Bath Rugby finances revealed following Gallagher Premiership win as sport faces 'crisis'
Bath Rugby Limited - the operating company behind the club - is millions of pounds in debt. The company turned over £20.8m for the financial year ending June 30, 2024. This was up on the £19.7m the year before, but it still made a loss of £3.6m, while its net debt stood at £17.2m.
Rugby has long been reliant on owners and benefactors to cover ever-mounting debt burdens. Three major clubs - Wasps, Worcester Warriors and London Irish - have already disappeared from the Premiership after collapsing in the 2022-23 season, but it is 'not impossible' that more could go under if changes are not made, one sports finance expert has warned.
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Analysis of Companies House documents by our sister site Business Live reveals that each of the teams in the Gallagher Premiership was in the red for the financial year ended June 30, 2024.
Runners up Leicester Tigers, who were defeated by Bath at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham by just two points (23-21), did not fare much better. The club's operating company Leicester Football Club Plc made a loss of £3.5m for the period - up from £1.4m the year previously - despite turnover increasing to £21m from £19.4m the year before.
According to a rugby finance report published by Leonard Curtis last year, while some teams may break even or turn a small profit in the next couple of years, the prospect of the current overall loss-making trend being reversed looks slim.
Dr Ellie Nesbitt, a senior lecturer in sports management at Nottingham Trent University, says rugby is not operating in the capacity it needs to.
"Rugby clubs need to be operating as businesses," she said. "It's about commercialising and hospitality is key. Some clubs are much better with big events, and they can thrive, but you also have clubs that don't have the facilities to do that.
"The sport is going to have to change it's approach. It's a short-term fix having owners and benefactors responsible for funding - and debts. These individuals clearly love the sport or the team - and you see that all the way through the structure, not just the Premiership. [But] it's not sustainable and over time we will see that play out even more."
Many of the Premiership clubs would, in fact, be 'defunct' if they were 'normal businesses', says Christina Philippou, associate professor in accounting and sport finance in the School of Accounting, Economics and Finance at the University of Portsmouth.
'Rugby at the very basics is a loss-making industry and 60 per cent [of clubs] are technically insolvent,' she told Business Live.
Professor Philippou says broadcasting deals and competition from countries like France, drawing top players out of the league with tax incentives, has proved challenging for the sport.
'Rugby is [also] shooting itself in the foot by going behind a paywall with broadcasting deals. People need to be able to watch it.
'You can do that by splitting broadcasting agreements or being clever with digital content to get people interested in the club game, and then that can pull through into actual money.'
But she says clubs losing money does not necessarily sound "the death knell' for the Premiership, and that rugby could learn some lessons from cricket.
'Tapping into other formats might be a way forward for the sport,' she explained. 'That is how cricket is rejuvenating itself as it had a similar issue.'
'There is a crisis'
Rob Wilson, a professor of applied sport finance and director of specialist sports consultancy Play it Forward, believes the salary cap - the limit on the total amount of money clubs can spend on players' wages each season - is still too high.
For the 2025-26 season, the Premiership has confirmed the salary cap is £6.4m, with a number of credits and exclusions, meaning that clubs can spend at least £7.8m plus an excluded player salary.
'A lot of clubs see it as a target rather than a limit and then they overspend,' Professor Wilson told Business Live. 'Clubs need to start spending less than they earn on a cost basis.'
He added: 'There is a crisis with three teams going out of business and a shortening of the league. I think they should close off the league for a while and focus on the top 10 clubs. It wouldn't be a popular decision but it would be a sensible one."
All the clubs were contacted for comment, but no statements were provided.
Financial status of England's Premiership rugby clubs
Bath Rugby
Year ended June 30, 2024
Operating company: Bath Rugby Limited
Turnover: £20.8m
Loss for financial year: £3.6m
Bristol Bears
Year ended June 30, 2024
Operating company: Bristol Rugby Club Limited
Turnover: £11.9m
Loss for the financial year: £4.8m
Gloucester Rugby
Year ended June 30, 2024
Operating company: Gloucester Rugby Limited
Turnover: £14.9m
Loss for the financial year: £516,355
Leicester Tigers
Year ended June 30, 2024
Operating company: Leicester Football Club Plc
Turnover: £21m
Loss for the financial year: £3.5m
Sale Sharks
Year ended June 30, 2024
Operating company: Manchester Sale Rugby Club Limited
Turnover: £9.1m
Loss for the financial year: £7m
Saracens
Year ended June 30, 2024
Operating company: Saracens Limited
Turnover: £22.7m
Loss for the financial year: £7.5m
Northampton Saints
Year ended June 30, 2024
Operating company: Northampton Saints Plc
Turnover: £21.9m
Loss for the financial year: £826,024
Harlequins
Year ended June 30, 2024
Operating company: Harlequin Football Club Limited
Turnover: £29.3m
Loss for the financial year: £1.86m
Exeter Chiefs
Year ended June 30, 2024
Operating company: Exeter Rugby Club Limited
Turnover: £21.6m
Loss for the financial year: £876,112
Newcastle Falcons
Accounts currently overdue for the year ended June 30, 2024. Last accounts available made up to June 30, 2023
Operating company: Newcastle Rugby Limited
Turnover: £11.2m
Loss for the financial year: £2.3m
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