Since our first report was published, in September 2024, English top-flight rugby has continued to face an array of challenges while also eyeing new opportunities at what remains a pivotal time for the game.
Now known as the ‘Gallagher Prem’, the league has experienced encouraging signs of growth across matchday attendances, TV viewership and digital engagement.
Yet with all clubs making losses for a third successive year in 2023/24, the league is still navigating various hurdles as it looks to recover from the demise of Wasps, Worcester Warriors and London Irish in 2022 and 2023 due largely to financial difficulties.
As part of efforts to attract fresh investment and deliver financial sustainability – and amid the threat of the proposed global breakaway league R360 – the prospect of the league adopting a franchise model now appears to be increasing.
In this edition of the report, we examine all these developments in detail.
The Leonard Curtis Rugby Finance Report 2025
Leonard Curtis: The rugby connection
Sitting on the Leonard Curtis board of directors is Alex Cadwallader, a former England U21 rugby union player who played professionally for Bristol, Newport, Newcastle and London Welsh for almost 10 years. Since then, he has made a significant contribution to the growth of Leonard Curtis, especially in the South of England and offshore locations, as a well-respected restructuring adviser.
This report has been commissioned by Leonard Curtis – a company with 30 years of restructuring and turnaround expertise. A multi-disciplinary professional services group, it has 30 regional offices across the UK and the Channel Islands, and employs over 300 people. The company specialises in restructuring and insolvency, funding and legal services for SMEs, larger corporates and their advisers.
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