The 2016-17 accounts of all Premiership clubs and what the figures say about their health. Wasps led the way in turnover but spiralling wages cause concern

Financial figures for 2016-17, for the 12 clubs that were in the Premiership during 2016-17. All details from the most recently published annual reports at Companies House. The figures for borrowings are from banks or other significant lenders, not for all creditors. The separate categories of turnover are listed according to the wording in individual club’s accounts and may be rounded up or down, so added together they do not always tally with the total turnover figure.

Bath

Ownership The accounts state that the ultimate controlling owner is the sole shareholder, Bruce Craig.

Accounts Bath Rugby Ltd for year to 30 June 2017.

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The state they’re in

When Bruce Craig bought Bath in 2010, he said he did not see a sports club as a profit-making organisation and that he was there to enjoy the rugby. Eight years on, the losses continue but there has been little recently on the field for Craig to get excited about. He parted with another £2m to balance the books last year, taking his loan towards £18m, and the development of the Recreation Ground has been time-consuming with a provisional date for completion set for the start of the 2022-23 campaign. Planning permission will be submitted in October and the capacity would rise to 18,000, helping in the drive to sustainability. “The directors remain focused on building a business which trades profitably in the medium term,” said the club in its latest strategic report. There is an emphasis on controlling costs with the rise in turnover last year comfortably exceeding the hike in wages, but after finishing sixth last season, they look in for a period of consolidation with the Craig era in its second, more fiscally aware phase.

Bristol Bears

Ownership Owned by billionaire Stephen Lansdown and his wife, Catherine, via their company, Pula Sport Limited.

Accounts Bristol Rugby Club Ltd for the year to 31 May 2017. Turnover is not stated in the accounts, which are for a small company, as legally defined. Cumulative losses stated of £20m.

The state they’re in

After the short-lived return to the Premiership two years ago, Bristol marked their promotion with a rebranding to the Bears. The club’s majority shareholder Stephen Lansdown wants to drag the club into the social media era, touching his cap to tradition but not bowing before it. The last time the club was in the top flight, they only had a couple of months to recruit, but with the Championship abandoning the play-offs last season, promotion was a virtual certainty a few weeks in. The signing of Charles Piutau was a statement of intent, the New Zealander coming armed with an annual salary of £1m. Lansdown is owed more than £20m by the club and while his long-term goal is sustainability, he knows that having spent most of the last 11 years out of the top flight he will have to make good losses well into the new decade. Bristol spent many of the first 12 years of the professional era fighting off bankruptcy, but while they remain heavily in debt, they have a backer prepared to invest in success. Landsdown made a fortune through his financial services company Hargreaves Landsdown. He owns Bristol City football club and the two clubs share the Ashton Gate ground.

Exeter Chiefs

Ownership Club states that it remains owned by 700 members, the shares held by John Lockyer, Bob Staddon, Paul Derbyshire and Ian Pugsley acting as trustees.

Accounts Exeter Rugby Group PLC for the year to 30 June 2017.

Rugby income £15.8m

Ground income £1.5m

The state they’re in The 2017 champions were one of just two Premiership clubs to make a profit in 2016-17. Only three clubs had a lower wage bill: salaries amounted to 56% of turnover and only Wasps had a lower figure. Ten per cent of the club’s income was generated by Sandy Park on non-match days, an asset that is the difference between profit and loss. The Chiefs raised £7.5m through a bond scheme in 2013 with the chairman, Tony Rowe, investing £2m. A further £330,000 was invested by directors and their families. They pay an annual interest of 7%, due to mature in 2020. The club has a bank loan of £5m, more than half of which is personally guaranteed by Rowe, but they are able to manage their debt by controlling costs. Success has been built on a thriving academy system and early identification of talent rather than splurges on marquee players. They have grown incrementally rather than at a furious gallop, insuring themselves against a turn in the weather.

Gloucester

Ownership Ultimately owned by Martin St Quinton, who made his fortune from selling his company Azzurri Communications.

Accounts of Gloucester Rugby Limited for the year to 30 June 2017.

Central income £5m

Tickets £4m

Hospitality, conferencing, events £2.6m

Sponsorship and advertising £2.3m

Bar sales and commission on catering bar and shop £1.1m

Other income £1m

The state they’re in Gloucester lost £1.2m after the rise on turnover of more than £1m was exceeded by the rise in the wage bill. The club is owned by Martin St Quinton who took over in 2016 from the Walkinshaw family who had been in control for most of the professional era. Gloucester’s mission statement is to be a top four club while being profitable and financially self-sustaining. The club moved from being reliant on Tom Walkinshaw to using bank loans to fund improvements in facilities, allowing them to use generated income on a squad that has changed radically in the last couple of years: a new hybrid playing surface has been laid at Kingsholm that will allow it to be utilised throughout the year. Gloucester refinanced two years ago, taking out an eight-year bank loan of £4.5m which was used to repay secured loans and a bank overdraft. The club’s desire for the salary cap to hold steady for the next couple of seasons has become policy, allowing them to continue to control costs without compromising their attempt to climb to the top.

