Exeter Chiefs post £10m loss as they seek fresh investment
Prem Rugby club Exeter Chiefs have posted a loss of £10.3m in their most recent accounts, just weeks after chairman Tony Rowe reiterated plans to sell a stake in the club.
The Devonian team, seen as one of English rugby’s great promotion stories, saw their ownership company Exeter Rugby Group PLC record losses of £10.3m for the year ending 30 June 2025, up from around £850,000 the year prior.
In documents posted to Companies House on Wednesday, the club revealed their loss of more than £10m came despite turnover of £20.1m – down on £21.6m in 2024. The increase in losses amounts to a rise of over 1,000 per cent.
“The financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2025 also include an exceptional expense of £6,151,131 relating to the impairment of loans due from an associate,” the accounts read, noting a £2m loss before tax excluding the writing off of a loan from Rowe.
Exeter Chiefs parent makes £10m loss
“The directors have reviewed the recoverability of these balances and consider that the amount is unlikely to be recovered and therefore an impairment has been recognised in the year.”
The comprehensive results – which include confirmation of a loan from Sport England in the form of a Covid-19 relief sum, £6.8m of which is outstanding – follow Rowe, chairman of the member-owned Prem Rugby team, instructing sports advisory firm Oakwell to sound out potential investors.
It comes after fellow Prem Rugby clubs Sale Sharks and Harlequins announced losses of £8m and £3.3m respectively last month for the same accounting period.
Fresh investment could lead to the departure of the straight-talking Exeter Chiefs chair Rowe, who told the Telegraph: “I’ve put as much money in as I can. I bought the hotel off the club, but we are at the stage now where, financially, I’m not going to put any more money in.”
Gross profit for Exeter Rugby Group PLC shrank from £2.8m in the year ending 30 June 2024 to just £500,900 last year, while income at the team’s stadium Sandy Park remained level at £2.5m.