Suppliers
What does ‘going into administration’ mean?
Going into administration means the Company is being taken under the management of administrators who are licensed insolvency practitioners. The administrators assume control of the Company from its current directors.
Administration is one of a number of insolvency processes and is intended to either:
1. Rescue the company as a going concern (primary objective)
2. Achieve a better result for creditors as a whole than in liquidation (if rescue is not possible); or
3. Realise property to make a distribution to secured or preferential creditors (only if (1) and (2) are not reasonably practical).
What is an administrator?
An administrator is an officer of the Court and is qualified to manage the affairs of a business when it is insolvent. It is their role to take control of a Company’s affairs when it is in financial difficulty and try to find a longer term solution for it.
The administrators act as agents of the Company and without personal liability.
Who are the administrators?
The administrators of the Company are Ross Connock and Robert Lewis of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (the “Administrators”).
What has happened?
Over recent weeks, PwC has been supporting the Company to assess its immediate liquidity challenges and options available, whilst it awaited sums due from its majority shareholder, Helford Capital Limited.
As the Company awaited funds to support with day-to-day operations, its bank withdrew an overdraft facility, which was fully drawn and restricted the Company from being able to make any payments. In the absence of the shareholder funding, the Company did not have the means to repay its overdraft nor meet other liabilities as they fell due, making it insolvent.
All alternative options have been explored by the directors of the Company working with the secured lender - the Welsh Rugby Union (“WRU”) - and other key stakeholders of the Company. Unfortunately a solvent solution was not achievable and this resulted in the directors of the Company taking steps to place it into administration.
A sale of the Company’s business and assets was negotiated prior to the Administrators’ appointment and immediately following the administration appointment the Company’s business and assets were sold to Welsh Rugby Players Limited - a subsidiary of the Welsh Rugby Union (“the Purchaser”). All Company employees and playing staff transferred to the Purchaser as part of the sale.
Cardiff Rugby will continue to be run by the Purchaser from 9 April 2025 until a longer term solution is determined.
Future supplies
The Purchaser intends for the business to continue to trade as normal, therefore if you are a supplier who has any questions regarding your ongoing supply, please contact your usual contact at Cardiff Rugby Limited with regard to ongoing supplies to the business.
I have a Retention of Title clause in my contract what do I do?
If you think that you have a valid retention of title claim, please reach out to your usual contact at Cardiff Rugby Limited with regard to ongoing supplies to the business. If your claim is valid, the club will be obligated to return or pay for your supplied goods.
Can I claim as a creditor?
If the Company owes you money prior to the administration appointment date(9 April 2025), you will be able to make a claim into the administration estate.
Further information on submitting a claim into the administration and to download a proof of debt for completion, please visit the Administrators website at www.pwc.co.uk/cardiffrugby
Please note: Based on what we know currently, we do not anticipate there will be sufficient funds to enable a distribution to unsecured creditors of the Company.
Ross Connock and Robert Lewis have been appointed as Joint Administrators of the company to manage its affairs, business and property as its agents and without personal liability. The Joint Administrators are licensed in the United Kingdom to act as insolvency practitioners by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. The Joint Administrators are bound by the Insolvency Code of Ethics which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/insolvency-practitioner-code-of-ethics.
The Joint Administrators may act as controllers of personal data as defined by UK data protection law depending upon the specific processing activities undertaken. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP may act as a processor on the instructions of the Joint Administrators. Personal data will be kept secure and processed only for matters relating to the Joint Administrators appointment. Further details are available in the privacy statement on the PwC.co.uk website or by contacting the Joint Administrators.
