the essential
The Stangford Capital investment fund became the majority shareholder of the Hérault club this Thursday. Two rugby legends will now lead the sporting affairs of the ASBH.
Under the municipal flag for four years, AS Béziers was bought by an Irish investment fund, Stangford Capital. The sports project will be led in particular by former All Black Andrew Mehrtens, explained Robert Ménard this Thursday.
“The club is saved”, rejoiced the mayor of Béziers, during a press conference, alongside the two new co-presidents of the club, two legends of world rugby: the former New Zealand opener Andrew Mehrtens (70 caps ) and the former third row and captain of the South African Springboks, Bobby Skinstad (42 caps), 2007 world champion.
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This fund bought back, for an undisclosed amount, 75% of the shares owned by the city through a cooperative society of collective interest (SCIC) set up during the rescue of the club in 2021. The municipality, however, keeps 2 to 3% of the club, in order to be able to maintain a right of oversight over the management of the club.
Four years ago, Robert Ménard was the linchpin of a controversial operation to buy the club by the city, after the failure of a takeover project led by the former French international Christophe Dominici, associated with funds Emiratis.
Top 14 objective?
“We promised not to reduce the budget” for the current season and we will seek to increase it in the next three years,” explained Andrew Mehrtens. However, we should not expect immediate upheavals in the workforce and management of the club, currently 7th in the ranking.
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“In three or four years, we can do a lot. Climbing into the Top 14 is one thing, but we also have to think about the efforts necessary to stay there,” added the New Zealander, recalling that the club will already have to return to the top of Pro D2, “a tough competition”.
The leaders are keen to preserve the Biterroise identity. “We are not here to create a foreign club, it must remain a French club”, insisted Andrew Mehrtens, in French, before changing his mind: “We will remain a Béziers club”. Titled 11 times champion of France between 1961 and 1984, AS Béziers has not played in the elite of French rugby since the 2004-2005 season.
