Frank Warren has been a major success in boxing but found rugby more challenging (Image: Richard Pelham/Getty Images for Netflix)
Boxing promoter Frank Warren has admitted he was taken aback by how the upper echelons of rugby operated following his ill-fated spell as owner of Bedford Blues. His troubled tenure ultimately saw him offload the club for a mere £1. Warren, renowned for managing the likes of Tyson Fury and the late Ricky Hatton, ventured into the world of professional rugby ahead of the 1996/97 season.
He was persuaded to invest in the Bedford outfit, which was at the time languishing close to the foot of English rugby’s second tier. Speaking to The Telegraph, Warren revealed he lost at least £2.5million on his investment. “I done my balls on it and that was a lot of money back then,” he said. “It is one of my really happy memories tinged with a bit of sadness. We had some brilliant times there and met some brilliant people along the way.”
Warren had always harboured a passion for the sport. His sons played, and he was captivated by the 1995 World Cup, so little convincing was needed to throw himself in at the deep end with the Blues. Bedford went on to assemble a star-studded squad, including South Africa World Cup winner Rudolf Straeuli, Scotland international Scott Murray and Martin Offiah.
However, it was the business side of the sport that proved a challenge for Warren. “It was quite a culture shock for me,” he said. “I had always dealt directly in selling boxing rights and putting shows together without any governing body in between.
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“That was what I was used to. When I went along to some of these rugby meetings, I was not going in saying we should do this or we should do that but I went to listen and see. I was quite shocked at how it operated.
“England are very good at the badge and blazer mentality. We have to move with the times. That does not mean running roughshod over tradition but you have to look to the future or it will die on its backside.”
Warren has been Fury’s long-time promoter (Image: Getty Images for Netflix)
One notable concern for Warren was that the television rights for club rugby were not bundled together with England fixtures, which Sky had secured back in 1996. The now 74-year-old maintained that this was a significant error.
Bedford clinched promotion to the then Allied Dunbar Premiership 1 in 1998, only the second occasion in the club’s history that they had reached the top flight. However, shortly afterwards Warren had his assets frozen amid a contractual dispute with fellow boxing promoter Don King, which Warren described as an “outrageous cheek and liberty.”
Further complications arose when one of his junior partners, who had been entrusted with running Bedford, was convicted of theft from the club and subsequently jailed. Faced with a protracted legal battle, Warren chose to cut his losses and offload the club for just £1.
“I done my conkers on it,” Warren said. “But that was on me and with what was happening. It got to a stage where I was not trying to get my money back, I want the club to be successful so I said I will sell it for a £1.”
Goldington Road, the home of Bedford Blues (Image: 2024 Patrick Khachfe)
The consortium to which Warren sold the club regrettably left it in financial difficulty. Subsequent owner Geoff Irvine said he was astonished when he examined the accounts and discovered the sheer scale of some of the contracts issued under Warren’s stewardship.
“We were paying players £100,000 a year, which was astronomical in those days,” Irvine said. “Frank definitely put his money where his mouth was. He was well-intentioned, but poorly advised. He told me, ‘If I had met you earlier, you would have saved me millions.'”
Bedford were relegated to the second tier in 2000 and have operated on a semi-professional basis ever since. “I still look for Bedford’s results first and foremost,” Warren said. “Rugby is a fabulous, fabulous game full of great people. International rugby is a fantastic product, and is marketed very well.
“It was a dream come true to be involved in it. I loved every moment of it and I can look back and say we were successful as a club with my small involvement.”