London Irish Rugby Club Acquired out of Administration

The primary goal of the new ownership is to return London Irish Rugby Club to the pinnacle of international professional club rugby, aiming for a swift return to top-flight competition. The club will establish its playing base in West London, focusing on:

• Excellence on the Pitch: Committing to top-tier sporting performance while maintaining the highest standards of professional integrity.
• Fan Engagement: Inspiring and entertaining both local and international fans, fostering a vibrant community spirit.
• Heritage and Development: Building upon the proud heritage of London Irish, the club looks forward to a new chapter of growth and success alongside London Irish Amateur RFC and other community partners.

Having acquired the professional rugby club elements of London Irish Holdings Limited and London Irish Scottish Richmond Limited, including intellectual property, brand and rights, the Jordan Associates team will now turn its attention to negotiating a full and sustainable return for London Irish to competitive rugby, hand-in-hand with London Irish’s supporter base. 

Jordan Associates' Senior Partner, Kyle Jordan, commented, "We are incredibly excited about this opportunity to steer London Irish towards new heights. Our investors bring not just financial backing but a profound passion for rugby and a commitment to the community and in particular want to reach out to the global Irish diaspora to build the exile brand."

Jordan Associates' Senior Partner, Daniel McKeown, commented, "This acquisition is a testament to the enduring legacy of London Irish. With this new partnership, we are poised to write the next exciting chapter in our club's history."

Evelyn Partners’ Lee Manning, joint administrator of London Irish, commented: “We have worked hard throughout this administration to preserve the value of this historic and much-loved club. Despite a number of false dawns in respect of interested parties expressing a keen interest in acquiring London Irish, we are delighted to have found a buyer with plans to revitalise the club. We look forward to seeing London Irish flourish again under the new ownership and we wish them all the best.”

Paul Raftery, Partner, Weightmans LLP, stated; “It was a huge pleasure to help achieve the first stage in the restoration of such an iconic rugby brand and institution as London Irish.“

Founded in 1898, London Irish Rugby Club has been a cornerstone of English rugby, known for its distinctive green and white hoops, spirited play, and community engagement. The club has a rich history of producing international players and engaging with fans through its unique cultural blend.

Strangford Ellis is an investment vehicle focused on sports and community development, managed by Jordan Associates, which specialises in minority strategic investments in sports entities with significant cultural and historical value where it believes its investors can drive the largest gains through knowledge and engagement.

Evelyn Partners is the sixth largest UK accountancy firm ranked by fee income (source: Accountancy Age 50+50 rankings, 2024) and can trace its heritage back to 1881. As a leader in the accountancy mid-market, the firm offers clients a broad range of services spanning business and private client tax advice, assurance and business services and a suite of advisory and digital services that include recovery and restructuring, forensic services, and transactions. It has been announced that the group’s professional services business will be re-branded to S&W in Q1 2025. For further information please visit: www.evelyn.com

For more information, please contact:

The Sports Marketing Group
press@thesmg.com

Strangford Ellis was advised by Kalakoda Corporate Finance and Weightmans LLP

London Irish is a West London-based professional rugby union football club which competed in the Premiership, English rugby’s top division. As with other professional rugby clubs across the UK, the Covid-19 pandemic posed serious financial problems for London Irish, compounded already significant pressures facing the club. Unable to secure a sale, the directors placed the club into administration following its suspension by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) on 06 June 2023, appointing Lee Manning and Simon Jagger of Evelyn Partners as joint administrators on 07 June 2023.

Jordan Associates was introduced to the opportunity by Redstrike, an international sports marketing group. Together with our advisors, Jordan Associates has worked over the past 12 months to extract the professional club from the remaining assets of London Irish Holdings Limited and London Irish Scottish Richmond Limited. Strangford Ellis (which will be renamed post transaction), as owner and custodian of London Irish Rugby Club is excited to take a seat at the top table of rugby once again, return to being a dedicated partner in its local community and create a sustainable professional rugby business.

Weightmans is one of the UK’s most respected and award-winning law firms, with over 1,600 people across offices in Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Newcastle. 

For further information on Weightmans LLP please contact Richard Lackey, PR Manager on 0151 243 3328 or email richard.lackey@weightmans.com