The WRU is looking to raise £3m by selling debenture seats in the Principality Stadium giving owners the right to buy tickets for every Wales rugby international for that seat.
The latest issue is for 500 debentures at a cost of £6,000 each. The offer, which closes this Friday, provides seats on either side of the halfway line in the upper tier of the East Stand. The 500 Debenture Series has a maturity date of 2050 and will become active from January next year in time for the Six Nations. Successful applicants will also be offered the opportunity to purchase tickets for this year’s Autumn Nations Series matches, which kicks-off against New Zealand in November.
The union has used debentures to raise finance going back to the late 1960s with its first issue helping to finance the redevelopment of what was then the National Stadium.
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Debentures are not interest bearing and at redemption holders will get back what they originally paid for them from the union. A stadium debenture gives holders the right to buy tickets for rugby internationals in the same assigned seat.
From the union’s financial position the long-term maturity of debentures has seen inflation acting as a friend. Once debentures mature it has the option of issuing new debentures at a higher premium. To put things into context the 1969 debentures cost around £50. Around 5,000 were also issued in 1999 to fund what was then the Millennium Stadium, priced mainly at around £4,000. The 25-year debentures raised around £24m.
The union currently has total debenture liabilities, according to its latest audited accounts, of just under £50m. The next tranche of maturing debentures is due in 2024, which would cost the union £8.9m. However, in recent years it has successfully negotiated extensions on the maturity of bonds with a significant number debenture holders. Prior to the latest issue, a maturity in 2050 would see the union liable for repayment to debenture holders of £28.4m.
A limited number of debentures in the latest issue are available ahead of Friday’s deadline.
The WRU’s legal director, Rhodri Lewis, said: “The window of opportunity is closing soon and we would very much encourage fans to now act quickly to avoid disappointment.
This new release of debenture seats formed part of our celebrations with the return of full crowds to Principality Stadium this season, following two years of uncertainty,
“The 500 Debenture Series has proved to be popular amongst Welsh rugby supporters and with England and Ireland in the Guinness Six Nations 2023 just two of the games which will come with guaranteed access, this is no surprise to us.”
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