US company House of Luxury and its plan to acquire the Scarlets

The off-market luxury asset broker is seeking to acquire a 55% stake in the Welsh rugby region. Business editor Sion Barry takes a closer look

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HERE is never a dull day in Welsh rugby. The latest saga is the proposed majority acquisition of professional rugby region the Scarlets by Montana-registered and off-market luxury asset broker, House of Luxury Group (HOL).

The company, under its founder, chief executive and chair, Kirsti Jane Baker, 36, who hails from Pontypridd, has taken over non-rugby operational control of the club via its new sports and entertainment division.

We should know this week from the WRU its plans for restructuring the professional game, with the likely outcome that the current four regions will be reduced to two (one in the west and one in the east) or three.

Both the Scarlets and the Ospreys opted not to enter into a new funding agreement with the union, know as Professional Rugby Agreement 25 (PRA 25). This was for several reasons - including concerns over the WRU's acquisition of Cardiff Rugby out of administration (although it is seeking to sell it back into private ownership), and effectively becoming its benefactor to plug trading shortfalls.

The Dragons and Cardiff will now see a significant uplift in funding from the union over the next three years and a reduction in passed through union debt from NatWest with their PRA 23 deals being prematurely superseded by PRA 25.

The owners of the Dragons, who include David Buttress, were always going to sign, taking the position that the most important consideration had to be the interest of staff and players and the viability of the business.

The former board of Cardiff, before the club collapsed and the acquisition of its assets out of administration by the WRU, were also minded to sign. Like the Dragons, while there were some aspects of PRA 25 they were not happy with, they were not going to turn down increased funding from the union and reduced debt.