Preferred Worcester Warriors bidders submit improved offer for club

Headed up by the club’s former chief executive Jim O’Toole and Atlas SportsTech founder James Sandford, it had its first bid for the club rejected by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) on 16 December. Following this, the Warriors’ administrators Begbies Traynor set a deadline of 13 January for any further bids.

 
The pair’s consortium, which is also believed to be backed by American investors, were chosen as preferred bidders on 30 October last year ahead of a rival consortium headed up by the club’s former director of rugby and the club’s old main sponsor, Worcestershire based businessman Adam Hewitt. It’s also understood Diamond is still be keen.  

Following the submission of Atlas Worcester Warriors’ improved offer for the club, O’Toole told BBC Hereford & Worcester: “Friday at 5pm was the deadline the administrators Begbies have set for full and final offers for the acquisition of the suite of assets, the land, the club and the stadium.  

“We have submitted that offer and are now waiting for that process to complete. We are now waiting to see where we stand. 

“We have said from day one that the physical assets have to be used for commercial development to help fund the rugby club. Equally, the venue itself needs to be used in a different way, to deepen our relationship and role in the community. 

“We have a raft of ideas, not just about rugby, to make Sixways the hub of this community." 

Sandford added: “The RFU have reached out to us to re-engage around certain elements that we weren’t able to agree with previously. We take that as a step forward. 

“We have continued to focus on rugby as well as the community during this whole process, while the administrators waited on other offers and bids to come through. But we have always been committed to returning elite level rugby to Worcester.”