Rowe confident Chiefs will be back in the black soon

TONY Rowe is confident Exeter will move back into the black by the end of the season after three years of financial turbulence sparked by the pandemic.

- PAUL REES

The Chiefs were the only Premiership club in profit before the start of Covid, but even they were forced to sell assets last season to pay for the costs of the lockdowns.

“The last three years have been challenging for all clubs with the lasting commercial impact of the coronavirus pandemic taking its toll,” said Rowe, Exeter’s chief executive and chairman, in an open letter to supporters.

“We have moved forward, despite the burdens that we were forced to accumulate during the difficult period when our stands were empty, and the legacy of that time has been testing.

“I am confident that by the conclusion of the 2023-24 season we will have left these issues in the past and can move forward with the vision that we have long held for this club.

“Our budgetary forecasts for the season should see us operating once again within the black, and that is incredibly significant for the long-term security and growth of rugby both here in Exeter as well as across the wider landscape of the sport.