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Harlequins

Ownership Ultimately owned by Union Mutual Pension Fund Ltd, registered in the tax haven of Bermuda. Reported to be owned by financiers Charles Jillings and Duncan Saville.

Accounts Harlequin FC Holdings Ltd for the year to 30 June 2017.

Rugby income £6.5m

Central funding £6.1m

Commercial income £8m

The state they’re in

When Harlequins launched a mini-bond in 2016 in a bid to raise £7.5m, the stated aim was to become the best club in Europe. Nine defeats in the last 10 Premiership matches of the 2017-18 campaign suggest that day is a long way off and despite being one of the best supported clubs in the league, Quins are mired in debt. Mosaic Limited, which is based offshore and is reported to be owned by former chairman Charles Jillings and financier Duncan Saville, is owed £37m by the four companies set up by Harlequins. The bulk is interest free and the club’s auditors noted Mosaic was committed to financially supporting the club until at least the end of December, but last year’s loss of £6.6m showed that self-sustainability is some way off. Their turnover was second behind Wasps, but its wage bill of £12.6m was the second highest. The auditors flagged up the growing reliance on Mosaic in their report. Quins own the freehold to the Stoop and last year appointed Populous to design an improved ground with a capacity of up to 20,000 that would put them “at the forefront of the community”.

Leicester Tigers

Ownership Most recent annual return notes a large number of individual shareholders; club states that no person owns 50% or more of the club shares.

Accounts Leicester Football Club Plc for the year to June 30 2017.

Rugby income £5.5m

Premier Rugby Limited income £5.4m

Commercial income £8.8m

The state they’re in

The best supported club in the Premiership with an average crowd of 21,500 made a loss of £686,000, a legacy of the redevelopment of Welford Road which is set to continue with plans to buy a car park next to the ground and build a hotel: Leicester are the preferred bidders and have lodged a deposit. The cost will not come at the expense of the playing budget, with the Tigers committed to spending the maximum allowed under the salary cap, and will extend the club’s commercial arm. “Upward pressure on player salaries continues and the upshot of the salary cap freezing for two seasons could impact on the depth of the squad,” said the Tigers’ chairman, Peter Tom, in his strategic report. No shareholder owns more than 50% of the club so it is not reliant on an individual. They were the dominant force in the Premiership for the much of this century until the rise of some clubs built on debt, failing to make the play-offs for the first time last season, but they will not be diverted from their path of sustainability.

Newcastle Falcons

Ownership Owned by Semore Kurdi.

Accounts Newcastle Rugby Limited for the year to June 30 2017 (includes Newcastle Thunder rugby league club).

Income from Premier Rugby, RFU and RFL £5.2m

Match income £1.7m

Commercial £2.7m



The state they’re in

Premiership clubs can be loosely divided into three groups: those underpinned by large loans from backers, well supported clubs striving for sustainability and using loans financial institutions to drive investment and ones whose crowds are lower than the league’s average and struggle to reach the salary cap’s ceiling. Newcastle are in the latter group but since Semore Kurdi took over as owner in 2011, shortly after the collapse of the club’s main backer Northern Rock left the Falcons struggling financially, they are looking up. They are still 10th out of 12 in terms of turnover and wage bill, but they own their own ground again and plans have been improved to extend the capacity at Kingston Park to nearly 12,000. Kurdi, who moved to England from Jordan when he was 10, underwrote the successful bid to bring the European Champions Cup final to Newcastle next May and the Falcons attracted a crowd of more than 30,000 to St James’s Park last March for the victory over Northampton. Playing in the Champions Cup this season for the first time since 2005 will boost turnover but costs need to be controlled.

Northampton Saints

Ownership No overall controlling party.

Accounts Northampton Saints Plc for the year to 31 May 2017.

Rugby income £4.1m

Premier Rugby and RFU income £5m

Commercial income £7.6m

The state they’re in

Northampton last year recorded a loss for the first time since becoming a limited company in 2000 and this month announced a second. Had a £1m share issue in April 2017. Turnover increased by less than 1% while the wage bill went up by 14% as the club paid for losing what had become a regular place in the top four. The Saints had a shake-up at board level last year, with a new chairman and chief executive, while in December Jim Mallinder, the Premiership’s longest serving director of rugby, was sacked. The move did not prevent the club from failing to qualify for the Champions Cup, filling the position on an interim basis, but the New Zealander Chris Boyd has taken over this summer after a successful stint in charge of the Hurricanes. If it is not quite Pep Guardiola taking charge of the Crazy Gang, Boyd will guide a side known for its conservatism into the modern era. The Saints are financially sound with minimal debt, if offering proof that even the best run club is hostage to fortune on the pitch.

