Chiefs in strong position, says Rowe

By Mark Stevens
8/12/16

Tony Rowe OBE believes Exeter Rugby Club are in a strong position moving forward after recording a profit of £1.2 million for the past financial year.

Rowe, the chairman and chief executive of the Aviva Premiership side, announced the figure at the club’s recent annual general meeting, where he remarked on a positive 12 months for the region’s premier sporting club.

In an outstanding year on and off the field at Sandy Park, income across the board saw a £3.76m increase in turnover to £16.98m, a rise of just over 28 per cent.

Much of that success has been due to Exeter Chiefs recording their best-ever performance on the field, where last season they not only reached the last eight of the European Champions Cup, but also came runners-up in the Aviva Premiership.

Sandy Park also showcased itself to the world by staging three fixtures at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, as well as the European Grand Prix Sevens and the Singha Premiership Sevens events.

Alongside this, Sandy Park’s Conference and Banqueting Centre also showed a significant year on year growth thanks to the staging of number of high-profile events and attracting a steady stream of new business

Rowe said: “The figures produced are hugely encouraging and show that the club’s Board of Directors continue to run the club very much as a business. These profits were obviously enhanced by hosting three very successful Rugby World Cup matches and the team performing extremely well on the pitch.

“At the same time, Sandy Park has also continued to show a growth in income, which is particularly pleasing after a period of recession and the signs moving forward are very encouraging.”
Moving forward, Rowe is predicting a bright future ahead, not just for the Chiefs, but also for Sandy Park, which in time they hope to extend further with a multi-million pound development of the South Stand.

For this to happen, however, Rowe says it is imperative that the business continues to keep producing results of this kind.

“We cannot afford to stand still in any way,” added Rowe. “It’s fantastic that we are one of, if not, the most profitable clubs in the Premiership.

“To get results and profits like this comes down to a lot of hard work from many people, but at the same time it also comes down to having a diligent business plan that we are always looking at. As I’ve said many times in the past, we cannot afford to stand still or get comfortable with where we are, we must continue to drive our standards onwards and upwards.”

Members were also informed that the financial success of the past 12 months had helped to significantly reduce the club’s borrowings – and again that has helped to put the club in a strong position moving forward.