Prem Rugby clubs’ combined debt rises to £366.1m as 2024-25 losses increase to £36.5m
Prem Rugby’s 10 top-flight clubs reported rising losses and debt in the third edition of the Leonard Curtis Rugby Finance Report published on Tuesday, with combined debt up to £366.1m and losses for the 2024-25 season rising to £36.5m.
The report, compiled by Leonard Curtis using publicly available figures for 2024-25, shows losses increased from £34m to £36.5m and combined debt climbed from £342.5m to £366.1m compared with the prior season. Total wage bills rose to £129.8m while revenues declined to £178.9m, leaving wages at 80% of income. All 10 Prem Rugby clubs are in debt, with average losses totalling £3.7m annually or £308,000 a month, and six of the 10 clubs are balance-sheet insolvent; Northampton, Gloucester, Leicester and Saracens are the only exceptions.
Alex Cadwallader, a Leonard Curtis director and former England under-21 international, said: “The findings in our latest report should not come as a surprise to anyone who has shown an interest in the financial state of the professional club game in England. The figures show Prem Rugby sides have continued to make a combined loss of over £30m each year and highlight the significant challenges that remain within the game. Without any deep structural or governance changes, why would we expect the results to be any different?”
The report notes continuing investor interest from global companies and financiers, pointing to the recent investment of Red Bull, Sir James Dyson, and the Black Knight group which owns AFC Bournemouth. It adds that the 2024-25 figures precede the takeovers of Red Bull, Dyson and Black Knight at Newcastle, Bath and Exeter respectively, whose investment is expected to increase clubs’ losses further in the short term.
Despite the cost of an owner-funded model, the report records ongoing market interest in several clubs, with Northampton, Gloucester and Leicester attracting interest. The document also records that top-flight wage bills increased from £125.9m to £129.8m while revenues fell from £182.2m to £178.9m.
Simon Danielli, who contributed to the report in his role as head of operations at the private equity firm Agathos, said that Prem Rugby’s decision to move to a franchise league this season will make the clubs more attractive and urged greater spending restraint. He said: “A closed league gives investors something rugby has never offered before: visibility of revenue and security of earnings. That is why serious capital is arriving, from Red Bull at Newcastle to new US investment at Exeter. Investors back what they believe can grow. The challenge now, for everyone in the game, is turning that confidence into a clear path to sustainable profitability.”
The report notes the Premiership is aiming to expand from 10 to 12 sides in time for the 2029-30 season and is open to welcoming new franchises, with the proviso that newcomers must spend at least one season in the second-tier Champ.