Sir James Dyson buys 50 per cent stake in top flight English sport club
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, Black and White outfit with current owner Bruce Craig. It is not known whether he will maintain his presence on the front of the team’s jerseys.
It comes as the team are enjoying huge successes in the domestic Prem Rugby, while they hunt the top flight Investec Champions Cup trophy having won the second tier Challenge Cup in May last year.
“This is the club I have supported for most of my life,” Dyson, whose family wealth is estimated to be north of £20bn, according to the Sunday Times Rich List, said. “I stood on the terraces and have watched the high moments as well as the difficult years.
“My family and I are proud to stand alongside Bruce as equal partners to further strengthen the foundations of Bath Rugby”.
Dyson in Bath deal
Bath Rugby’s next accounts, for the 2025 season, are due at the end of the month, but their most recent Companies House posting shows the organisation made a loss of £3.6m for the financial year to 31 March 2024.
The club’s operating loss was £4.9m, up from £4.3m in 2023, with net debts of £17.2m as of mid-2024.
The Times reports that the deal settles the debt Bath currently carries, and the funds needed to build the new stadium. They further report that he plans on passing the club down to his children, but is not aiming to see the club’s “Rec” ground renamed after him.
The acquisition of the English champions comes a year after vacuum mastermind Dyson claimed that Britain’s “myopic” civil servants, politicians and judges are squashing aspiration.
Added Craig: “This has never been a short term project. From the beginning the aim has been to build something resilient, competitive and worthy of the club’s history.
“James understands Bath Rugby first and foremost as a supporter and a friend. His family has stood behind the club for decades and it always felt inevitable that our paths would align in this way.”