Worcester owners close to agreeing sale to secure Premiership club’s future

The Worcester Warriors owners are believed to be closing in on a deal to sell the club in a move that would preserve the club’s future if it goes through.

While the finer legal details were still to be worked through on Monday night and although the Rugby Football Union would still need to give its approval, it is understood staff have been told that a deal has been agreed in principle.

If the sale is approved it would ensure Worcester’s survival, just days before their first home match of the season – against Exeter on Sunday. Hosting that match at Sixways involves significant operational costs and up until now it has been unclear how they would be met. There is now confidence that the match can go ahead, however.

On Saturday, after Worcester’s defeat on the opening day of the season by London Irish, the director of rugby Steve Diamond revealed the owners – Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring – had held positive talks with a potential buyer. The buyer has not been identified, and they would have to take on debts of around £25m, including a £6m tax bill which is due to be paid to HMRC before 6 October – the date of the club’s winding up court appearance.

As a result, there remains a degree of wariness from some members of staff that the deal will go through and on Saturday Diamond warned of “false dawns”. Nonetheless, if the sale is approved it would avoid the need for the club to be put into administration which would leave the Warriors facing relegation.

Another interested party – a consortium led by the former chief executive Jim O’Toole and James Sandford – is only willing to proceed if the club is put into administration. On Monday they released a statement calling for the government to put the club into