FOR what it’s worth financially, being an owner of a rugby league club often doesn’t yield many rewards.
But, for some, they can’t resist ploughing their hard-earned money into clubs that they love and many owners stay for years – even decades – overseeing their beloved sides.
Since Super League was created back in 1996, a number of owners have been and gone. But, here are the 12 current owners of Super League clubs and how they made their money.
Castleford Tigers
Castleford Tigers have had a loyal family at the helm since the early 1990s in the shape of the Fultons. Jack Fulton launched Fulton’s Foods in the 1960s initially as a poultry business before diversifying into frozen foods. Fulton sold the business, originally named Frozen Value Ltd in 1997.
Whilst Jack and his wife Bridie passed away in late 2015, their son, Ian, is now directing proceedings at the Jungle, though that may be coming to an end with real estate magnate Martin Jepson acquiring a third of the stake in the West Yorkshire club.
Catalans Dragons
Staunchly outspoken Catalans Dragons owner, Bernard Guasch, has overseen the French club’s dramatic rise to the top since the expansionist club was created in the early 2000s. Nicknamed ‘Bernard the Butcher’, Guasch owns a meat processing company and has been responsible for bringing in major investment as well as his own private jet which helped the French club compete in the top flight during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Guasch saw a return on his investment in 2018 when the Dragons lifted the Challenge Cup as well as the League Leaders’ Shield in 2021 and two Grand Final appearances in 2021 and 2023.
Huddersfield Giants
Huddersfield Giants’ backer since 1996, Ken Davy, has enjoyed a plethora of different career ventures which have seen him get to where he is today. As a teenager, he left school with no qualifications and began working as a photographer for P&O. Davy then set up his own commercial photography business in Huddersfield before joining Abbey Life – an insurance company – in 1971, forming his own independent financial advice company DBS which he sold for £75 million in June 2001.
In 2003, he set up SimplyBiz, providing development, research and marketing services to financial advisers and later launched a national advice firm – Sandringham Partners in 2012, backed by £2m from SimplyBiz. A truly remarkable rise.
Hull FC
Most well known for his experience in football and rugby league, Hull FC owner Adam Pearson actually began his career in retail management and as a merchandiser for Marks & Spencers in the 1980s, before becoming a Commercial Director at Bairdwear PLC in 1990.
From there, Pearson was appointed as the Executive Director at Leeds United in 1996 and then the owner of Hull City. Spells as Derby County owner and then Chairman of Hull City once more were finally followed by ownership of Hull FC in 2011. Pearson’s incredible CV doesn’t end there, however, as he then launched Pro Sports Recruitment in 2013 – a focused and tailor-made search facility for sports professionals and organisations.
Hull KR
In 2004, Neil Hudgell proudly took over his boyhood club, Hull KR. Since then, fortunes have differed under his tenure with a number of relegations and promotions taking place. Hudgell announced his intention to sell the Robins in August 2021 before performing a u-turn on that decision, with the KR owner overseeing an incredible transformation on and off the field in that time, with multiple businesses and influential people coming on board as directors.
Most people in the rugby league fraternity are familiar with Neil Hudgell Solicitors which helps people with personal injury claims, medical accidents and professional negligence claims.
Leeds Rhinos
Paul Caddick is one of the lesser-known owners in Super League, but he is perhaps the most important. Having started out as a site engineer in 1966, the Yorkshireman gained a degree in civil engineering at Sheffield Hallam University in 1974. After qualifying as a Chartered Civil and Municipal Engineer, he subsequently worked for the West Yorkshire County Council Engineers Department and John Laing before establishing his own civil engineering contracting company in 1980.
Under his leadership, the business rapidly expanded into building, design build, development and property, with significant achievements including the development of the first major business park in Yorkshire, Wakefield 41 Business Park. Caddick turned his hand to rugby league, becoming owner of Leeds CF&A Co Ltd in October 1996, including ownership and development of Headingley Stadium despite being a Castleford fan growing up. Under his leadership, the Rhinos have become world champions on the field and, after years of losses, a profitable business off the field. Caddick owns 76% of the club, with Gary Hetherington the other 24%.
