Gloucester boss reveals talks about fresh investment are 'ongoing'

Gloucester Rugby CEO Alex Brown says talks are ‘ongoing’ to bring desperately needed fresh investment into the club, after a loss of £2.91 million was reported for the 2024/25 financial year.

While Brown says some of the losses – up from £516,000 the year before – can be attributed to ‘accounting nuances’ around the way academy license payments are made, there are fears that unless they can find a new backer, the Cherry and Whites will be left behind their English rivals.

Newcastle, Bath and Exeter have all attracted new money via Red Bull, Dyson and Black Knight, and as any sensible business would, Gloucester are looking for a similar injection of cash to boost their chances of competing at the top.

“There is a huge amount of interest in PREM Rugby at the moment, and rightly so, the growth is really, really positive and that is down to the product – the product is now really, really compelling; it is a great watch,” Brown said in an in-depth interview with BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

“I know we had a poor season from our standards but, across the board, there is big growth – big growth in sponsorship, big growth in ticketing – and PREM Rugby itself is on a great trajectory.

“There is interest in Gloucester Rugby as well, of course, but our board and our shareholders are very sensitive to who that investment might be. It has to be right, it has to be right for the club and for the future.

“We’ll take every opportunity it covers, but there are talks going on about further investment.”

Gloucester finished eighth in the PREM last season, having not been higher up the table at any point during the campaign, and were 31 points off the play-off places.

Tomos Williams, arguably their best player has departed for Saracens, but some considerable muscle has been brought over the Severn Bridge from Wales in the shape of Welsh captains, Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake, while Jean Kleyn and Joe Joyce arrive from Ireland.

With Chris Boyd now overseeing rugby matters, George Skivington returning to a more conventional head coach role and Joe Tomkins (defence) and Brett Deacon (forwards) introduced to the coaching setup, along with Ryan Bower (scrum), Brown is hopeful that better times lay ahead for the club’s devout supporters.

Touching on last season, he said: “It was a frustrating year; we didn’t get to where we wanted to. We fell short of our standards. Certainly, the start of our season was a rocky ride with various things impacting on that – a lot of injury, a lot of people who were available the previous season weren’t, we had some changes as well and that led to a really poor start for us, domestically.

“And then, we looked at trying to improve things and to help accelerate our plans, and really enhance the coaching team, which, I think, with where we have landed, I couldn’t be more happy.

“You look at the calibre of each individual that we have brought in, it’s really, really strong. You can already feel that sense of heightened professionalism, heightened edge; it’s exciting.”

While conscious not to over promise, Brown, who has spent virtually half his life at Gloucester, as a player, coach and official, believes better times might not be far away.

“We want to become a title holder as well; we want to become the one who’s lifting that PREM title at the end of the season,” he reassured supporters.

“What’s interesting is you look at Exeter, I think Exeter did a fantastic job from the previous season where they finished ninth in the league and then they ended up getting to the final. That shows the level of competition within the league, and now with Newcastle and Red Bull, the level of competition is really there. It is really very fine margins.

“So, I wouldn’t worry. I think there are prospects in the future, for sure, but we have just got to try and concentrate on what we have got in front of us, which is a new group of players, a great new coaching team, and I think we will see an improved performance on the field.

“Let’s forget last season and move on,” he added. “We’ve got to get a fit and healthy squad on the field, and if we can do that, we’ve got as good a squad as any in the PREM, the starting XV, as it stands.”