Shocking state of Prem Rugby club finances revealed in business report

The 10 clubs in the Gallagher Premiership made a staggering combined loss of just over £32million in the last financial year, according to a report on the Business Live website.

Each of the clubs was well into the red for the year ending June 30th, 2024, with two of the less well supported clubs, Saracens and Sale Sharks, accounting for nearly half of the debt between them.

Newcastle Falcons’ accounts are long overdue, so their figure is based on the last accounts filed to Companies House, which were made up to June 30, 2023.

While the signing of a new and improved five-year TV deal with TNT Sports has seen the league take a positive step in the right direction in terms of central revenue, the sustainability of professional club rugby in England is still in question after the league lost London Irish, Wasps and Worcester in 2022/23 due to crippling debts.

Worcester have since risen from the ashes as a phoenix club, but several clubs are still walking a financial tightrope. Newcastle are desperate for new owners to take them forward and have been in advanced takeover discussions with Red Bull.

Even champions Bath, with full houses of 14,500 for virtually every home game, are reliant on the benevolence of owner Bruce Craig to keep them afloat.

Against the wishes of many clubs, the Prem Rugby salary cap has returned to the pre-pandemic level of £6.4m for this season, up from £5m, which could encourage ambitious clubs to continue to spend more than they can afford.

“Rugby at the very basics is a loss-making industry and 60 per cent [of clubs] are technically insolvent,” Christina Philippou, associate professor in accounting and sport finance in the School of Accounting, Economics and Finance at the University of Portsmouth, told Business Live.

Meanwhile, Rob Wilson, a professor of applied sport finance and director of specialist sports consultancy Play it Forward, reckons ringfencing the league would be a suitable course of action.

He said: “There is a crisis with three teams going out of business and a shortening of the league. I think they should close off the league for a while and focus on the top 10 clubs. It wouldn’t be a popular decision but it would be a sensible one.”

Prem Rugby clubs ranked by losses – figures supplied by Business Live:

1. Saracens – £7.5m (22.7m)
2. Sale Sharks – £7m (9.1m)
3. Bristol – £4.8m (11.9)
4. Bath – £3.6m (20.8m)
5. Leicester – £3.5m (21m)
6. Newcastle – £2.3m (11.2m)
7. Harlequins – £1.86m (29.3m)
8. Exeter – £876,112 (21.6m)
9. Northampton – £826,024 (21.9m)
10. Gloucester – £516,355 (14.9m)

*turnover in brackets