Leicester Tigers: Andrea Pinchin says club will spend full salary cap
- Published
Leicester Tigers are seventh in the Premiership table after 11 games this season
Leicester Tigers remain against the Premiership's salary cap increase but will spend to the limit as they cut costs elsewhere at the club, says chief executive Andrea Pinchin.
The salary cap is set to increase from £5m to £6.4m next season.
Tigers, who have made off-field redundancies as part of a restructure, reported a £1.5m pre-tax loss for the 12 months up to June 2023.
"Everything we do is about putting money into the rugby," said Pinchen.
"Yes, we have got a fantastic stadium and facility, and we need to fill it 365 days if we can, but rugby is our core product.
"That is what we are here to do and what we need to financially support."
'Not a case of Leicester being in trouble'
In an interview with BBC Radio Leicester, Pinchen confirmed there have been redundancies at the club and reacted to questions about cost-cutting, which has seen its resident band stop playing post-match gigs at Mattioli Woods Welford Road after two decades.
"There were unfortunately redundancies due to a restructure and the band, I know, has been a big thing," she said.
"And its not that we don't want to offer match entertainment, we absolutely do, but we want to try different things and new things as well as maintain the old.
"When you are a loss-making business, which we currently are, you have to reassess every spend and you're continually doing that.
"It's a simple case of economics, not a case of Leicester is in trouble or have any immediate financial issues, because there isn't."
Pinchen, who previously said Tiger are "financially safe", has been among the most publicly vocal to oppose the salary cap change this year after recent years of economic turmoil in England's top flight.
Clubs unanimously agreed to cut the salary cap by £1.4m, to £5m in the summer of 2020 in response to the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The cap will return to £6.4m despite three Premiership clubs, Wasps, Worcester and London Irish, going bust in the past 16 months.
Additionally, Tigers have recently begun to repay loans taken out from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) during the pandemic.
"It's no secret that we fundamentally voted against the cap going back up, we just didn't feel it was the right time," Pinchen said.
"I've spoken about having an industry that makes those decisions when some clubs will be potentially not able to fulfil that.
"But it is there, we live with it and we have to ensure we are putting the right processes in place off the pitch so we can generate that income, so it does fulfil that."
Pinchen added that Tigers remain indebted to Tom Scott and Peter Tom for investing a combined £13m in the club in February 2023.
She also said plans for 25 elite England players to receive hybrid or "enhanced "contracts, giving the RFU closer control over player workload, is an "interesting" concept and "financially probably makes sense".
"I don't think any club will be in any worse position at all and think it is vital that we do work together," Pinchen said.
"We are all there and left our egos at the door and are able work with each other so that the sport itself grows."