Glenn puts Warriors stake in league trust
Sir Owen says he won’t pursue court action against Eric Watson
Sir Owen Glenn’s long-running dispute with Eric Watson over the ownership of the Warriors appears to have ended. Sir Owen announced yesterday he will be transferring his 50 per cent stake in the NRL club into a trust bearing his name, which aims to grow the game at grassroots and secondary school level.
Sir Owen signalled he won’t be continuing the court action against his fellow rich-lister, which emerged after a public falling out last year over the value of Sir Owen’s shareholding.
“It’s a proceeding I brought and I don’t see any need to follow through,” said Sir Owen. “It takes two to make an argument and I have withdrawn. I’m not arguing anymore, I am just doing it another way. [The legal action] was based on a proper valuation of the Warriors and the sale of my shares but I am quite happy to do this.”
Sir Owen is confident Watson will support the initiative. “He went on record saying it was a great idea and that is all I have heard,” Sir Owen said. “I’ve heard nothing to the contrary [and] his representatives have been very supportive.”
Sir Owen was reluctant to discuss the breakdown of their relationship, after the duo pledged in 2012 to make the Warriors “the biggest single sporting franchise in Australasia”.
“Initially I wanted to use the Warriors as a vehicle to expand the code [but] the other party didn’t follow through on my ideas,” said Sir Owen. “I was ostracised from the board but I don’t want to go into that now, it’s all history, bad history. As far as I am concerned that is all in the past . . . I’m out of pocket $6,150,000 but that’s all right.”
The Sir Owen Glenn Warriors Trust will be chaired by Warriors board member (and Sir Owen representa- tive) Bill Birnie. The other trustees are former Mayor of Auckland John Banks and Mark Rice, the principal of St Paul’s College. Former ASB and Air New Zealand chief executive Sir Ralph Norris will be patron.
The trust will be administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, which has agreed to cover the running costs. Sir Owen, who has committed $100,000 in initial funding to the trust, hopes other sponsors and patrons will support the initiative. Sir Owen also said 50 per cent of any future Warriors’ profits will be invested back into the trust.