Scotland: Financial reset through two-year plan

As happened in Wales, Scotland has also started a financial reset programme, starting from 1 July and agreed by Scottish Rugby Limited and the Scottish Rugby Union Boards, through a two-year calendar aimed at restoring the economic position of the Federation.

The new budget approach has been useful and necessary to support the future growth of Scottish Rugby and the realisation of its objectives. The work undertaken by the Scottish Rugby Executive has examined the complete organisation of its activities, from the operational expenditure covering the management of Scottish Rugby’s programmes, through to the existing wage budget.

The recovery plan and accompanying budget were reviewed by independent financial experts and agreed by the Scottish Rugby Limited Board on 21 June and the Scottish Rugby Union Board on 27 June.

Read also: Wales: a five-year plan to try to clear the debt of 20 million pounds

Scotland: the financial reset for the next two years

The objective of Scottish rugby is to address the management costs of each of the Federation’s activities by containing expenses. The reset will reduce the size of expected losses over two financial years, returning Scottish Rugby to a break-even position from the 2025/26 financial year.

Scotland aims to be on a path to profitability in the 2026/27 financial year after having incurred losses of around £10 million in each of the last two accounting periods (FY23/24 is a 13-month period).

The loss of £6.7m for the twelve months to May 2024 shows an improvement, year-on-year, compared to the loss of £10.5m for the 2022/23 season.

It is anticipated that a significantly reduced loss of around £3.1 million in the 2024/25 financial year will be followed by a break-even position in the 2025/26 financial year and a return to profit in the following year. Scottish Rugby assumes that at the end of the 2026/27 financial year, cash reserves will be consistent with the current position.

This economy-wide renewal programme has identified around 35 positions as potentially for removal, with a collective consultation due to begin shortly for roles at risk of redundancy.

Any new external hires will be suspended during the collective consultation process, with the exception of CEO and Director of Performance roles. Player recruitment for both Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors will not be affected for next season.

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