Cornish Pirates statement: Financial outlook after Truro FC sale

English Championship club Cornish Pirates have provided fans with a financial update following the sale of partner football club Truro City to Canadian investors. It was March 2022 when benefactor Dicky Evans explained he would be ending his 27-year association with the rugby club he had funded on its journey from the seventh tier of English rugby to play in the professional second tier.

At the time, he set a three-year deadline to phase out his funding and find new owners for the Pirates and a similar approach would be taken regarding Truro FC after hopes that both clubs could be housed in a new Cornwall stadium were dashed.

It was during the 1990s when the Kenyan-based Evans, who owns Kernow Sport Ltd (KSL), originally saved the Pirates from bankruptcy and after selling his stake in 2014, he returned two years later after they were hit by financial problems.

A statement on Thursday about the football club’s sale and what it means for the rugby club going forward read: “On November 30, Truro City Football Club management and players and Kernow Sport Ltd players and shareholders were told of the sale of TCFC to Ontario Inc (OI), a Canadian sports consortium.

“The board of Kernow Sport has had to take some very difficult decisions to ensure that both Cornish Pirates and Truro City remain viable going forward. With the ambitions for the Stadium for Cornwall unable to be realised by the Cornish Pirates, and the need for Truro City to have a ground to return to in time for next season, steps were taken to secure new owners for the club.

“An offer came from the directors of Ontario Inc to acquire TCFC, fund its operation going forward, and develop the Langarth site. In the KSL directors’ view, this offered the best chance for Truro City to continue to succeed.”

Evans said: “I’m sad to lose TCFC. It has been a pleasure to support their ambitions, see them promoted, and have started to build their new home in Truro. We pass on a great club with a bright future and I wish them well with their new owners.

“It is a sadness for Pirates to have to give up their ambition for a permanent home in Truro but the bigger reality of my declining health and sunset funding means that sensible governance decisions need to be made to secure the future of both clubs.

“With TCFC in good hands, I am now totally focused on passing on the Pirates baton to new rugby owners. Cornish Pirates will remain in Penzance, their home and heartland. We may have lost the Stadium, but we have gained control of our own destiny.”

Pirates chairman Paul Durkin added: “In the face of all the publicity about failing rugby clubs and the total lack of clarity from the RFU on the rugby structure and more importantly on funding going forward, I am proud to say that Pirates is financially secure and will continue to compete within the top 20 of English rugby.

“The club is an essential part of the fabric of Cornwall with a loyal fan base and widespread commercial and community support. As a safe bet, we are as good as it gets.”

The strength of that support is reflected in KSL having 500 new fan owners, with the largest investors confirming their funds are to remain with KSL to support Pirates.

“We know that a minority of new investors came in to support the football club,” explained KSL CEO Rebecca Thomas. “While they will remain shareholders in KSL, we have passed on a percentage of the crowdfunding raise to TCFC to honour their wishes.”

The directors of Ontario Inc added: “We are delighted to complete the takeover of Truro City Football Club. The club stands on the cusp of a new dawn and we are honoured to be leading Truro City into what promises to be another history-laden chapter in its long and distinguished history.

“We must place on record our thanks to Dicky Evans and the previous ownership for the work they have done in ensuring the club's survival through the turbulence of the Covid-19 pandemic and for steering it throughout its time in exile these past few seasons.”