A LEADING player-manager has accused the RFL of failing to respond to inquiries from potential investors who would be keen to invest in Rugby League in the northern hemisphere.
Graeme Taylor, the Managing Director of the TM Group UK, says he has assembled a group of investors based overseas who would be prepared to invest in the game but who are apparently being frustrated by the governing body’s failure to cooperate with requests for information.
“I have investors who are keen to invest in the sport. And we are talking about substantial amounts of money and a lot more than the NRL’s reported offer,” Taylor told League Express editor Martyn Sadler.
“We had a meeting with the RFL and Nigel Wood on 3rd September and we signed a non-disclosure agreement with them on 8th September that allowed us to start to process some due diligence prior to our investors making a formal offer.
“The NDA was signed by Rhodri Jones on behalf of RL Commercial, but it is now five weeks later and we have still not received the information we require. So why are the RFL and RL Commercial withholding that information? The directors have a duty of care and a wider duty to the sport to provide it.
“We sent follow-up emails on the 7th of September, the 14th of September, the 16th of September and a strong email on the 29th of September and we received no reply.
“We had Deloitte’s (the RFL’s advisers) trying to keep us at arm’s length and clearly they are only acting in accordance with the RFL’s instructions.
“But we have to ask why we, as a sport, are not looking at all our options. I know of two other parties who have also signed an NDA and they are in the same boat as us.”
And Taylor suggests that the governing body’s tardiness in replying to his potential investors raises other issues.
“Do the clubs know that there are other investors willing to invest in the sport?”
One of those potential organisations, although not connected with Taylor, is thought to be the American investment company Ares, a leading global asset manager with a major sports, media, and entertainment investment strategy spanning debt and equity across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, with a total investment value in excess of $5 billion.
“I can’t comment about anyone else, but I can say that the investors I’m acting for are very keen to have conversations with the RFL, but after more than five weeks their patience is running thin,” said Taylor.
“We firmly believe that this isn’t just about investing money to give to the clubs, but investing money to run the sport. Our main motivation is to build Rugby League to reach the valuation that we believe is feasible.
“Our projected investment is very broadly around double what the NRL has been reported as wanting to invest.
“I am passionate about the sport. It’s important it moves in the right direction and it needs to do it quickly.
“The sport is at such a low base commercially at the moment. But our investors are excited because they see the opportunities.
“I believe that Rugby League is the greatest sport in the world but what we need is the right Board and the right management team to move it forward.”
