Does Dyson’s Bath investment signal a new era for Prem Rugby? Sport Business If there was major surprise surrounding Red Bull’s entry into Prem Rugby last year, fewer heads would have been turned by news this week of Sir James Dyson’s investment in Bath. Probably because plenty had assumed he was paying for the upkeep of the club anyway. The deal – likely a debt-for-equity swap – by [...]
Elior Champ Rugby deal may be good for clubs, but what’s the point? Sport Business It is great to see Champ Rugby get its first sponsor in six years this week, in catering company Elior UK; it signals a shift in appetite for the second tier of English rugby. It will be a good marketing tool for clubs, whose matches are broadcast on streaming platform Clubber TV, and it solidifies [...]
Sir James Dyson buys 50 per cent stake in top flight English sport club Sport Business One of the UK’s richest men, Sir James Dyson, has purchased 50 per cent of Prem Rugby champions Bath. The long-time fan of the West Country Club, which won three trophies last season, has converted his front-of-shirt support for the club – through Dyson – into a 50 per cent ownership stake in the Blue, [...]
Toulouse minority owner: Prem Rugby franchising ‘very exciting’ March 11, 2026 A ringfenced Prem Rugby should be seen as an exciting prospect that could one day chase down the powerhouse Top 14 league, according to a co-owner of six-time Investec Champions Cup winners Toulouse. The RFU Council voted through measures last month that ended automatic promotion and relegation from Prem Rugby to the second-tier Champ. It [...]
English rugby is on brink of seismic change. It mustn’t fumble at the try line March 5, 2026 Ed Warner was part of the group that has recommended major changes to the way English rugby is governed. He explains why this is a generational opportunity. This is news overload time for English rugby. The men’s national team wilting twice in the Six Nations under weighty expectations, debate about the possible impact of head [...]
Automatic promotion and relegation from Prem Rugby scrapped February 27, 2026 Automatic promotion and relegation from Prem Rugby has been scrapped after a crunch RFU Council vote on Friday. Yo-yoing between English rugby’s top flight Prem Rugby and the second tier Champ Rugby will be halted, with expansion teams admitted into the highest form of domestic rugby in England on a case-by-case basis. In what many [...]
Project Forge: Does the plan to save English rugby stack up? February 27, 2026 This morning a plan that could alter the future of club rugby in England is expected to be nodded through by the RFU Council. The plan, dubbed Project Forge, could be the tonic for a domestic game that is in need of revenue boost. Based on the various reports I have read this week on [...]
Exclusive: RFU insist they will retain key role in spite of crunch votes February 25, 2026 The RFU has insisted it will retain its key role across English rugby regardless of the outcome of two crunch votes this week which could see Prem Rugby ringfenced. On Friday the RFU Council will vote on proposals outlined in a recent Governance and Representation Review and is also set to approve plans, dubbed Project [...]
CVC’s Global Sport Group to announce deal with Gordon Brown-linked Pimco February 11, 2026 CVC Capital Partners’ new sporting arm Global Sport Group is set to announce a deal with Gordon Brown-associated asset management group Pimco. The deal will see the firm which manages around $2 trillion in assets heavily involved in debt financing, according to Sky News’ Mark Kleinman. The senior debt financing is set to be worth [...]
Exclusive: Prem Rugby kicks plan to hike stadiums to 15,000 into touch February 11, 2026 Prem Rugby has torpedoed proposals for a top-flight shake-up that would have seen champions Bath Rugby’s stadium deemed too small for the top flight, City AM can reveal. A study, run by Deloitte, looking at how Prem Rugby can raise the minimum standards of entry to the English top flight raised the prospect of increasing [...]