Cardiff Rugby players told club to enter administration

Telegraph

08-04-2025

Cardiff Rugby is seeking to enter into administration after players were informed of the Welsh club's financial crisis in a meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
The club are set to file a note of intent to enter into administration as part of the fallout following the death of their long term benefactor, Peter Thomas, in March 2023.
Thomas ploughed millions into the regional entity from its inception in 2003 up until his death at the age of 79 in March 2023, when new investors were sought to keep the club afloat.
Helford Capital Limited, led by British businessmen Phil Kempe and Neal Griffith, completed their takeover after the investment group acquired an 84.55 per cent shareholding in the club in January 2024.
However, the players and staff at the club were called to a meeting in the Sir Gareth Edwards Lounge at 2.30pm on Tuesday to hear from chief executive Richard Holland, with those not able to attend in person invited to join via Zoom.
Holland informed employees that the club will be placed in administration within the next 24 hours. It's understood that the Welsh Rugby Union have taken steps to place the club under their control.
This week it was revealed that Griffith was the former chief executive and shareholder of financial services venture, Optima Worldwide Group, that went into liquidation in 2021 owing creditors £37 million. The liquidation process for that company is ongoing.
The financial turmoil at Cardiff will be all too familiar to the players, who were faced with a severe downturn in payments back in 2023 as the financial picture worsened coming out of Covid. The WRU payment to the regions dropped from £7.2 million in the 2022-23 season to £5.2 million in the next season and then to £4.5 million for this campaign.
Players were told that wages would be slashed, with some being offered as little as £30,000 for a year having previously earned more than £100,000. Some left for other clubs, while others looked for different professions.
Rugby finance issues
Against this background the WRU has been trying to drive through a new six-year Professional Rugby Agreement with its four professional clubs. CEO Abi Tierney has been promising to reach a final agreement for some time and this latest hiccup is likely to lead to further delay.
Both the Scarlets and Ospreys posted losses for the last financial year at the end of last month. The Scarlets lost £2.59 million, down from £2.91 million the previous year, while Ospreys recorded a £2.18 million loss, slightly up on the previous year's figures of £2.15 million.
It is understood Tierney had a meeting with the management board of the Cardiff Athletic Club (CAC), who own the lease to the Arms Park and have the Cardiff RFC club side as a constituent member, on Monday night to confirm the WRU intentions to take over the running of Cardiff Rugby.
While CAC have been reluctant to agree a new long term lease with Cardiff Rugby they are believed to be much happier to work in conjunction with their neighbours at the WRU. Granting them an extended lease could allow the two parties to work in tandem to develop one of the most prize city centre sites in the Welsh capital.