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Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Red Bull agree deal to buy Newcastle Falcons and keep Premiership club afloat
Brett Connon of Newcastle Falcons in action against Leicester Tigers during a Premiership match in May. Brett Connon of Newcastle Falcons in action against Leicester Tigers during a Premiership match in May. Photograph:Red Bull has agreed a deal to buy Newcastle Falcons which includes a commitment to keep the club in the city and will ensure the Premiership remains a 10-team competition next season. Newcastle have been for sale for over a year, with owner Semore Kurdi no longer willing to fund multimillion-pound annual losses, leading to fears they could become the fourth Premiership club to go bust in the last two years after Wasps, Worcester and London Irish. Advertisement Related: An ugly pack and backs worth paying to watch: Bath have taken us back to the 1990s | Andy Bull Such has been the concern for Newcastle's future that the other Premiership clubs agreed in principle to provide a £4m loan to enable them to take part in the competition next season, with a nine-team top-flight not thought to be commercially viable. Red Bull is understood to have reach an agreement to take over the cash-strapped club however, and take on their £39m debts. These include £14.5m in unpaid treasury loans taken out during the Covid-19 pandemic. During negotiations with the Austrian energy drinks company the prospect of moving the club to the 26,000-capacity Darlington Arena 40 miles away was discussed, but the Guardian has been told that Red Bull's takeover plan involves Newcastle staying at Kingston Park, which has been their home for the past 35 years. Advertisement Red Bull's decision to stay in Newcastle is likely to be popular with the club's longsuffering fans, who did not see them win a single match last season and only two this as Steve Diamond's side finished bottom of the Premiership on both occasions. The company's vision for the club is understood to be based on using their brands and marketing expertise to gain support from younger people in the city, with several campaigns planned to appeal to Newcastle's student population. Given the company's footballing connections Red Bull is also expected to seek a close working relationship with Newcastle United. The club's outgoing sporting director Paul Mitchell previously worked at RB Leipzig. Newcastle will be Red Bull's first rugby purchase, but the club aligns with it's purchase model of snapping up underperforming sports teams with a business plan of transforming them into global brands. The company paid Ford just $1 to buy the failing Formula One team, Jaguar Racing, in 2004 and have successfully transformed them into giants of the sport, with Red Bull Racing winning eight world drivers' championships and six constructors' titles in the last 15 years. In addition to football clubs, RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and the New York Red Bulls, they also own 9.9% of Leeds United and are heavily involved in motor sport and winter sports. Advertisement Attracting a new owner such as Red Bull is also a coup for Premiership Rugby, who are seeing much-needed signs of growth for the sport. Viewing figures for Premiership matches on TNT Sport are up 10% on last season before Saturday's final between Bath and Leicester, with the increase 47% when the game directly follows a Premier League match. In another significant boost TNT Sport last month agreed a new five-year deal giving it exclusive live rights for every Premiership match until 2031. Red Bull and Newcastle declined to comment on the deal.
The Guardian
17 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Red Bull agree deal to buy Newcastle Falcons and keep Premiership club afloat
Red Bull has agreed a deal to buy Newcastle Falcons which includes a commitment to keep the club in the city and will ensure the Premiership remains a 10-team competition next season. Newcastle have been for sale for over a year, with owner Semore Kurdi no longer willing to fund multimillion-pound annual losses, leading to fears they could become the fourth Premiership club to go bust in the last two years after Wasps, Worcester and London Irish. Such has been the concern for Newcastle's future that the other Premiership clubs agreed in principle to provide a £4m loan to enable them to take part in the competition next season, with a nine-team top-flight not thought to be commercially viable. Red Bull is understood to have reach an agreement to take over the cash-strapped club however, and take on their £39m debts. These include £14.5m in unpaid treasury loans taken out during the Covid-19 pandemic. During negotiations with the Austrian energy drinks company the prospect of moving the club to the 26,000-capacity Darlington Arena 40 miles away was discussed, but the Guardian has been told that Red Bull's takeover plan involves Newcastle staying at Kingston Park, which has been their home for the past 35 years. Red Bull's decision to stay in Newcastle is likely to be popular with the club's longsuffering fans, who did not see them win a single match last season and only two this as Steve Diamond's side finished bottom of the Premiership on both occasions. The company's vision for the club is understood to be based on using their brands and marketing expertise to gain support from younger people in the city, with several campaigns planned to appeal to Newcastle's student population. Given the company's footballing connections Red Bull is also expected to seek a close working relationship with Newcastle United. The club's outgoing sporting director Paul Mitchell previously worked at RB Leipzig. Newcastle will be Red Bull's first rugby purchase, but the club aligns with it's purchase model of snapping up underperforming sports teams with a business plan of transforming them into global brands. The company paid Ford just $1 to buy the failing Formula One team, Jaguar Racing, in 2004 and have successfully transformed them into giants of the sport, with Red Bull Racing winning eight world drivers' championships and six constructors' titles in the last 15 years. In addition to football clubs, RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and the New York Red Bulls, they also own 9.9% of Leeds United and are heavily involved in motor sport and winter sports. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion Attracting a new owner such as Red Bull is also a coup for Premiership Rugby, who are seeing much-needed signs of growth for the sport. Viewing figures for Premiership matches on TNT Sport are up 10% on last season before Saturday's final between Bath and Leicester, with the increase 47% when the game directly follows a Premier League match. In another significant boost TNT Sport last month agreed a new five-year deal giving it exclusive live rights for every Premiership match until 2031. Red Bull and Newcastle declined to comment on the deal.
