Wasps given 10 days to secure crucial investment

Second notice of intention to appoint administrators filed Worcester players and staff set to be made unemployed

Wasps have 10 days to secure vital investment or face entering administration, after the club filed a second notice of intention to appoint administrators.

With time running out for the financially stricken Premiership club to secure further investment, a statement from Wasps Holdings Ltd yesterday confirmed that discussions around potential investors and funding were “now at an advanced stage” but that the step of a second notice was taken to buy time and “allow negotiations on the club’s long-term future to continue”.

On Sept 21, Wasps sent shockwaves through English rugby as they filed their first notice to appoint an administrator after being threatened by HM Revenue and Customs with a winding-up petition over a £2million repayment. The club also owed £35million to bondholders after they invested to help purchase the Coventry Building Society Arena seven years ago.

Wasps had 10 days from the first notice being filed to find investment – or risk being sued by creditors – but that 10-day window will now reset from today after the filing of their second notice.

“Since filing the original notice of intention on Sept 21, a number of additional potential investors and funders have come forward. Discussions are now at a relatively advanced stage, and we remain hopeful of securing a deal that will

allow the group, and the entities that sit within it, to move forward,” a spokesperson said.

“While the financial circumstances facing the group are extremely challenging, we remain optimistic about a positive outcome

and will keep our players, staff, supporters, partners, bondholders and suppliers updated as this process moves forward.”

Meanwhile, players and staff from Worcester Warriors face being made unemployed today. WRFC

Players Ltd, the company that pays the organisation’s wages, is likely to go into liquidation when a windingup petition is heard by the High Court. Players will be free to sign for other clubs at that point.

Four of them, Ollie Lawrence, Ted Hill, Valery Morozov and Fergus Lee-warner, have joined Bath on loan. Rob Baxter, the director of rugby at Exeter Chiefs, predicted that more moves would follow “over the next couple of weeks”.

Premiership Rugby has already cancelled Worcester’s matches against Gloucester and Harlequins and there were fears yesterday that relegation to the Championship would soon follow. The Times has reported that Premiership Rugby Ltd was weighing up whether to buy Worcester’s “P share”. This would free up funds to pay off debts but would also mean that Warriors would not be entitled to central funding.