'We have the best asset in Wales and have got to get the most out of it'

Leighton Davies, chief commercial officer at the WRU, tells Business editor Sion Barry how his team are transforming the body's finances after a period of 'crisis'

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CHIEF commercial officer of the Welsh Rugby Union, Leighton Davies, said a greater focus on "sweating the asset" of the Principality Stadium, including installing frictionless technology to significantly speed up food and drink sales, would form a key part of a five-year turnaround strategy implemented after it had breached banking covenants.

Mr Davies, who first joined the union as chief finance officer in the spring of 2024, said despite some commercial headwinds facing the game more widely, such as reducing valuations on broadcast deals, the union is tracking to deliver record revenues of £117m in the current financial year to the end of June 2026.

With the WRU overseeing a live consultation on the number of regions going forward, where its current preferred option is reducing the number from four to two, Crynant-born Mr Davies said the union, having achieved financial stability, was now looking to drive commercial revenues, having taken measures to cut costs, including a smarter approach to procurement, as well as a reduction in headcount.

He also confirmed that with a projected retained profit of £400,000 in its current financial year, the Parkgate Hotel, next to the Principality Stadium on Westgate Street, in which the union has a 75% ownership stake, was now in a position to distribute cash back for investment into the game.

He also revealed that the WRU is close to refinancing around £30m of debt, including its own facility with NatWest and loans from the Welsh Government it has passed through to the four regions, with two new lenders for a short-term facility of up to four years, before striking a new long-term debt agreement. There is also the potential for the union to draw down new funding through a securitisation deal against ticket incomes.