Welsh Rugby Union in "comfortable" position despite debt increase to £114m
Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the Group's revenue
The Welsh Rugby Union Group have announced that net debt has increased to £114m, which is up from £75.6m last year.
The figure, which is accurate as of 30 June 2021, has risen by almost 39 million due to loans taken out to support Welsh Rugby during Covid.
Debts have also increased because of funding required for the development of the Parkgate Hotel project, which is an investment that the Group says will bring more money into the sport in future.
The pandemic had a big impact on Welsh Rugby Union and saw a downturn of £58.1m in the Group's turnover, compared to £79.9m in 2020 and £90.5m in 2019.
Despite the loss, WRU Group CEO Steve Phillips believes Welsh Rugby is in a good position to move forward:
“We have weathered what was thrown our way during YE21 and we have emerged in a place where we are comfortable to move on and rebuild our future.
“From the players who sacrificed their home lives to join bubbles, to the volunteers in the community game who diligently followed the published pathways to returning to play and the supporters themselves – who were pioneers in the summer as they returned to Principality Stadium in their limited numbers – everyone has played their part in getting us to this stage, together”.
With all domestic club fixtures being played behind close doors, matchday income was down to £22.6m (2020: £33.0m).
Despite commercial income increasing to £20.2m (2020: £15.4m) due to a one off settlement, hospitality and catering income was nil (2020: £9.3m).
However, commercial activities surrounding the Welsh Rugby Union team's international matches made up 69% of the Group's income this year, playing a key role in generating some finance among Covid restrictions.
“The Group’s result for YE21 has again been significantly impacted by disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” said WRU Group Finance Director Tim Moss.
“This included all Six Nations and Autumn Nations Cup games being held behind closed doors and no third-party events being hosted.
We have retained a small profit, which goes some way to offsetting the significant losses from the prior year. To record this small profit has been an achievement in itself and is largely due to the efforts of our employees, our mitigation of cost efforts and support from Welsh Government."