Stonewood Capital, a private equity firm based in Pittsburgh, has committed an initial seven-figure investment to the Cornish Pirates, the second-tier English rugby club. The deal was sparked by an article in the Guardian last December, which caught the attention of Kenn Moritz, the firm’s president. “Without that article I wouldn’t have called,” Moritz said from his home office. “It gave me an insight into what was going on in English rugby and piqued my interest.”
The investment gives Stonewood a “strong minority interest” on the club’s board, alongside an existing consortium of local business owners. Moritz and fellow investor John H Tippins, both in their 60s, typically focus on industrial companies but were drawn to the potential of the Cornish Pirates. “Rugby is much more interesting than, say, manufacturing fibreglass fabric,” Moritz noted. Tippins added that fate played a role: after Moritz mentioned Cornwall, Tippins revealed he had just returned from a holiday there.
Despite the romantic allure of the sport, Moritz remains pragmatic. “We come at it with what we think is an asset—ignorance,” he explained. “We look at things without having baggage or sacred cows. We ask questions and make things work with logic, common sense, and maybe the experience we’ve had in other businesses.” He sees English rugby as an increasingly fertile landscape for investment, citing recent overseas interest.
