Premiership club hit with winding up petition by HMRC

Worcester Warriors have said that they remain in dialogue with HMRC over the threat of a winding-up petition over an unpaid tax bill.

It is understood that several local businesses have been owed money by the Premiership club.

However, Warriors say they are on the brink of new funding and have suffered “unavoidable delays”.

A statement said: “Worcester Warriors, along with many other businesses and most sports clubs have found the past two years extremely challenging owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and the rise in the cost of living.

“We retained our staff but lost income during the various lockdowns during which the overwhelming majority of matches were played behind closed doors.”

The club said that it returned to normal operations 12 months ago carrying a tax liability to HMRC and that from the outset, it has worked closely and openly with HMRC on a plan to clear these liabilities and a Time to Pay (TTP) arrangement has been in place.

The statement continued: “The club owners and board are fully committed to preserving top-flight professional rugby in Worcester and have been working on solutions to secure the financial future of Worcester Warriors and to pay outstanding tax owed to HMRC.

“A solution, which would secure the long-term future of the club, has been approved. Unfortunately, there have been unavoidable delays beyond the club’s control to the final tasks required to complete the funding.

“Having kept HMRC fully apprised of the situation we are disappointed that they have taken the decision to issue a winding-up petition. The club’s directors are in continuing dialogue with HMRC in an attempt to find a speedy and satisfactory resolution.”

Warriors added that they have also been in communication with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Sport England, Premiership Rugby and the RFU regarding this matter.

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