1
Saracens agree to a £32million takeover that sees Wray step back
A capital raise valued at £32million has resulted in newly promoted Saracens announcing the sale of a majority controlling stake in the Gallagher Premiership club that will see Nigel Wray take a step back from his long-held position as its established figurehead. The Londoners returned to Premiership action last month following a year away after their automatic relegation for repeated salary cap breaches.
ADVERTISEMENT
There were financial concerns over how Wray and co might bounce back but the future of Saracens now seems secure following the takeover by a consortium comprising Dominic Silvester, CEO of Enstar Group, a global insurance group; Neil Golding, the club’s chairman and a partner at Freshfields; Paul O’Shea, a director at Enstar; Francois Pienaar, a World Cup-winning captain and former Saracens player; Nick Leslau, chairman and CEO of Prestbury Investment Holdings; and Marco V Masotti, a partner at Paul Weiss and an owner of South Africa’s Sharks rugby team.
The transaction is subject to closing conditions including regulatory approval and a Saturday morning statement by Saracens read: “The capital raise results in a total investment of £32million of new funds into the club. Aside from maintaining the club’s position at the top of the men’s game, the new funds will be used for a variety of other purposes, including completing the redevelopment of the West Stand, further investment in women’s sport, and the establishment of a high-performance training centre.
“The consortium will form a new non-executive board to enhance the existing board. It will continue to be chaired by Neil Golding with Lucy Wray remaining as chief executive.”
Chairman Goulding added: “We move on from the recent challenges with hard lessons learned and with robust new governance procedures in place. We wish to thank the incredible fans and sponsors of Saracens for their continued support and we cannot wait to welcome the Saracens family back to the StoneX in the near future for our return to the Premiership. Dominic, Nick and Francois all have a long association with the club and we are delighted that they are committed to its future.”
"Just on your point about Marcus…"
– Mark McCall was very much standing by his man Owen Farrell at this week's Saracens media briefing #England #Saracens #LEIvSARhttps://t.co/j4DS8wU1Bp
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 30, 2021
Nigel Wray said: “I have given my heart and soul to the club for more than two decades, having chaired Saracens since the first days of professionalism. Sadly, I’m not getting any younger and I have always wanted to make sure that Saracens is in very safe hands for many future generations. To show our continued enthusiasm for the future of Saracens I will be retaining a significant minority shareholding albeit a passive one.
“I’m thrilled to hand over control to the consortium which comprises people who I know well and who understand the culture we have been able to create over more than 20 years both on and off the field, particularly within the community through the Saracens Foundation and the Saracens Multi-Academy Trust.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I’m looking forward to becoming just a fan again and supporting the club I love while focusing more of my time on the pioneering work of our amazing foundation and supporting the build-out of the Saracens school programme.”
Silvester added: “The consortium members are making a long-term commitment to Saracens, with the new funds used to maintain the club’s position at the top of the game for the future. We also have an exciting longer-term vision to make the club a global market leader both on and off the field and we are well placed to deliver on this with our wide-ranging international experience.
“We want to also personally thank Nigel for all he has done for modern rugby and player welfare, more than perhaps any other single person. It is our privilege to take Saracens onto a new chapter and we intend to be every bit as ambitious and pioneering as Nigel has been.
“Finally, the consortium will maintain the club’s deep commitment to diversity, community, and sustainability. We are delighted that Lucy will remain as CEO and board member and that Maggie Alphonsi, former Saracens and England women’s rugby player, has also agreed to join the board.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We are also delighted that Michael Yormark, President of Roc Nation Sports International, has been appointed as a special adviser to the club. Furthermore, we will continue to maximise Saracens’ socio-economic impact, caring for our people and community, as well as maintain the stadium’s sector-leading environmental standards.”
It was September 13, in the wake of the suspension handed down to new signing Ivan van Zyl, that the ex-England scrum-half was unveiled as a short-term Saracens player #Saracens #LEIvSAR
https://t.co/4Abg5nEdKQ— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 30, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
NZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
22 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
22 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
22 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
22 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
22 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
22 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to comments