Long-serving Slaughter and May partner Sir Nigel Boardman has been hired by Premiership Rugby to lead a review of the financial position of its current clubs.
The move comes after the collapse of West Midlands sides Worcester Warriors and Wasps earlier in the season.
The appointment of Sir Nigel, who was a partner at Slaughter and May from 1982 to 2019, is the first step by the league’s governing body to establish a financial monitoring panel, which will work in parallel with a new sporting commission that will take responsibility for key decisions made by the organisation.
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Sir Nigel has previously led a government inquiry into the Greensill Capital lobbying scandal and has acted on several of the UK’s biggest deals in recent history for major clients including Shell, Vodafone, BHP Billiton, Reuters and Marks & Spencer. He will begin work with Premiership Rugby later this month.
Premiership Rugby chair Martyn Phillips said: "Financial reform of professional elite rugby in England is at the top of Premiership Rugby’s agenda and today’s announcement is a significant step forward for us.
"When Worcester Warriors and Wasps went into administration it was a devastating blow to two communities and professional rugby in England.
"Sir Nigel will begin a vital process that will see the establishment of a Financial Monitoring Panel (FMP), supported by a fit for purpose regulatory framework, to have better oversight of Premiership clubs’ financials and to put necessary safeguards in place to ensure our clubs become financially stronger and more sustainable in the future.
"To have secured someone of Sir Nigel’s calibre to lead this review is a major boost to our strategy.
"Once the review is carried out we will form a Financial Monitoring Panel to ensure clubs become financially stronger and protect the integrity of Premiership Rugby and its stakeholders."
An announcement on Premiership Rugby’s sporting commission will be made in due course with it set to be formed of independent members, including former players.
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