WRU pre-tax loss widens to £18.1m as revenue rises

The Welsh Rugby Union group’s loss before tax widened to £18.1m in the year to 30 June 2026, compared with £7.2m a year earlier, despite revenue rising to £116.2m from £106.1m. Its newly linked accounts show a deterioration in earnings and a reduction in net assets. The figures include Cardiff Rugby, which the WRU acquired in April 2025. That change in the group’s make-up matters when comparing costs and rugby funding.

Why higher revenue did not prevent a bigger loss

Administrative expenses rose to £131m from £110.8m. The prior-year Cardiff operating costs cover only the period from its April 2025 acquisition to the June year-end. The accounts’ strategic review points to lower ticket yields, weaker attendances and spending, inflation and the cost of staging two additional men’s home games. The WRU’s EBITDA measure before club allocations fell to £19.7m from £32.8m. It measures operating performance before depreciation, exceptional items and allocations to affiliated organisations; it is a different measure from the final statutory loss. After a £0.4m tax credit, the group’s loss for the financial year was £17.7m. The £18.1m headline figure is the loss before that credit.

Separate Cardiff’s trading loss from the accounting adjustments

Excluding Cardiff, the WRU’s EBITDA before club allocations was £28.5m, down from £35.2m. The report reconciles that £28.5m to the £19.7m group figure through an £8.8m reduction. Only £1.2m of that reduction is Cardiff’s trading loss. The remaining £7.6m consists of adjustments when Cardiff’s results are combined with the WRU’s. Describing the whole £8.8m as Cardiff’s trading loss would therefore misstate the accounts.

What the funding comparison shows

Allocations to affiliated organisations appear as £25.2m in the consolidated results, against £30.9m in 2025. Note 9 explains that payments to Cardiff inside the group are removed: £7.4m this year, compared with £1.7m last year. Adding those internal Cardiff amounts back produces £32.6m in each year, calculated by Cover from the note. The lower consolidated line alone does not establish a matching reduction in total allocations. Community-club and affiliate allocations were £3.9m, compared with £3.3m.

Reserves, debt and the auditors’ conclusion

Net assets fell to £6.8m from £27.6m. The report attributes the reduction to the £17.7m loss and a £3.1m dividend connected with buying the remaining minority stake in the stadium hospitality business. The WRU’s broad net-debt measure, including debentures and finance leases as well as bank borrowing and cash, rose to £126.1m from £124.1m. It reports meeting its bank covenants during the year. The auditors concluded that the going-concern basis was appropriate and identified no material uncertainty casting significant doubt on continued operation for at least 12 months from authorisation. The accounts were approved on 21 October. That conclusion sits alongside the weaker annual results; it does not remove the task of restoring earnings.