Consortium of investors to acquire majority stake at Saracens

Saracens have announced that a consortium of investors have agreed to acquire a majority of stake of the Gallagher Premiership club.

The consortium comprises Dominic Silvester, Chief Executive Office of Enstar Group, a global insurance group; Neil Golding, the club’s chairman and a partner at Freshfields; Paul O’Shea, a director at Enstar; Francois Pienaar, a World Cup winning Captain and former Saracens player; Nick Leslau, Chairman and Chief Executive of Prestbury Investment Holdings; and Marco V. Masotti, a partner at Paul Weiss and an owner of South Africa’s Sharks rugby team.

“We move on from the recent challenges with hard lessons learned and with robust new governance procedures in place," said Neil Golding.

"We wish to thank the incredible fans and sponsors of Saracens for their continued support and we cannot wait to welcome the Saracens family back to the StoneX in the near future for our return to the Premiership. Dominic, Nick and Francois all have a long association with the club and we are delighted that they are committed to its future.”

The new investment is expected to bring in an investment of GBP 32 million.

"I have given my heart and soul to the club for more than two decades, having chaired Saracens since the first days of professionalism," said Nigel Wray.

"Sadly, I’m not getting any younger and I have always wanted to make sure that Saracens is in very safe hands for many future generations. To show our continued enthusiasm for the future of Saracens I will be retaining a significant minority shareholding albeit a passive one.”

Meanwhile, the club also confirmed that Wray will continue to remain as chief executive while Maggie Alphonsi, former Saracens and England women’s rugby player will join the board.