Exclusive: London Irish still exploring Prem and URC rugby entries Sport Business London Irish are continuing to explore a return to professional rugby with routes into both Prem Rugby and the URC being assessed, Morning Wire understands. The club filed for administration in 2023 before being purchased last year by the late Formula 1 team owner Eddie Jordan and the ownership is now looking for a way [...]
CVC’s Global Sport Group to announce deal with Gordon Brown-linked Pimco Sport Business 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: RFU ready to block London Irish or Ealing move to URC Sport Business The RFU is ready to block London Irish or Ealing Trailfinders from competing in the United Rugby Championship amid interest from the multi-national league, Morning Wire understands. Reports in Wales this week stated that URC chiefs are open to a London team joining the league to fill a gap that will be left by the [...]
Exclusive: CVC Capital Partners nearing external investment for $14bn Global Sport Group December 30, 2025 Six Nations investors CVC Capital Partners is close to securing external investment in its $14bn Global Sport Group, which is expected to trigger a wave of new sporting acquisitions at the start of next year. GSG, which is chaired by former EE chief executive Marc Allera, was formed earlier this year to run CVC’s existing [...]
Is a franchise model the only way to save rugby union? June 15, 2025 Despite various approaches to the same question as to whether rugby can find a stable commercial footing, various rugby factions seem to be coming to the same conclusion: are franchises the answer? Franchise sport can be hit and miss; in the US NFL and NBA franchises are seeing valuations north of $5bn. In the Indian [...]
Premier Sports to show 400 rugby games per year after new deal April 17, 2025 Premier Sports is set to show 400 rugby games per season after agreeing a new deal to broadcast the United Rugby Championship (URC). The agreement, which will last four years and take the Irish challenger brand through until 2029, will see the multi-national URC broadcast on a dedicated Premier Sports Rugby channel alongside the likes [...]
URC side Cardiff Rugby to enter administration in blow for Wales April 8, 2025 Two-time European Challenge Cup winners Cardiff Rugby are set for an emergency takeover by Welsh rugby’s governing body the WRU. Players and staff at the United Rugby Championship club were informed on Tuesday by chief executive Richard Holland that the club were poised to go into administration. The decision by Helford Capital Limited, whose investment [...]
Row erupts over bid to resurrect London Irish February 12, 2025 London Irish administrators and former frontrunner Daniel Loitz are at loggerheads over the breakdown of the German’s proposed deal to buy the stricken rugby club. Sources close to the deal claim that Loitz had months – including an exclusivity period – in which to finalise a purchase with the ReSolve Group, which was appointed when [...]
Investec Champions Cup Barometer: Munster marching on January 27, 2025 In the lead up to the 2024-25 Investec Champions Cup round of 16, Morning Wire has put together a barometer in partnership with Investec to assess which teams are hot – and which are not – ahead of April’s knockouts. Team of the week: Munster, Ireland They may have been facing bottom-of-the-league Dragons in the [...]
Can Italy’s challenger European rugby project win them a World Cup? January 14, 2025 Rugby authorities in Italy have reportedly submitted plans for a new European rugby competition. But can it be viable, and is the World Cup the end goal? The new president of Italy’s rugby federation, Andrea Duodo, caused a little bit of a stir recently when he confirmed that new proposals for a European club rugby [...]