Wage hike see Quins declare £4.8m loss
SPIRALLING wage costs contributed to Harlequins declaring ‘unsustainably high’ operating losses of £4.8m for season 2016-17.
Quins, who rely on Guernsey-based principal shareholders Mosaic Ltd to survive, reported group losses of £6.6m during a year in which turnover at the Stoop rose six per cent to £20.7m but wages incraesed from £11.5m to £12.6m – up ten per cent.
The combined costs of the senior and academy squads amounted to £8.5m – the maximum permissible under Premiership Rugby’s salary cap framework.
Harlequins’ secretary Nick Butterworth stated: “For the eighth consecutive year, Harlequins reported record turnover, although operating losses remained unsustainably high at £4.8m (compared with a £2.2m loss the previous year).
NEWCASTLE chairman Semore Kurdi is confident Dean Richards will finish the job at the resurgent Geordie club.
Kurdi, who employed Richards at the end of his ‘Bloodgate’ ban in 2012, says the director of rugby shares his vision for developing rugby in the north-east.
Richards was linked with Northampton before Chris Boyd’s appointment, but Kurdi told The Rugby
Paper: “I’ve no doubt he’ll continue the work here.
“I think Dean’s really happy here and both he and I realise the job is nowhere near finished. We’re gettwin-threats ting bigger but we’re still a small club and he knows our long-term thinking.”
Kurdi cites the re-signing of star Fijian wing Niki Goneva in the face of stiff competition from French clubs as a statement of Tyneside intent.
He said: “It’s another sign we’re going in the right direction when the likes of Goneva stay.
“We’re riding high in the Premiership, which breeds confidence among our commercial partners, and we’re into the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.”
Kurdi, who doubles as interim chairman of Premiership Rugby, identifies huge wage rises and the spectre of relegation as at a time when most Premiership clubs are losing big money.
Kurdi warns against a salary arms race, saying: “You need consolidation to ensure sustainability. Premiership losses are significant so clubs must find their natural growth pattern and stick to it, rather than racing ahead all the time. Do I support the salary cap (£7m plus two marquee players) staying where it is for a few years? Yes. It’s not sustainable to keep increasing it.”
Kurdi believes Championship clubs should retain a route into the top-flight but insists Premiership clubs need more security.
He explained: “Relegation in 2012 slowed the development of our club through the insecurity it caused.
“Anyone who’s capable of being in the Premiership should have a chance to get there, but I would definitely support a moratorium on promotion and relegation until the professional game settles down, because the growth has been so quick.”