Prem Rugby clubs’ collective losses and debt levels are continuing to increase despite growing interest from global companies and financiers shown by the recent investment of Red Bull, Sir James Dyson, and the Black Knight group which owns AFC Bournemouth.

The third edition of the Leonard Curtis Rugby Finance Report published on Tuesday shows that the financial losses of the 10 Prem clubs rose from £34m to £36.5m over the 2024-25 season and combined debt levels increased from £342.5m to £366.1m, while the top flight’s total wage bills grew from £125.9m to £129.8m, 80% of revenues.

The impact of this increased spending was compounded by a decline in revenues from £182.2m to £178.9m, with the result that six of the 10 clubs are balance-sheet insolvent with Northampton, Gloucester, Leicester and Saracens the only exceptions.

The report from Leonard Curtis, a leading UK corporate recovery and insolvency firm, is compiled using publicly available figures for the 2024-25 season and echoes its findings in…