Wasps chairman admits takeover gave him 'sleepless nights' (From Bucks Free Press)

Rigby excited by new dawn at Wasps

2:30pm Saturday 15th September 2012 in Sport By Alan Feldberg

WASPS chairman Mark Rigby says this takeover has been by far the toughest of the four he's seen at the club.

A consortium put together by Ken Moss has at last taken over from Steve Hayes following a long and complicated process.

Rigby said: “This is the fourth takeover I have been involved in, or seen, at Wasps and this time, doing so in a pretty bleak marketplace, was by far the most difficult.

“There have been many sleepless nights over past few months so it's fair to say a major weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”

Moss, a former Wasps player, and his consortium have been waiting in the wings for months.

After lengthy negotiations with Hayes contracts were first exchanged at the start of the summer, but the intricacies of peeling Wasps away from Wanderers, which Hayes also owned, has taken far long than anyone expected.

Rigby said: “It has been a long and difficult 12 months for everyone in and around Wasps and I am thrilled that we are now finally under new ownership.

“While there will be more announcements about board structure and personnel involved to come in the next few weeks, we have a much more positive future to look forward to, that is for sure.

“The club has had to endure some difficult days over the past year and we owe a debt of gratitude to all our creditors during some of the toughest months in the history of Wasps.

“We have much hard work ahead as we seek to rebuild all of these important relationships.

“This process has been long and frustrating, but I am delighted that the confidence I always had that our brand and history would be enough to convince investors to support our future was correct.”