A Rugby Football Union statement said on Worcester's failed bid: "The bidders, selected by the administrators of the insolvent WRFC Trading Limited, have informed us that they are not prepared to meet the conditions, and therefore the RFU Board was unable to approve their application"
Friday 16 December 2022 14:56, UK
Wasps will take their place in the Championship next season after their takeover was approved by the Rugby Football Union, but Worcester will not be joining them unless they find new buyers.
Worcester and Wasps both lost their Gallagher Premiership status after entering administration earlier this season and their appeals to have that decision overturned were rejected.
Wasps' administrators FRP accepted an offer to buy the Coventry-based club on 30 October from HALO22 Limited, a consortium including members of Wasps Legends.
That bid has been approved by the RFU and Wasps have confirmed they will play in the Championship next season. In a statement, Wasps also said "a groundshare agreement has been reached with a Midlands venue - which will be announced in the near future - to host its home games".
A statement from the RFU read: "The RFU Board concluded that the application for Wasps was approved subject to a number of specific conditions being met and that it would continue to work with the bidders through the satisfaction of those conditions over the coming weeks.
"These include a range of financial commitments to ensure that the club remains funded, the lodging of a significant bond, the regular provision of financial and other information, swift payment of rugby creditors, and corporate governance requirements including relating to the club's board of directors and risk management process."
However, the future of Worcester remains in doubt after their takeover by Atlas Worcester Warriors RFC Limited was rejected. Atlas' founding directors are ex-Worcester Warriors chief executive Jim O'Toole and former London Irish forward James Sandford, who is the chief executive of Atlas Sport Tech.
The RFU board said the ownership model had failed to meet a number of conditions so it could not sanction the takeover and it will instead work with Worcester's administrator Begbies Traynor to enable alternative bids.
Atlas can still press ahead with its takeover after being selected by Begbies Traynor, but the absence of RFU approval would be a hammer blow to hopes of preserving Worcester's professional status.
In what was seen as a pre-emptive strike before the RFU's decision, Atlas on Thursday released a statement accusing the RFU of "seeking to impose onerous operational conditions", thereby hindering "any commercial business that is needed to support elite men's and women's rugby".
An RFU statement read: "The RFU put forward a number of conditions that the bidders for Worcester Warriors would need to meet to protect against the particular concerns relating to the club and what had emerged through the due diligence process. These include commitments not to dispose of the land around the stadium, thereby securing it for the club and the local rugby community, swift payment of rugby creditors and other key governance conditions, including relating to the club's board of directors and risk management process.
"The bidders, selected by the administrators of the insolvent WRFC Trading Limited, have informed us that they are not prepared to meet these conditions, and therefore the RFU Board was unable to approve their application.
"The RFU Board was also not satisfied with the information provided, in particular relating to the financial position of the buyer and their ability to continue to fund the club and to deliver on the business plan provided, which included significant development at the Sixways site.
"The RFU has not been provided with sufficient evidence of funding.
"While some information has been provided, this has been only internal P&L information which appears to cover only part of the business of the main shareholder and the RFU was told that no further information could or would be provided.
"This means that there is no information as to debt levels or shareholder funds and no externally verified financial statements have been provided. Evidence of a non-binding heads of terms for external off-shore financing has been provided, but this is not committed. For these reasons the RFU does not have comfort that the business plan can be funded, nor that rugby is at the centre of the proposal for the business which is an American medical services company.
"The RFU is also concerned by the public statement from the bidders that they are prepared to acquire the site and develop it without a rugby offering.
"The bidders for Worcester Warriors have not accepted the regulatory position and have not sufficiently engaged with the necessary conditions required and have therefore put themselves in a position where the RFU Board could not approve their bid.
"The RFU will now work with the administrator to enable alternative bids that would secure professional rugby at Sixways and to work together in a timetable to enable that to happen. The RFU urges the administrator not to progress any sale that does not guarantee a future for rugby within the local community."
In the wake of the breakdown of Atlas' bid, former Worcester director of rugby Steve Diamond has reiterated his desire to rescue the club from administration.
Diamond is leading a consortium, which also includes former sponsor of the club Adam Hewitt and still hopes to achieve preferred bidder status with the administrators, although he has yet to hear whether their bid will be considered.
He told Sky Sports News: "Me and Adam Hewitt put a plan together and it was deemed not to be the right plan or the preferred bidder in October, so we've went away to refine it just in case an opportunity came up again and it looks like that's in the process. We haven't heard anything from the administrators. We're waiting to see what happens on Monday.
"We've got a secure business plan, a vibrant rugby plan and building the club into a sustainable business.
"From day one it's been about the rugby and the community, the foundation, the women's rugby, the player pathways. Worcester has the second biggest region, that is enormous, and has produced so many kids that have gone on to play professionally and internationally. We don't want that to go. It's been built over decades. There are many property developers that want that site, but the governance says any developments must be to the aid of elite and community rugby.
"I'm really pleased there is more than one horse in the race and people care about the club. If Atlas would have got it I would have been the first to thank them. But they've seemed to have a hiccup and they may get through that. But if not we're ready and willing to fulfil the business plan we put forward.
"Wasps seemed to have moved on pretty quickly, let's hope the powers that be allow us to showcase what we're planning to do. And if we're fit and able to get through that process, then may the best consortium win."
