Copyright walesonline
Former Welsh Rugby Union CEO David Moffett has announced he has resigned from his position with Scarlets investors House of Luxury (HOL) with immediate effect. Moffett joined the US-based firm as a non-executive director in May, and headed up their sports and entertainment division. When the new partnership between the Scarlets and HOL was announced in August, it was revealed that the division - which has assumed non-rugby operational control of the region - intended to acquire a majority controlling stake of 55 per cent in the club, should they survive the WRU's proposed restructuring of the professional game. The outspoken businessman - who served as CEO of the WRU between 2002 and 2005 - has never been shy of voicing his opinion and recently described the union's proposal to cut the number of regions to two as a "crock of s***". Now, he has announced his immediate resignation from HOL, confirming the decision on his LinkedIn page on Tuesday night. "I have, today, resigned from House of Luxury LLC, House of Luxury Group, and House of Sport and Entertainment, effective immediately. David Moffett." Moffett has not yet clarified the reasons behind his sudden departure. I t comes just three weeks after HOL's plan to purchase a majority share in another rugby club collapsed. Earlier this month, The Telegraph reported that a deal which would have seen the firm acquire a 55% stake in English Champ Rugby side Coventry had collapsed due to a lack of clarity around promotion and relegation. The RFU are currently involved in discussions with Premiership Rugby (PRL) about creating a franchise league, which would see relegation from the Gallagher PREM suspended in a move to encourage more overseas investment. Explaining why the move collapsed, a frustrated Moffett told the publication: “We were interested in coming to an agreement with Coventry. We liked the fact they are a 156-year-old club which has been knocking on the door of promotion, have invested in their infrastructure and community to keep the professional game afloat in the area. "We were very impressed with their plans. But the more we did our due diligence, the more it became obvious that this was not something we could do at this point in time because the RFU and PRL [Premier Rugby Limited] are in a state of disarray. There’s no way we can invest in a team, no matter how good they are, when they do not know what their future looks like.” Hitting out at the requirement for promoted clubs to pay around £25 million to buy a 'P' share in the league, the 78-year-old added: “I understand if a company wants to buy in with no history then you can charge them. "But to charge an organisation which for 156 years has been helping to build rugby within its community, and then have the audacity to say if you do get promoted you are not going to get the same amount of money as we give to the others, that’s absolutely ridiculous and it is wrong. “It’s abhorrent that any club that goes up has to pay to become a member club," he continued. "Those clubs were given their shares in the Prem and are now saying these new entrants [have] to pay a hefty fee to come in so we can recover some of our losses." After orchestrating the change from the club game to five professional sides in 2003, Moffett has been hugely critical of the WRU's preferred proposal to halve the number of regions to two, saying such a move would be equivalent to "running up the white flag". "The WRU now appears intent on destroying the very things that make rugby special: community clubs, regional identity and supporter engagement," he told WalesOnline. "They seem determined to create a sterile, corporate product that serves their administrative convenience rather than rugby's authentic character. All I see is the white flag being run up the flagpole." * Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our free daily newsletter here and our WhatsApp channel here for all the breaking news. You can also follow us on social media on our X account , Facebook , Instagram and TikTok.
