Heineken Cup organisers in the red

THE Dublin-based company responsible for organising the Heineken Cup suffered a loss of €874,978 last year.

Accounts for European Rugby Cup (ERC) Limited, filed recently at the Companies Registration Office, showed that the company had made a profit of almost this amount the previous year.

No reason was given to explain the loss, although the company's overall cost base for the year to end June 2003 increased by €1.6 million to €33.4 million. Annual turnover was down slightly at €32.48 million.