Telegraph
10-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Red Bull emerges as potential buyer for Newcastle Falcons
Red Bull has emerged as a potential buyer of Newcastle Falcons, the Premiership club that have been searching for a cash injection over the past year. The energy drinks giant has an investment portfolio that includes several sporting organisations around the world, including the Formula One team that bears its name and Bundesliga side RB Leipzig. It also has had an existing relationship with rugby union for some time through its sponsorship of individual players such as England wing Jack Nowell. Sources indicated that funds could arrive in time for next season, offering scope for the Falcons squad to be bolstered ahead of the 2025-26 campaign. Newcastle owner Semore Kurdi announced his intention to sell up in November before it became apparent that Premiership clubs and CVC had been planning a loan of around £4 million to keep Falcons afloat. This latest development, first reported on Thursday by RugbyPass, comes with confirmation of a new, long-term broadcast deal between the Premiership and TNT Sports, which has been hailed as a boost for the league's long-term stability. One senior source in the English game voiced the opinion that the Premiership has 'ridden an almighty storm and made significant progress towards fixing its foundations', which 'will help attract crucial investment'. The Premiership final at Twickenham on June 14 is forecast to reach a sell-out over the coming days, hinting at unprecedented levels of interest. Currently bottom of the Premiership with two wins this season, having experienced persistent turnover of players over recent years, Falcons are seen as a critical part of the English rugby union landscape. Should the Premiership's franchising plans accelerate, a geographical spread of clubs around the country will be vital. Steve Diamond, the Falcons director of rugby, has made no secret of the feeling that Newcastle have been in a 'holding pattern'. The departure of Callum Chick to Northampton Saints, announced last week, was just the latest example of Falcons seeing homegrown stars leave the club. 𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙉𝙆 𝙔𝙊𝙐, 𝘾𝙃𝙄𝘾𝙆𝙔 After 170 appearances over nine seasons, club captain Callum Chick will depart Newcastle Falcons at the end of the current campaign. The 28-year-old back-rower heads down to Northampton Saints, insisting he takes nothing but fond memories from… — Newcastle Falcons (@FalconsRugby) May 6, 2025 Ben Redshaw, the highly-rated full-back, is heading to Gloucester over the summer, with hooker Jamie Blamire bound for Leicester Tigers. It is thought that Newcastle will use any new funds to bolster their development pathways and give themselves greater leverage to keep these academy prospects on Tyneside. 'What we need to do is build it up and reinforce the academy first, perhaps bringing in eight senior players in the first year of the project,' said a source. 'Then we can go from there, aiming for established names in year two and beyond. Right now, those bigger names just aren't available.'
Telegraph
06-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Newcastle player drain continues as captain Callum Chick joins Northampton
Steve Diamond is staying positive despite losing his captain Callum Chick to Northampton Saints, insisting that Newcastle Falcons could become the Wrexham of English rugby union if the club secures new investment. Diamond did warn that staff at Falcons, who are bottom of the Premiership table ahead of a trip to Saracens this weekend, still have 'their lives on hold' while they wait for a cash injection or a loan to help them survive beyond the summer. Chick's move to Saints was confirmed on Tuesday morning, the two-cap England back-rower bound for the East Midlands at the end of the current campaign to continue an exodus out of Newcastle. Adam Radwan joined Leicester Tigers earlier this season and will line up alongside hooker Jamie Blamire, another Falcons product, in 2025-26. Ben Redshaw, the England Under-20 full-back, is going to Gloucester, too. Diamond admitted that Chick's exit was a 'body blow', yet showered praise on the durable 27-year-old and declared Northampton as 'the right club' to move to. 'Callum and I have chatted over the past couple of months and clubs have been really interested in him,' said the Newcastle director of rugby. 'With us still searching for investment, notwithstanding a loan that could help us survive, we thought it was fair and right that he exercised his option. 'Northampton was a very good offer and is a great club, coached by Dows [Phil Dowson] and his crew. It's an opportunity he couldn't overlook. He will be a loss but we wish him well. We've got to knuckle down, get some investment and rebuild.' Stressing that Newcastle's owners 'are not going to let it go the way that London Irish went', Diamond claimed that the Falcons situation is 'hugely different' to those at Wasps and Worcester Warriors, having been boss of the latter when it unravelled in 2022. Newcastle, he said, owe DCMS debts as well as debts to their owner, Semore Kurdi, yet are 'up to date and above board' with 'VAT and everything else'. Those plotting the franchise revolution are known to value a geographical spread of clubs, which stands Falcons in good stead, and Diamond wants his club to emulate a feel-good success story of football. 'People are looking for a story, people are looking for a Wrexham,' he said. 