Jordan group buys London Irish out of administration

London Irish Rugby Club have been bought out of administration by a consortium led by former Formula 1 team owner and businessman Eddie Jordan.

In June 2023 London Irish were forced out of the Premiership because of unpaid wages and shortly after put into administration by former owner Mick Crossan with debts of about £30m.

They were punished after missing a deadline to make those payments or complete a takeover, and as a result are currently not allowed to play in any league.

Jordan's group, called 'The Jordan Associates', says it is targeting a "swift return" to competing professionally as well as promising to "introduce an innovative fan ownership model", offering supporters the opportunity to invest in the club.

"The primary goal of the new ownership is to return London Irish Rugby Club to the pinnacle of international professional club rugby, aiming for a swift return to top-flight competition," it said.

"The Jordan Associates team will now turn its attention to negotiating a full and sustainable return for London Irish to competitive rugby, hand-in-hand with London Irish's supporter base."

The Jordan Grand Prix F1 team competed between 1991 and 2005, winning four races between 1998 and 2003.

"We are incredibly excited about this opportunity to steer London Irish towards new heights," Jordan Associates senior partner Kyle Jordan - Eddie Jordan's youngest son - said.

"Our investors bring not just financial backing but a profound passion for rugby and a commitment to the community, and in particular want to reach out to the global Irish diaspora to build the exile brand."

In December, Jordan said he had been diagnosed with a "quite aggressive" form of cancer.

The 76-year-old said he has bladder and prostate cancer which had spread to his spine and pelvis.

Jordan was a regular pundit on television when the BBC held the broadcasting rights to F1 between 2009 and 2015.

London Irish, whose historic home and training base is in Sunbury, south west London, played at Reading Football Club's ground for two decades before moving to Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium in west London in 2020.

The new owners have not specified where Irish's new home will be, but did say the club's playing base would remain in west London.