Champ Rugby clubs are investment opportunities

When the RFU Council approved plans that would ringfence Prem Rugby for a number of years and create what many described as a franchise league, it is fair to say there were critics. And there still are, with many of them within the second-tier Champ.

But Prem Rugby may not be a closed shop forever, as expansion teams are set to be required to spend a year in the Champ before potential promotion into the big time.

There have been reports of interest in a new team in Birmingham, under the watch of Birmingham City owners Knighthead Capital, but chief operating officer at Bedford Blues, Gareth Alred, tells City AM that it is the existing clubs who will be ripe for the picking.

“If you’re looking at an investment,” he says, “surely a club with existing infrastructure and existing fan base, an existing commercial model, looks to me a better opportunity than something from scratch.

“I think it’s great to start in the Champ as long as the integrity of the league is still kept – it’s really important that any new club or franchise, call it what you want, comes into our league. They have to win our league to even be considered to gain that Prem spot.”

Champ Rugby ripe for investment

Bedford Blues sit third in the Champ, behind league leaders Ealing Trailfinders – who have 102 points – and the reanimated Worcester Warriors, back after a spell in administration.

Prem Rugby may likely want both in the top flight soon, so what is the attraction of Bedford? The town is on the Thameslink line, is a rugby town and the club are about to be adjacent to a new Universal theme park. US investors, take note.

“In terms of wider investment, the answer is not now but not never,” Alred says. “We think [the new rules] do allow that opportunity. We’re one of the only sustainable clubs in the country. I’d say that makes you more ripe for investment than a lot of others. It gives a long term opportunity but we’re very focused on being the best we can be.

“We think Bedford’s growing. We think we’ve had an exciting time for the town and the region. We’re lucky to be the premier sporting institution in our town and we’ve got a lot of the values, the history, the heritage, that you would look for in terms of making a club great.

“We very much will make decisions in the best interest of our fans and the club itself.”

It seems as though the future of Bedford is stable for the coming years but, with the tectonic plates of English rugby shifting year by year, it would not be a surprise to see a sustainable club like Bedford use its position to seek fresh investment.