Statement regarding sale of P Shares to Exeter Chiefs

“Reluctantly we have sold our Premiership Rugby P Shares to Exeter Chiefs. There is a mechanism in place that means there can only ever be 13 P share holders at any one time and only a team who has been in the Premiership for more than a year can make an offer to purchase those from a club who have been out of the Premiership for more than a year. Currently, only Exeter can purchase the shares and only ourselves and Bristol can sell them. The value of the shares is decided by an independent process using a formula that is clearly set out and we had no option but to be part of the process.

“However, all the proceeds from the sale will be ring fenced and kept until such time as we return to the top flight when the money will be used to buy back our P shares. Without the shareholding, it makes it extremely difficult to gain parity with the other teams in the Premiership and for our long term future we must retain the ability to buy back the P shares.”