- Worcester fell into financial oblivion in 2022 and left behind unpaid debts
- Repaying that money is a condition of the Warriors returning next season
- Chairman Chris Holland s committed to doing so but has asked for time
Worcester Warriors have told those still owed money by the club’s financial demise in 2022 that payments to them will have to be ‘phased over a period of time’ despite the fact removing all debts is a condition of the team returning to a revamped second tier.
The Sixways outfit are attempting to rejoin a 14-team Championship division for the 2025-26 season after falling out of existence three years ago and leaving behind hundreds of thousands of pounds due to rugby creditors.
New chairman Chris Holland is attempting to bring Worcester back to the elite level of English club rugby.
Paying the club’s rugby creditors in full was an RFU stipulation for the Warriors to rejoin the Championship rather than starting at the bottom of the pyramid.
But in a letter sent to potential creditors, which has been seen by MailSport, Holland wrote that payment will ‘take some time’.
He added: ‘We do not have unlimited resources and we need to ensure we can return financially stable rugby to Worcester. With your support and understanding, payments to accepted rugby creditors will be phased over a period of time.
Worcester Warriors have warned those still expecting money will see payments ‘phased over a period of time’
The Sixways outfit are attempting to rejoin a 14-team Championship division for the 2025-26 season
‘If payments are not phased, we may not be in a position to pay any accepted rugby creditors or return elite level rugby to Worcester.’
Holland has also offered Worcester’s rugby creditors the chance to forgo payment entirely and donate the money they are owed in order to help the club’s revival.
If they do choose that option, they will be invited to a ‘player’s lunch’ as a means of a thank you.
Holland and new Worcester chief executive Stephen Vaughan insist they are ‘committed to the obligations we have agreed with the RFU.’
But it remains unclear at this stage whether all rugby creditors will be paid in time for Worcester to start next season’s Championship in September.
Should that not happen, the Warriors would technically be in breach of their RFU return agreement.
Next season’s Championship is set to feature the league’s 12 current teams plus Richmond as the winners of National One and, hopefully, Worcester.
It is understood that while the rugby creditor repayments is a complex and bureaucratic process, Worcester and the RFU hope the majority of the outstanding debts will be sorted by the start of the new season.
Former Leicester Tigers assistant Matt Everard is set to be the new coach of Worcester
The RFU will be on hand for any disputed payments. Creditors have 28 days from Worcester’s return being officially confirmed on April 3 to come forward with their claim.
The vast majority of Worcester’s rugby creditors are either former employees or those with a close affinity to the club. They are keen for the Warriors to return but are also understandably eager to see their long-standing debts cleared as part of the process.
Former Leicester assistant Matt Everard is set to be the new Worcester coach. When confirming Worcester’s slated return, the RFU said the club had been through a ‘rigorous process’ for tier-two selection.
English rugby’s governing body added: ‘As part of the conditions to join the league, the club’s new ownership has provided a financial security guarantee, held by the RFU, as well committed to paying off debts left by the previous owners to rugby creditors.
‘In addition, the new owners have already made substantial payments to the administrators and have entered into an agreement with the relevant parties which will result in the remaining contractual funds from the administration being paid to DCMS and HMRC by the end of the year.’
Holland said: ‘After careful consideration we chose to make the application to the new league under the name Worcester Warriors to preserve its history and legacy.
‘As a result, we are required to settle rugby creditors and acknowledge and fully own this process and the responsibility that comes with it.
‘We now enter a defined period in which to provide financial guarantees and to identify, validate and agree all inherited rugby creditors.
‘The completion of this process is the key to success and requires the collective support of all involved. We are committed to resolving this swiftly.’
