US investors confident of Cornish Pirates growth

Image source, Brian TempestImage caption, Cornish Pirates finished seventh in the Champ this season New American investors in Cornish Pirates say they can increase the value of the Champ club. Pittsburgh-based Stonewood Capital Management has invested what has been described as a seven-figure amount in the Penzance-based side. Pirates finished the season seventh in English rugby's second tier, with Stonewood becoming the first United States-based investors to take a stake in an English professional rugby union side. It comes as Exeter Chiefs members have voted to allow a planned takeover of their club by the American-based group that owns Premier League side AFC Bournemouth, while Newcastle Red Bulls and Bath have both had extra investment as the prospect of a franchise-based Prem draws near. "There are things that we can do to increase the value of the franchise and remain in the Champ," Stonewood president Kenn Moritz told BBC Spotlight. "I think, clearly, if we decide to cross the threshold into the Prem, that will be another step we take to increase the value of the franchise and the value of our investment in the franchise. "So those bridges will be crossed when we come to them. Obviously, we have some work to do, that has to be done in either case, whether we remain in the Champ or we decide to move over to the Prem. "But that's the task in front of us, to really execute on the strategies that we've been discussing, and if we are successful in that execution, I think we'll be in a good place, regardless of which league we're playing in." Image source, Brian TempestImage caption, Cornish Pirates have played in the second tier of English rugby since 2003 Moritz said he was first made aware of the Pirates after reading an article online, and following some initial calls he met those running the club late last year. After further talks, Stonewood committed money to the club and agreed to take a place on the board of directors. "We had a meeting of the minds, so to speak, in terms of what we could add and what the club was offering, and it wasn't very long after that that we formalised a framework for an investment," Moritz said. "I think we're going to be involved at the board level, and that means to us that we are involved in important decision-making. "We are certainly not operations people, we're not going to get involved in the day-to-day operations of the club. "But, as in any of our investments, we do care about the strategy, the direction, how we can help, and those things are done more at the board level than the day-to-day grind, so to speak, of the club." Moritz said he had no timescale on how long he and his firm would stay involved with the Pirates, or what sort of return they were looking for on their investment. But he is confident that with Stonewood's input the club will grow and become a more attractive asset. "We never really know how we're going to get a return on any of our investments," he said. "We assume that we will do the right things by the enterprise, and grow the value of the investment... and then how we exit, and when we exit, it's always up in the air, and we don't really try to make too specific a claim on when that might happen. "We find that if we do the right things by the investment, we grow it, we execute the strategies that people think will take us to a better place, all good things happen at that point. "So, when we are there, we'll realise that there's been enough accretion and value that we've done what we can do, and at that point, maybe we'll have an exit."

US investors confident of Cornish Pirates growth

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