Exeter Chiefs will change ownership model in bid to survive long-term
11/20/2024 04:37 PM
Exeter Chiefs chairman Tony Rowe has confirmed that the club has begun its search for new investors in a bid to secure the long-term future of the Premiership side.
Rowe, who has been instrumental in Exeter’s rise from the National Leagues to becoming English and European champions over the past two decades, acknowledged that changes are on the horizon.
With the club's future in mind, Rowe revealed that the Chiefs may soon move away from the current model of being run by members.
"We do have to look at things," Rowe told the Bude & Stratton Post. "I've already told the members the club can't continue as a members club. The challenge has been, what with COVID and the lockdown, having to play behind closed doors, we were losing nearly a million pounds a month.
"On top of that, just when things should have got better, we had the energy crisis and that led to inflation. The consequence of that is that over the last four years we've lost £17.5-million and that's a big chunk of money for a club to lose.
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"I've bought the hotel off the club, which has enabled the club to keep afloat, but the reality is that beyond this, if we were to have another financial crisis, where's the club going?
"We're chatting to people and looking for investment and the end result will be, as I said, the club will eventually not be a members club. Turnover now is in excess of £20m and that's too big to be a members club.
"Are the members happy with that? I'm not sure they are, but if they're realists and they want the club to survive, it needs to happen. Any actions we take will obviously need to be sanctioned by the members, but it's about making sure the club can survive and go on for another 150 years."
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