What better on a dull grey Monday morning than an exciting thread about financing! With the WRU in the news again recently there's been a lot of talk about how they spend their money. Most people will be aware that the WRU opened a hotel in Cardiff back in 2021. 🧵 - ThreadSky

gwladrugby.bsky.social • 12 days ago

What better on a dull grey Monday morning than an exciting thread about financing!

With the WRU in the news again recently there's been a lot of talk about how they spend their money.

Most people will be aware that the WRU opened a hotel in Cardiff back in 2021.

🧵

Comments

delboylindo.bsky.social•12 days ago

£84 million could have funded the regions for the better part of a decade. Or been invested in academies. Or provided an infrastructure revolution for youth rugby. Imagine Wales having the best youth facilities in the world. Instead a shit hotel and a zip line. How dumb are these people

delboylindo.bsky.social•12 days ago

Ok maybe not a decade, got my maths wrong. Still though.

gwladrugby.bsky.social•12 days ago

The hotel occupies the former Post Office building on Westgate St, next to the WRU's stadium in Cardiff. Earlier in 2021, the WRU received an £84million windfall from CVC Partners, who invested in the Six Nations.

https://nation.cymru/news/wru-frittered-away-84m-rights-windfall-on-a-hotel-and-a-zipwire/

gwladrugby.bsky.social•12 days ago

Now, the WRU could have invested this money in Welsh rugby at all levels. Instead, they decided to use a lot of it to fund the development of the new hotel, and a series of Zip Wire attractions at the stadium.

maybenextseason.bsky.social•11 days ago

How much of it did they use?

gwladrugby.bsky.social•12 days ago

At the time, we were told this was a "smart move" that was "good for Welsh rugby."

But this claim soon unravelled as it became clear that the hotel would never provide a significant income for the game in Wales.

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/wru-moving-hotel-business-actually-23999182

gwladrugby.bsky.social•12 days ago

Along with some of the money from CVC, the WRU financed the deal through a commercial lease agreement - effectively a mortgage. This finance deal is due to be paid off over a period of 45 years.

Currently, the outstanding liability on this deal is around £45million.

gwladrugby.bsky.social•12 days ago

However, according to the latest accounts, the current value of the hotel is actually less than this. Only by a few hundred thousand pounds, but this matters, because it means if the WRU wanted to sell the hotel, they would likely make a loss.

This doesn't seem like a smart move.

gwladrugby.bsky.social•12 days ago

As a shareholder in the hotel, the WRU would normally receive income from their holding via dividends. According to the latest accounts, no dividends have been paid to any shareholders.

So no income for Welsh rugby. Not now, and likely not ever.

Smart move?

[End of 🧵]

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