Johan le Roux, one of the DHL Stormers’ new equity partners, said that the Red Disa consortium is helping to bring financial stability to Western Province professional rugby.
The consortium, made up of Cape Town-based investment holding company Fynbos Ekwiteit along with Marble Head Investments and Ardagh Glass Packaging, last week completed the equity deal for 74% shareholding in WP Professional Rugby (Pty) Ltd.
A key stakeholder behind Red Disa, Le Roux of Fynbos Ekwiteit has shared his passion for Stormers and WP rugby, inspiring him to save the provincial union from liquidation.
Speaking in the second part of a wide-ranging interview with Rugby 365, he highlighted how Red Disa will take charge of managing the professional teams, including the Stormers, but won’t tackle the debt amassed by the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) since 2018.
MORE: WP Rugby equity deal for ‘Cape community’
Le Roux clarified the division between WP (Pty) Ltd and WPRFU, highlighting the commercial intricacies that once clouded Cape Town rugby.
He said Red Disa’s investment focuses solely on the company (WPPR), which owns crucial assets like trademarks and intellectual property necessary for team management.
“We manage the Stormers team, the Western Province [senior] team and the U20 team – the post-school age-group teams,” he told Rugby365.com editor Jan de Koning.
“The company owns all the trademarks and the IP you need [in order] to manage the team.”
The debt, Le Roux explains, is now secured against all of the union’s properties by Flyt Property Investment, and will be handled by SARU-appointed administrator Peter Jooste.
“Their financial situation in regards to the Newlands ownership and the debt against that is a level above the company,” he added. “It doesn’t affect us [WPPR] in any way.”
Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
