LONDON — London Irish hope to return to professional rugby as early as next season after Gamechanger Investments completed a takeover of the club's name, brand and associated intellectual property, with new owner and chairman Steve Daniels vowing to put the Exiles "firmly back on the rugby map". The club have been inactive since entering administration in June 2023, ending their time in the Premiership, and Daniels' company has purchased the assets from Kyle Jordan, son of late former Formula 1 team owner Eddie Jordan, and Daniel McKeown, who had been involved in efforts to revive the club since it went out of business.
Chief executive Jamie Balls said the new owners would welcome a place in the Championship, English rugby's second tier, at the earliest opportunity. "We would love to be in that league at the earliest opportunity," Balls told BBC Sport. "If next season were an opportunity and they would allow us to do so, we would like to go then. If it's not, then we'll wait another year." Daniels added: "London Irish is a huge name in rugby and means a great deal to a lot of people. We want to get the club back where it belongs - on the pitch and competing again. We are determined to get the foundations right and build a club that is competitive, sustainable and gives supporters something to believe in. We want London Irish firmly back on the rugby map."
The club had previously explored joining the United Rugby Championship, which features teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and South Africa, but those ambitions met resistance within the game. Balls said the Championship would offer a more realistic starting point to rebuild. There is still plenty to resolve over a home ground, having previously held fixtures at Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium from 2020-2023 and Reading's Select Car Leasing Stadium before that. The group are considering existing stadiums for the short term as well as the possibility of building a new ground, though Balls declined to identify sites. One option is Hazelwood, the club's former 53-acre training base in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, which was developed to accommodate both professional and amateur rugby. "We'd love to have that back, that site has potential for us," Balls said, adding the club do not currently own Hazelwood and negotiations are ongoing.
Daniels, 47, co-founded energy business PE Solutions with two partners after entering the utilities market about a decade ago, a company that reportedly grew to a turnover of £1.4bn within seven years before he stepped back to pursue other investments. Described as a "rugby man through and through" through his involvement in the community game and support for the sport through his business interests, he is backing the project with what Balls called "a serious amount of money". However, Balls insisted the intention was not to rely indefinitely on a wealthy backer. "He doesn't want to be seen as a sugar daddy," he said. "What he wants to see is, if you want X amount of millions here, you show me how that's going to become sustainable."
London Irish entered administration in 2023 after financial difficulties left them unable to meet their obligations. The women's team is also intended to return, with the ambition of reaching Premiership Women's Rugby. For now the priorities are securing a competition place, establishing a home ground and putting the right financial foundations in place. "We didn't get it right in the past," Balls admitted. "But we will get it right going forward."