Prem Rugby is planning to launch a tender process to secure external investment in the competition after it has received formal approval from the Rugby Football Union to become a closed franchise league. That is expected to happen next year.
The English top division engaged the investment bank Raine Group and the accountancy firm Deloitte to conduct a review of the sport’s finances and potential funding options this year and is preparing to go to market in the second quarter of 2026.
The Prem sold 27% of its commercial rights to the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for around £200m six years ago and will seek a further cash injection after a turbulent few years that resulted in three clubs – Wasps, London Irish and Worcester – filing for bankruptcy.
The New York-based Raine is understood to have attracted several inquiries from American investors looking to buy into English sport during its review. Interest in rugby expected to grow further before the 2031 World Cup, which will take place in the US.
The Prem has yet to decide whether to sell another stake or take on borrowing, with several options expected to feature in the tender.
The CVC deal was seen within the sport as controversial, as most of the cash windfall was spent immediately on player wages by the clubs, many of whom subsequently experienced acute financial problems.
The Wales captains Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake will leave Ospreys to join Gloucester next season.
Both depart for the Prem as uncertainty clouds domestic rugby in Wales after the WRU's decision in October to move from four regions to three.
The back-rower Morgan was one of two Welsh players selected by the British & Irish Lions for the tour to Australia last summer, coming off the bench in the second and third Tests, and has 24 international caps.
Lake, a hooker, led Wales on their summer tour to Japan and is likely to continue in the captain's role during the Six Nations with Morgan sidelined by a shoulder injury. Lake has 26 caps and co-captained his country with Morgan at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The Gloucester director of Rugby, George Skivington, said: “We’re really pleased to get a deal for Jac over the line. He’s a genuinely world-class rugby player ... Dewi is the epitome of a modern-day hooker, dominant at set piece and industrious around the park. He’s a gritty and abrasive player, and I know that’s what Gloucester fans like to see."
Morgan said: "It's a great club with brilliant supporters. I know a lot of players at Gloucester who speak highly of the environment and I'm excited for the future."
World Rugby, meanwhile, has announced that a lower tackle height trial will be extended to the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in 2026. Under the trial, that has been running at grassroots level for two seasons, the legal tackle height is below the sternum.
"Trials over the last two seasons involving 11 unions around the world have shown that a lower legal tackle height has changed player behaviour and some unions have reported a reduction in in concussion rates," World Rugby said in a statement. Luke McLaughlin
The Covid-19 pandemic hit rugby particularly hard due to the loss of matchday revenue and its effects are continuing with the remaining 10 Prem clubs reporting combined losses of £34m in 2023-24 and their total debt around £340m.
There have been signs of the sport recovering in the past couple of years, however, with the Prem securing a new five-year TV deal with TNT Sports worth £200m at the end of last season, a significant uplift on the previous contract that brought in £66m over two years. TNT has reported a 35% growth in audience numbers from last year in the first six rounds of this season.
CVC is understood to be happy with its investment and may consider extending it, although discussions are at an early stage. The private equity fund is in the final stages of setting up the Global Sports Group to manage its sporting investments, which also include La Liga and the Women’s Tennis Association, with GSG expected to target new acquisitions next year.
In an indication of its continued interest in rugby, Siya Kolisi, South Africa’s double World Cup‑winning captain, was appointed to GSG’s athlete advisory board last month.
The Prem’s move to become a franchise competition with no relegation for at least five years is crucial to the tender process, as it would bring more certainty for investors and mirrors the American sports model. With its 10 shareholder clubs united behind the concept, the Prem needs approval from the RFU council, which is expected to provide formal ratification in February.
The Prem is also planning to centralise the clubs’ commercial operations, which would bring immediate cost savings and the potential for longer‑term growth. There is also a desire to expand the top flight to 12 clubs in future, although this would be done via a licensing system rather than the traditional model of granting automatic promotion from the second-tier Champ.
