Richard Lamb Renews Interest in Buying Bradford Bulls after Points Deduction

All hope is not yet lost for Bradford Bulls as London-based businessman Richard Lamb has revealed he will renew his bid to buy Bradford Bulls after the Super League club fell back into administration. 

The Rugby Football League’s decision on Tuesday to impose the maximum six-point deduction on the club for breaching its insolvency regulations for the second time in two years prompted the prospective new owners to walk out.

Mark Moore, chairman of Bradford Bulls 2014 Ltd which agreed a sale with the administrators last Friday, withdrew his offer and launched a scathing attack on the RFL for placing the club in special measures, thereby preventing them from signing any more players. 

The RFL responded by blaming Moore’s failure to go through with a £300,000 offer to previous owner Omar Khan for the club’s latest crisis.

That left Leeds-based accountant David Wilson running the club once more but the RFL remains confident of finding new buyers.

RFL director of standards and licensing Blake Solly said: “There are still two bids on the table that the administrator can have a look at.

“We’re also working with a number of other parties who contacted us in the last 28 days expressing an interest in the club. We will be working with the administrator to try and ensure the club has a viable and solvent future.”

Lamb, who was involved in rugby league commercially during the 2013 World Cup, confirmed he is still keen to acquire the club and has offered to provide staff to help organise Sunday’s home game against London Broncos.

“My desire has not changed from last week,” Lamb tweeted. “To lead your great club.

“I am waiting for David to come back to me, hopefully by the end of this week.

“I have told him if the club needs support at the weekend with staff and personnel I’d bring some people up from London to help.”

Moore claimed in his farewell tirade that the points deductions means relegation for the Bulls is “almost a certainty” but Lamb says he has no issue with the sanctions and insists that a drop into the Championship would not be fatal.

“If that’s the rules of the governing body, then you have to take it,” he said.

“Hopefully, if we are successful, we can make sure that this season we perform as strongly as we can.

“If it resulted in the club going into the Championship, then – as we’ve seen in Premiership rugby and a number of other sports – as long as you run the club effectively and efficiently, then you can return, in this case, to Super League in the following season.”