- Joined
- Jun 23, 2017
- Messages
- 2,561
- Country Flag
- Club or Nation
English rugby clubs ‘heading for disaster’ after mounting £300m in debts
Harlequins and London Irish are two clubs noted as being particularly concerning
www.independent.co.uk
Guessing the other two are Saracens and Bath (or maybe Gloucester)understood to include Exeter and Bristol
Great … those with the richest owners screwing the rest of the leagueSummarising a story from the Times:
In 2020 the salary cap was dropped from £6.4m to £5m to be held for 3 years before reverting to £6.4m in 2024/5.
Apparently, at the start of this season the 13 shareholding clubs voted on whether to continue with that plan or extend the £5m freeze. Change needed 10 clubs to vote for it, only 9 did so the increase in salary cap will happen with the backing of just 4 clubs understood to include Exeter and Bristol.
You just can't help wondering who's next.
What about the big spending French clubs? Are they losing money or do they have a more sustainable business model.The rich clubs aren't even rich though, they're all losing money year on year
Yes, but the clubs with the richest owners have some ability to absorb the debt, which the other clubs don't. Most of the clubs are living hand to mouth - reinvesting whatever money they make back in to the club. The rich guys are putting the money in, as well as any income which makes for a complete mismatch.The rich clubs aren't even rich though, they're all losing money year on year
Can the rich guys also write off any debts as profit loss and deduct it from their tax? Pretty sure a while back some famous types were investing their money in crap films for the same reason.Yes, but the clubs with the richest owners have some ability to absorb the debt, which the other clubs don't. Most of the clubs are living hand to mouth - reinvesting whatever money they make back in to the club. The rich guys are putting the money in, as well as any income which makes for a complete mismatch.
If it carries on this way, there won't be a domestic competition.
Feels like in France they have a lot more support from local government especially around stadiums. Bordeaux's massive stadium is an eg I've seen. Would be interesting to know if they charge much less than Uk councils do. Maybe because they get better funding from central government they don't need it.Yup, it's why we've been desperate to buy or leave for years - but the council wouldn't sell to us and the nimbys stopped us building our own
They average about 2.5k more in attendance and have the biggest TV deal in rugby, they all own their own stadium as well if I'm not mistaken (don't knowif this is the case with prem clubs). Rugby is the South of France's most popular sport which is a huge advantage.What about the big spending French clubs? Are they losing money or do they have a more sustainable business model.
So they have a better foundation. Makes sense now why they are more successful and can spend a bit more than everyone else.They average about 2.5k more in attendance and have the biggest TV deal in rugby, they all own their own stadium as well if I'm not mistaken (don't knowif this is the case with prem clubs). Rugby is the South of France's most popular sport which is a huge advantage.
I couldn't tell you if these clubs are sustainable, some definitely seem to be billionaire's playthings, but considering France have had a fully professional second division for years I'd guess that they are for the most part.
Pretty much, the competition has existed since 1892 and most clubs gave existed for over 100 years, apart from Montpellier and Bordeaux who are amalgamations of clubs that old.So they have a better foundation. Makes sense now why they are more successful and can spend a bit more than everyone else.
Well yeah, that's pretty much the point I was making.I can't understand why wealthy clubs would actively choose to harm the league as a whole, in the end the destruction of the league will be their destruction too.
Clubs owning stadiums is the exception (Toulouse/Clermont). Clermont is on property owned by Michelin as a fun fact of corporate asset allocation (as is the whole Clermont structure). Most are municipality owned. Even in Ligue 1 about half the teams play in publicly owned stadiums.They average about 2.5k more in attendance and have the biggest TV deal in rugby, they all own their own stadium as well if I'm not mistaken (don't knowif this is the case with prem clubs). Rugby is the South of France's most popular sport which is a huge advantage.
I couldn't tell you if these clubs are sustainable, some definitely seem to be billionaire's playthings, but considering France have had a fully professional second division for years I'd guess that they are for the most part.