Worcester Warriors Fighting For Survival
Premiership rugby union club Worcester Warriors looks to be on the brink of administration having been served a winding-up petition by HMRC over unpaid tax, believed to be more than £6m.
It also received a £14m loan from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) during the Covid pandemic.
Last week, co-owners Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring released a statement saying they were “working through a number of options with our advisers”, adding that “these include solutions for keeping rugby at Sixways,” the club’s 12,000-capcity stadium.
In a report from Worcester News, a proposed merger between Worcester and Wasps was instantly rejected by the Coventry-based club during a recent meeting between the club owners.
Wasps’ preparations for the new rugby season have also been disrupted after the club was unable to meet a key deadline on the repayment of a £35m retail bond taken out to buy its 32,753-capacity Coventry Building Society Arena in 2015.
The merger report comes days after former Warriors chief executive Jim O’Toole says he has submitted a bid to secure the long-term future of the club. However, this option would see the club placed into administration, which the owners are keen to avoid with a 35-point penalty placed on any club that finds itself in that position.
Sports consultant O’Toole issued a statement on Sunday 28th August stating that he had approached the DCMS with a proposal “regarding the funding and future of Worcester Warriors rugby club”.
O’Toole and former London Irish player James Sandford, of London-based Atlas SportsTech Limited, have made the bid on behalf of an unnamed American investor.
O’Toole’s statement continued “This includes a commitment to multi-year operational funding and to meeting the repayment of the long-term government loan.
“The success of this proposal is dependent on the relevant entities being placed immediately into administration, which we have encouraged the DCMS to implement.”
MP for Worcester Robin Walker has confirmed that meetings continue to take place between the DCMS and interested parties keen to take over struggling club, with the team due to start the Premiership season away to London Irish on Saturday 10th September.