'If it's a franchise, could Newcastle be that story?' A stream of local talent is one reason that Diamond remains confident in his project at Newcastle and has 'absolutely not' lost hope. 'What needs to happen is that we need to build our story,' he said. 'The club has been here for a long time, going from Gosforth to Newcastle. In the professional era, they've got it right and then bumbled along. The sort of investment we are looking at is the sort that will put a stamp on the north of England permanently. 'The only way to do that is through selective recruitment and retention, with a pathway through our academy. Our academy has produced kids but I don't think there's been enough organisation for us to make up 60 or 70 per cent of our squad. 'Next season, I think Sale's squad will be 70 per cent made up of their academy. I think we're at 25 per cent. It's ridiculous. It needs investment from top to bottom. 'Rugby is in a very sticky position at the minute and we have 45 players here who are [in] a holding pattern with their lives,' Diamond added. 'The coaches are the same, the physios are the same. And there aren't that number of jobs to go to at the minute. But we aren't thinking that the end of June is going to come along and we're going to take our lunch-boxes home to go and get a job digging holes in the road. 'It's a worry, but we'll represent the ownership, keep our noses to the ground and put our best foot forward against Saracens and Gloucester.' Agreeing with the sentiments of Tony Rowe, the Exeter Chiefs chairman, Diamond backed a franchising system that could see the top flight expand quickly in order to enlarge the league fixture list and increase revenues. 'I'm grateful to the owners, because I've worked for three or four of them, but whatever they have done hasn't worked,' Diamond said. 'It doesn't stand up at the moment. Why would you invest in something with a one-in-10 chance of relegation?'
The Independent
18-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Premiership set to remain without promotion and relegation as Newcastle play down financial fears
The Premiership is set for another season without promotion and relegation after Championship league leaders Ealing Trailfinders failed to meet the minimum standards criteria required for elevation. The west London club top the second division by 13 points have won the league in two of the last three seasons, but have failed to satisfy requirements around ground capacity and safety compliance set by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). Third-placed Coventry also failed to meet the criteria, with the sole Championship side eligible for promotion Doncaster Knights. The Yorkshire outfit sit 29 points behind Trailfinders in eighth. Were a club to top the table and satisfy the RFU's regulations, they would face the bottom-placed Premiership side in a promotion/relegation play-off. It is now four years since Saracens, who were relegated from the Premiership after the salary cap scandal, were the last team to move between rugby's top two tiers. 'We are in a new era for the men's professional game and there are ongoing and very live conversations about how we can build an investable framework that ensures that it is sustainable,' Mike McTighe, chair of the Men's Professional Rugby Board, said. 'While right now only one Championship club is meeting the requirements that would enable them to come into the league, we are working hard to ensure that is not always the case and that we apply the right flexibility and support where it's appropriate. "We know how hard those clubs with aspirations to join the Premiership are working both to generate the required investment to be sustainable within that league and to ensure they have the required infrastructure to support themselves.' There is renewed scrutiny on the finances of English club rugby union after a report from Sky News suggested that the other nine Premiership clubs and league investors CVC Capital Partners are preparing to provide a loan to Newcastle Falcons to keep the club going. Premiership Rugby's financial monitoring panel, set up following the demise of Worcester, Wasps and London Irish, require assurances from all 10 of the league's clubs by the end of April that they can financially fulfil the 2025/26 campaign, with decisions and rulings then finalised by the end of the season. Newcastle's owner, Semore Kurdi, announced last year that he was seeking a sale of the club but investment has not, as yet, been forthcoming. The club, currently bottom of the Premiership, have frozen recruitment for next season amid the uncertainty, but Newcastle boss Steve Diamond has insisted that the club are in 'good fettle'. 'It's public record we are looking for investment and I am pretty sure that if that investment doesn't come, then this (loan) is a fallback position to maintain our status in the league,' said Diamond, who was director of rugby at Worcester at the time of their suspension from the Premiership. 'When I was at Worcester, the situation was different to now because it was never out there that we needed investment and everyone was kept in the dark, including Premier Rugby and the RFU. The only conversation Semore [Kurdi, current owner] and I have had is over potential investors coming in. 'I am confident Newcastle will be playing next season and I am unaware of what the promotion and relegation is and if other teams don't meet the criteria or play off we will be active to retain our status. This year has gone remarkably well compared to where we were, even though we are still losing £2m. We are in good fettle.'
