Salford Red Devils have unveiled a club takeover, with the new owners clearing the club's debt and pledging substantial investment. The club said the change in ownership will secure its long-term future, pending final approval from the Rugby Football League.
Following discussions with stakeholders from the Community Benefit Society (CBS) and Salford City Council, it was agreed that a consortium led by businessman Dario Berta - CEO of investment bank Matanel - have fully acquired the rugby league team, a move endorsed by the CBS. This has eliminated over £1.5m of debt owed to Salford council, which had been providing significant financial support to the club in recent years.
The town hall recently became the sole owners of Salford Community Stadium in a £7m deal, and pledged to back the rugby league club in its quest to secure its long-term future. This includes new development around the stadium and collaborating with Salford Red Devils to increase revenue from matches at the ground.
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The new owners have committed to delivering 'significant investment for the future growth of the club', with a process already in motion to recruit a new internal management structure spearheaded by recruitment specialists KinseySears. Chris Irwin, former chief commercial officer at Salford Red Devils and more recently Exeter City Football Club, has been appointed as the club's new chief executive officer.
Mr Irwin met with Paul Rowley, Kurt Haggerty and the current men's first team squad on Friday at the Salford Community Stadium, reports .
Mr Berta, who is spearheading the new ownership consortium, said the move marks the beginning of a "very bright and successful future". He said: "I'd like to express my gratitude to Paul King and the existing team within the CBS who have led the club in recent years from celebrating its 150th anniversary, a Betfred Super League Grand Final and Challenge Cup Final, as well as navigating the club through tricky periods such as COVID.
"I'm very proud to be involved, and with Chris at the helm, I feel like we have the perfect opportunity to build something special. Our focus and dedication now is to work together with stakeholders and fans to build sustainable success on and off the pitch for the long term."
Salford city mayor, Paul Dennett, said: "I'm very happy to welcome Dario Berta to Salford and look forward to working closely together to see an exciting future for Salford Red Devils, building on the successes of the last five years."
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