Red Bull completes Newcastle Falcons takeover

Newcastle Falcons have finished bottom in the past three seasons

Energy drinks giant Red Bull has completed its takeover of English top-flight club Newcastle Falcons.

Newcastle, who were put up for sale towards the end of last year, are the first rugby union club to become part of the Red Bull stable and will now be known as Newcastle Red Bulls.

The Austria-based company already has significant interests in football, motor racing and winter sports.

Newcastle have finished bottom of the Premiership - renamed the Gallagher Prem for the new campaign - in each of the past three seasons, but this deal secures their long-term future.

Steve Diamond will remain the club's director of rugby, with Newcastle set to start the new campaign at home to Saracens on Friday, 26 September.

Oliver Mintzlaff, Red Bull CEO corporate projects and investments, said their aim was to "empower the club to reach its full competitive potential".

Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney described the takeover as "a very positive development" and said it demonstrated "the confidence in and potential" of the league.

"Having a Gallagher Prem club in the north of England is critical to rugby in the region both for preserving a rugby fanbase and its role in talent development and community outreach," he said.

"We look forward to Newcastle Red Bulls going from strength-to-strength next season."

Lifeline for Newcastle

Semore Kurdi, who had been majority owner since 2011, put the Kingston Park club up for sale towards the end of last year.

In a tough financial climate post-Covid, Newcastle have been the whipping boys of the Premiership in recent seasons.

They have finished bottom three years in a row and have managed just two wins in the past two seasons, notably going without a victory from March 2023 to October last year.

The club has operated considerably below the Premiership's salary cap and in recent months homegrown players and England internationals Adam Radwan and captain Callum Chick moved on to Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints respectively to further their careers, further weakening their playing resources.

Against this backdrop, Diamond has been at pains to explain the restrictions that he has been working under.

But Diamond has always stressed that the club would not go the way of Wasps, Worcester and London Irish, who all went to the wall in an eight-month period between October 2022 and June 2023.

Now with this new investment and fresh approach, Newcastle will hope they can become competitive again in the 10-team league.

Huge boost for Premiership

The arrival of Red Bull is a huge coup for the domestic game as it looks to bounce back from the loss of those three clubs two years ago.

It has fallen well behind France's Top 14 as the pre-eminent league in Europe, with higher salaries for players and a more lucrative television deal across the Channel.

In England, clubs have relied on the generosity of wealthy owners like Bruce Craig at Bath and Bristol Bears' Steve Lansdown to underwrite the costs of maintaining a big playing squad.

But the Prem has signed a new TV deal with TNT Sports, running until the end of the 2030-31 season, to broadcast all league games, which offers longevity and security.

Viewing figures for last season were up by over 10%, with a particular increase in the 18-34 age-group bracket.

The latest boost is the rebranding of the league as the Gallagher Prem for 2025-26, with a view to emphasising the physicality and intensity that is on show in the competition every week.

And with a huge multi-national company like Red Bull now bringing its global brand to the game, it will be fascinating to see if others follow.

Red Bull have owned a minority stake in Leeds United since May 2024

Expanding portfolio for Red Bull

Red Bull's decision to get involved with Newcastle marks an exciting new venture for the energy drink multi-national.

Its name has been synonymous with sports like F1 and football for years, but now rugby union will get the Red Bull treatment.

The company has become one of the biggest names in F1 over the last two decades with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen each winning four successive world titles in a Red Bull car, as well as picking up six constructors' titles.

In football, Red Bull has clubs all around the world and even has a minority stake in Premier League club Leeds United, as well as being the title sponsor of the Yorkshire club.

Its distinctive yellow and red logo will now adorn the Falcons kit as Newcastle fans dream of a return to the glory days under Sir John Hall when they were champions in 1998.

Red Bull portfolio:

F1: Red Bull Racing, Racing Bulls

Football: Red Bull Salzburg, RB Leipzig, New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Bragantino (Brazil), RB Omiya Ardija (Japan)

Ice Hockey: EC Red Bull Salzburg, EC Red Bull Munich

Cycling: Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe

Rugby Union: Newcastle Red Bulls