Exhibitions giant NEC Group eyes swoop on stricken Wasps’ stadium

The owner of one of Britain’s best-known exhibition venues is plotting a swoop on the stadium used by the Premiership Rugby side Wasps and footballing neighbours Coventry City.

Sky News has learnt that the NEC Group, which draws more than 7m visitors annually to its portfolio of sites in Birmingham, lodged a bid for the Coventry Building Society Arena ahead of a deadline last week.

NEC Group’s involvement in the sale process did not extend to an offer for Wasps itself, according to people close to it.

One insider said the Birmingham-based group, which is owned by the US-based private equity behemoth Blackstone, was keen to acquire selected assets in the Midlands and beyond.

The offer has emerged as Wasps faces the threat of insolvency, casting a shadow over the future of the 155 year-old club.

At the weekend, Sky News revealed that David Armstrong, a former Wasps chief executive, was working with investment firm Terminum Capital on a bid to buy the club and its stadium.

Wasps, who lost to Northampton Saints in a Gallagher English Premiership match on Sunday, have been pushed to the brink of financial ruin by a debt pile which includes an unpaid tax bill owed to HM Revenue & Customs.

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The club’s parent company, Wasps Holdings, filed a notice of intention to appoint FRP Advisory, the restructuring firm, as administrator on September 21.

This was followed by a second such notice last week.

Those filings buy companies ten days of breathing space from creditors while they seek to find a way through their financial troubles.

Wasps is one of the oldest clubs in English rugby, having been founded in 1867 in Hampstead, London.

A solvent deal to buy the club and its stadium, either together or separately, is regarded as increasingly unlikely.

The Terminum Capital bid led by Mr Armstrong is said to have requested to Premiership Rugby Limited, the league’s administrator, and the Rugby Football Union, the sport’s governing body, that a deal executed through an administration process should not result in the club’s relegation.

The game’s authorities have the discretion to apply a points deduction rather than demotion in the event of something called a ‘no-fault administration’, according to one rugby insider.

A statement last week from Wasps Holdings said: “Since filing the original notice of intention on 21 September, a number of additional potential investors and funders have come forward.

“Discussions are now at a relatively advanced stage, and we remain hopeful of securing a deal that will allow the group, and the entities that sit within it, to move forward.

“We would like to thank all stakeholders for their engagement during this process, and in particular the constructive support and approach provided by the RFU (Rugby Football Union) and PRL (Premiership Rugby).

“This will continue to be vitally important as negotiations with interested parties proceed and we remain in regular dialogue with both organisations.

“While the financial circumstances facing the group are extremely challenging, we remain optimistic about a positive outcome and will keep our players, staff, supporters, partners, bond holders and suppliers updated as this process moves forward.”

Wasps’ plight comes as Worcester Warriors, another member of the English top flight, also faces existential questions, having seen its parent company appoint Begbies Traynor as administrators last week.

The financial challenges affecting a number of clubs partly arose during the COVID pandemic but have raised broader questions about the sustainability of the professional game in England.

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