In 2014 London Wasps’ new Irish owner, Derek Richardson, uprooted the club from London – its home since 1867 – and moved it two hours up the road to Coventry. The fans were livid. Richardson, whose net worth was estimated at €65 million in 2018, made his fortune from the sale of the insurance broker 123.ie in 2010. To finance the move, the club borrowed £35 million from the bond markets. The idea was that Wasps would tap into demand from the rugby-starved people of the West Midlands. The crowds would fill Wasps big new stadium, which also had capacity…
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