Sale Sharks

Ownership Owned by Simon Orange via a holding company, CorpAcq Ltd.

Accounts Manchester Sale Rugby Club Ltd for year to June 30 2017.

Premier Rugby Limited and RFU income £5.3m

Rugby income £2.9m

Shop income £188,429

The state they’re in

After Sale missed out on a place in the Champions Cup on the final day of the regular season last May, their director of rugby, Steve Diamond, said wistfully that he hoped it would not be long before they were in a position to spend the maximum allowed under the salary cap. The owner Simon Orange, who bought the club from Brian Kennedy in 2016, expects that to be next season as the Sharks, who have the smallest turnover and wage bill bar one in the Premiership, aim high, as the recent signing of the England wing Chris Ashton from Toulon demonstrated. Turnover in Orange’s first year in charge rose by nearly £1m while wages increased by 30%. Orange, a long-time fan, is in it for the long haul and a priority is to increase the average gate at the AJ Bell Stadium. The club was debt-free when he took over and he anticipates making three top signings for next season as part of his push to increase revenue. Diamond is on the board; Jon Dorsett, a director, of Orange’s CorpAcq company, is chief executive.

Saracens

Ownership Parent company Premier Team Holdings majority owned by Nigel Wray.

Accounts Premier Team Holdings Ltd for the year to 30 June 2017.

Rugby related activities £12.5m

Allianz Park related activities £5.3m

The state they’re in

Much was made a few years ago of Saracens carrying the largest debt of any club in the history of rugby. It was then nearly £50m and has not fallen by much, but what is overlooked is the difference having their own ground makes. When they hired Vicarage Road, at a time when one of the stands was condemned, they were overly reliant on their backers, chiefly the club’s chairman Nigel Wray, who has been involved since the dawn of professionalism. The purchase of their own ground, Allianz Park, has seen turnover almost double in five years and redevelopment of one of the stands is being planned. The ground generated more than £5m last year, money they would not have generated had they remained in Watford, and they were one of the few clubs whose turnover increased by more than the wage bill, a surplus of £975,000. The club’s South African backers withdrew this year, but debts were written off and Wray is soliciting new investment. “We are nowhere near the finished article, but we are heading in the right direction,” he said.

Wasps

Ownership Owned by Derek Richardson via Moonstone Holdings, a company registered in Malta.

Accounts Wasps Holdings Limited for the year to 30 June 2017.

Wasps sport income £16.2m

Business income £10.6m

Entertainment income £1.2m

Hotel income £2m

Sponsorship and venue income £3.4m

The state they’re in

Wasps’ turnover last year was the highest in the Premiership, but so was their wage bill. When the club was at Wycombe, bankruptcy was at one point a couple of minutes away and relegation very nearly followed. The move to Coventry has significantly increased the indebtedness of Wasps whose liabilities are nearly £49m, the bulk of which is down to a £33m bond scheme which is repayable in 2022, although it is likely to be refinanced. The club’s turnover is very much higher than any other clubs because of income from the Ricoh Arena, which hosted several concerts during the year. They had the third highest loss in the Premiership last year and their auditors, PwC, resigned after an accounting irregularity that saw the accounts delayed by three months and left the club needing owner Derek Richardson to meet cash flow requirements, in particular the 6.5% annual interest on the bonds. A move to a new training ground has been delayed, to the frustration of players who feel all the club’s rivals have better facilities, and the club was forced to deny reports at the end of last season that a number would not be renewing their contracts. The location move sparked a spending splurge, but the wage bill fell last year.

Worcester Warriors

Ownership Owned by Sixways Holdings Limited – registered in Jersey.

Accounts WRFC Trading Ltd for the year to 30 June 2017.

The state they’re in

Worcester were the only club last year whose wage bill exceeded turnover. Only four clubs paid more in salaries and the Warriors lost more than £8m having posted a profit 12 months before, albeit one that was down to loans being written off. It was put up for sale last season and admits to being “reliant on its shareholders for financial support”. The chairman, Bill Bolsover, reacted to the loss by revealing a “challenging budget” was being put together to better balance cost against income, but the finance director Kirsty Fisher resigned last month after just 18 months at Sixways. In the strategic report, the club noted that central funding was not tracking in line with the hike in the salary cap, resulting in increasing player costs, while the struggle to survive in the top flight had led to reduced attendances. With promoted Bristol expected to survive this season, Worcester are the favourites to go down. The drop would deter investors with loans worth more than £26m still outstanding.

Overall figures