Loss of £5.1m leaves Leicester at risk of redundancies

Leicester have admitted there could be redundancies at the Gallagher Premiership club after they revealed they have launched a consultation process across a business that is projected to lose £5.1million in revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic stoppage of the 2019/20 season.  

The Tigers haven’t played since a March 7 Premiership defeat at Saracens and with the indefinitely suspended season expected to eventually be completed behind closed doors, upwards of £2.1m will be lost in matchday revenues as Leicester still have five home league games and a home Challenge Cup quarter-final left to play.    

Outlining their current situation in an LLTV special on the state of the club’s finances, Fintan Kennedy, Leicester’s interim finance director since March, said: “The £2.1m is part of the reduction in turnover towards our financial year-end which is June 30. 

How rugby is shaping up in the Covid-19 era

How rugby is shaping up in the Covid-19 era

“To add to the £2.1m, which is effectively the rugby income, we also have the commercial income and we have PRL income. In total towards the end of June in our financial year-end, we are looking at a total loss of revenue of about £5.1m.”

It is a situation that chairman Peter Tom admits has hit the club hard. “Against this background, a number of tough decisions have already been made with the club’s long-term interests at heart,” he said on the club’s website.

“Players and staff have faced a reduction in salary during this period and many of them have been placed on furlough using the government scheme. Also, we have already seen some of our senior colleagues leave the club and, after exploring all the options, there is a risk of staff redundancies with a consultation process underway across the business.

“It’s a situation none of us could have foreseen but it is one we are working through together to allow the club to come out the other side as strongly as possible.”

New CEO Andrea Pinchen added: “Unfortunately we are talking big numbers. Even with the cost savings we have put in place, money is coming out of the club at a rate of knots and that money is not coming in.”

Leicester Tigers was put up for sale last summer at a value of approximately £60m but it was taken off the market earlier this year without a buyer.