Firm behind Six Nations records more than €18m in profit

The company is collectively owned by the six rugby unions that take part in the competition. 

Six Nations Rugby Ltd, the company responsible for the operation of the tournament, saw its pre-tax profits increase to nearly £16m (€18.42) during its 2025 financial year, up from £10.5m the year prior, its latest financial statement shows.

The company is a collective made up of its non-controlling shareholders La Federazione Italiana Rugby, Rugby Football Union, French Rugby Federation, the Irish Rugby Football Union, Welsh Rugby Union Ltd, and Scottish Rugby Union Ltd.

In its financial year ending in June 2025, the year France took home the Six Nations title, the company reported a profit of £15.94m, up from the £10.5m reported in its previous financial year.

The financial statement includes the income, expenditure, assets and liabilities occurring as the result of the commercialisation of various international rugby matches, including but not limited to the Six Nations Championships and Autumn Internationals.

Total turnover during the year, which primarily derived from selling the commercial rights from the Six Nations, stood at £16.37m — up from £10.9m in 2024.

After tax, interest and other expenses, the company recorded a final profit for the year of just under £13.1m.

The directors proposed and paid dividends to its shareholders of £10.7m during the year — up from £6.77m the year prior.

During the prior year, the company recognised a significant deferred tax asset of £5.8m primarily arising from a significant fair value loss in the prior period. Of that, £2m of this deferred tax asset was utilised in its 2025 financial year.

The average number of people employed by the company during the year stood at 42, with salaries costing £4.5m.

Viewership for this year’s Six Nations was quite strong across both RTÉ and Virgin Media.

Ireland’s win over England at the mid-point of the competition attracted an average audience of 898,000, and a peak of over one million.

Ireland’s final match of the competition, which was the Triple Crown decider against Scotland, recorded an average audience of 884,000 on Virgin Media, peaking at 972,000.