English Investec Champions Cup winner good for franchise investment
Despite Northampton Saints’ loss at the weekend to tournament favourites Bordeaux Begles, the Investec Champions Cup could see its first English winner in over five years.
Phil Dowson’s team, as well as Bristol Bears and Bath Rugby, are flying high in the European competition while Harlequins and others have qualified for the next round with a game to spare.
And goodness does Prem Rugby need to see one of its sides win the Champions Cup sooner rather than later.
With a vote on franchising set for the coming weeks, Prem Rugby clubs will be ramping up the formation of decks for prospective investors.
With one eye on what happened in cricket’s Hundred, there’s undoubtedly money out there.
But for that to flood into English top-flight rugby, its teams need to prove they can mix it on the biggest of stages against the continental juggernauts.
Having a team go far in the Investec Champions Cup doesn’t necessarily fuel profits in club rugby, but it means being the creme de la creme against the big-hitting owners of the French Top 14 and the South African and Irish sides of the United Rugby Championship.
Champions Cup to help investment?
If Prem Rugby clubs and the RFU back the idea of franchising then clubs need to put themselves in a shop window that isn’t only appealing for a wealthy owner or conglomerate to see a return, but to achieve success too.
It is for this reason that the Ultimate Sevens project may work; the sums are small but the returns, and timeframe to achieve returns, are advantageous.
Northampton Saints, for example, look ripe for the picking. They’re selling out their arena in a part of the country where they’re the premium sports offering. They’re playing well and have a number of marketable players while making only a small loss – everything an investor would look for. Yet their heavy defeat at the weekend is unattractive.
Bristol Bears are unbeaten in the Champions Cup pool stages and this week take on Saints’ slayers Bordeaux at Ashton Gate. The club are owned by Steve Lansdown, who recently realised a £58m chunk of Hargreaves Lansdown, and share Ashton Gate with Bristol City.
Lansdown sold a stake in his women’s football team to Mercury13 last year and has therefore set a precedent for share offloads – music to the ears of franchise investors.
Bath Rugby is a different beast, with high debts due to a single owner keeping the club alive, but they’re getting a new stadium and are on the up. All very investible.
The point is this: there are investable opportunities across the Prem, but the teams performing well across the Champions Cup are automatically more attractive to suitors from across the world.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance and is rowing the Atlantic to raise money for MND charities. Donate and follow at World’s Toughest Row