Hetherington enjoyed a nine-year playing career before going on to create Sheffield Eagles in 1982, serving as the club’s general manager and coach as well as a player. Of course, his biggest success was joining Leeds in 1996 alongside Caddick.
Leigh Leopards
Everyone knows the owner of Leigh Leopards is Derek Beaumont. Known for his outspoken nature and social interaction, Beaumont rebranded the Leigh club from Centurions to Leopards following their promotion to Super League in 2023.
Outside of rugby league, Beaumont has a hugely successful business named AB Sundecks Ltd – the sponsors of the 1895 Cup – which specialises in quality decking. The Lancastrian has been owner of the Leopards since June 2014, but has been the owner and managing director of AB Sundecks since 1999.
London Broncos
Back in the big time, London Broncos must be thankful for owner David Hughes, who has been at the helm since purchasing the club from Virgin back in 2002. Hughes himself made his millions as an oil trader before joining Charlton Athletic as a director.
Despite hailing from Manchester, Hughes has ploughed considerable amounts of money into the capital club and will be back in Super League once more in 2024.
Salford Red Devils
Following Dr Marwan Koukash’s sale of Salford in July 2018, a fan consortium took over at the club. The not-for-profit holding company, Salford RD Holdings, took control of the club which included Andrew Rosler, owner of Ideal Corporate Solutions Limited, Asif Latief, marketing director at A-Plant, Hannah Fendall, senior associate at Williamson & Croft LLP, and Dawn Fidler, founder and CEO of The Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour Charity.
However, during the 2023 Super League season, the Salford club launched the ‘Reds Rise Together’ campaign which allowed an individual to purchase a share in the club’s holding company – now a Community Benefit Society (CBS) – entitling them to a vote and eligibility to stand for election to the CBS board. That raised more than £360,000.
St Helens
Eamonn McManus read law at Cambridge University and was a solicitor in London specialising in corporate finance before mounting a 20-year career in investment banking in Hong Kong, where he became divisional Chief Executive of HSBC’s Asian Investment Bank and a member of HSBC’s Global Investment Banking Committee.
That meant that McManus was involved in a great deal of Asia’s major equity capital market transactions and mergers and acquisitions during that period, including HSBC’s acquisition of Midland Bank. Voted one of the world’s top fifty financiers in 1994 by Global Finance magazine, McManus was also heavily involved China’s privatisation programme in the 1990s.
McManus eventually returned to England in 2000 when he became a major investor in St Helens.
Warrington Wolves
It isn’t actually well known how Warrington Wolves owner Simon Moran made his money despite the club’s prominence in Super League. However, Moran is the managing director of SJM Concerts and director of the Academy Music Group of venues – a concert promoter.
Not only is the Warrington man in charge of major London venues including the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire and O2 Brixton Academy, his SJM Management company manages bands such as The Script as well as others, with his name very well respected in music circles. Moran was even credited by The Guardian as being the catalyst for Take That’s reunion in 2005!
Wigan Warriors
With Mike Danson taking over from the revered Ian Lenagan, Wigan are under new stewardship. Born in Wigan, Danson attended Bolton Grammar school and Oxford University, where he graduated with an MA in Law, and then became a management consultant.
Danson’s rise was dramatic and in 1990 he created Datamonitor using funds from four credit cards, a subscription-based business intelligence company.
Growing rapidly after the Wiganer bought out smaller companies, a decade later it was floated on the London Stock Exchange, and in 2007 it was sold to Informa for £502 million – just months before the global financial crash.
Meanwhile, Danson went on to co-found the data analytics and consulting company GlobalData, of which he is currently CEO and an executive director.
In 2015, he bought back parts of Datamonitor for £25 million, making a huge profit before buying a 25 per cent stake in the Warriors in 2020.
Outside of data, he set up the Danson’s Progressive Media Group in 2007 which owns the New Statesman and Press Gazette media brands and founded The Danson Foundation with an initial donation of £10 million to help fund education for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
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