newspaper disclosed Worcester Warriors had been hit with a winding up petition by HM Revenue & Customs and Wasps were also being pursued over unpaid tax.
It was originally calculated that the Government’s Covid-19 Sports Winter Survival Package would allocate £59m to Premiership clubs when the initiative was announced back in November 2020 as part of a sector-wide bailout for those starved of vital ticket revenue during various lockdowns.
Four months later, though, that figure had rocketed to £88m following detailed submissions from clubs chronicling their estimated losses. The department for digital, culture, media and sport tailored packages to meet the financial circumstances of individuals organisations, providing loans to give them the best possible chance of survival in the short term. Rugby union was comfortably the biggest beneficiary of this scheme among professional sports.
It has now emerged that has subsequently surged again by more than 40 per cent to an average of almost £10m for each of the 13 Premiership teams for what are 20-plus year loans they will soon need to begin paying back. Premiership Rugby have declined to comment.
In November 2020, as Premiership fixtures were being played out behind closed doors to obliterate vital income streams, the initial estimate of £59m was labelled as a “much-needed lifeline for our clubs” by Darren Childs, who stepped down from his post as the league’s chief executive the following April and has since been replaced by Simon Massie-Taylor.
In a statement earlier this week Worcester maintained they are working on "solutions to secure the financial future of Worcester Warriors and to pay outstanding tax owed to HMRC.
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“A solution, which would secure the long-term future of the club, has been approved. Unfortunately, there have been unavoidable delays beyond the club’s control to the final tasks required to complete the funding.
“Having kept HMRC fully apprised of the situation, we are disappointed that they have taken the decision to issue a winding-up petition.”
A spokesperson for Wasps said: “In common with a huge number of businesses, we agreed a time to pay arrangement with HMRC on coming out of the Covid-19 lockdowns. We have a strong relationship with HMRC and will continue to engage in proactive discussions with them.”
Imagine what our SR teams could do with 10 million squid!
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https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/62630861
Some of the more interesting parts of the article:
Like all sports clubs, Warriors suffered during the coronavirus pandemic - and the DCMS have confirmed that the club benefited from an undisclosed-sized loan through Sport England, as part of the government's sports survival package (SSP).
Unpaid tax could be £6m
BBC Hereford & Worcester's James Pearson
After a weekend of rumours and speculation, it's widely expected the club will be put into administration this week, possibly as early as Monday.
On Tuesday, 16 August the company running Warriors' operations - WRFC Trading Limited - was handed a winding-up petition by HMRC.
While the company's accounts for 2020 show it had yet to pay £2.3m in taxes, its 2021 accounts are now overdue. The current figure for unpaid tax has been reported by some newspapers as being as high as £6m.
The day after Warriors were hit by legal action for unpaid taxes, the directors used another of their companies to purchase the club's car park, for just £50,000.
As well as being directors of WRFC Trading Limited, Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham are also directors of a number of other companies, including Mq Property Ltd.
On Wednesday, 17 August Mq Property Ltd completed the purchase of the freehold of the club's car park. This was paid for with a loan from another company, Triangle Estate & Petroleum Ltd.
Separately in June, training pitches owned and used by Warriors were sold to a newly-created real estate company, Worcester Capital Investments Ltd, for £350,000.
The car park and pitches are sizeable parts of the Sixways site.
Warriors' accounts for 2020 state that as a whole the site had been independently valued at £16.7m. That estimate includes Sixways stadium; the freehold of which also now belongs to Mq Property Ltd.
Unlike indebted WRFC Trading Ltd, Mq Property Ltd is not known to face a winding-up petition, yet it now owns the bulk of the land the club sits on.
It's unclear whether the £50,000 purchase of the car park was an undervaluation. Its value - and that of the training pitches - will depend on what restrictions are in place on the land, as well as how easy it is to develop.
Warriors' 2020 accounts describe how the planning potential for the Sixways site had been 'significantly improved'.
In recent months Goldring and Whittingham have also set up three other new companies, Sixways Medical Limited, Sixways Property Limited and Sixways Stadium Limited. They have not revealed the purpose of these firms.
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@Rapido said in Rugby Finances:
The car park and pitches are sizeable parts of the Sixways site.
My guesses .... these parts. 'Worth' £0.4m out of the independently valued full site valued at £16.7m.
I wonder if they also own the neighbouring grounds that the amateur Worcester RFC clubhouse and 4 rugby fields are located on?
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@Rapido said in Rugby Finances:
@Rapido said in Rugby Finances:
The car park and pitches are sizeable parts of the Sixways site.
My guesses .... these parts. 'Worth' £0.4m out of the independently valued full site valued at £16.7m.
I wonder if they also own the neighbouring grounds that the amateur Worcester RFC clubhouse and 4 rugby fields are located on?
So some dodgy deals with the shareholders or something? No wonder they are going under, selling all that for 50k, FFS
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US-led consortium hopeful of saving Worcester Warriors from administration
The former Worcester Warriors chief executive Jim O’Toole is optimistic a newly formed consortium could save the club from administration
