London Welsh have announced they potentially have one month to survive after Tenon Recovery was today appointed as Administrator to the club.

Carl Jackson and Gareth Roberts of leading turnaround, restructuring and insolvency specialist, Tenon Recovery, have today been appointed joint administrators to London Welsh Rugby Club.

London Welsh Rugby Club, founded in 1885 and now in the top six of National Division One, has played a vital role both in the local community and in British Rugby. Around 177 Welsh international players have played for the club and a further 43 of these went on to join the British Lions squad.

The club recently made the decision to turn professional and has developed a three-year plan to reach the Guinness Premiership. However, investment in top quality players and experienced training and coaching staff has come at great personal cost to the principal investor and Chairman of the Club, Kelvin Bryon.

For London Welsh to progress towards promotion to the Premiership, the Club will need to secure additional investment from either another individual or a consortium of investors. It is hoping to generate interest of an additional £1 - £1.5million a season.

There are sufficient funds available for the Club to continue to operate for one more month but without additional income, the Club will be unable to continue to trade in its present form. This is likely to result in exclusion from the Championship and the British and Irish Cup by the RFU and the Club will revert to playing local level rugby.

Carl Jackson, National Head of Tenon Recovery, said: “London Welsh Rugby Club has a long and proud history in British rugby and this could prove an exciting opportunity to invest in the future Premiership aspirations of London Welsh. We hope to preserve the value and heritage of London Welsh and deliver a positive outcome for all involved.

“We will work closely with the Board to attract interested parties over the next month and urge anyone who is interested to get in contact with us immediately.”

Kelvin Bryon, Chairman of London Welsh Rugby Club, said: “I have seen London Welsh Rugby Club over the last twenty years rise from almost being relegated from Division 5 South to become one of the top eighteen clubs in England.

“London Welsh is within striking distance of the elite level of English rugby but I am unable to continue being the principal investor of the Club. To continue and achieve our dream of reaching the Premiership, we need other investors to step forward to join us on our exciting journey.”

John Dawes, Club President and Captain of the 1971 Lions Squad has said: “We have seen recently that as a result of its resurgence the Club has a vital role to play in the future of English and Welsh Rugby. The newly created Championship has given the Club the opportunity to take advantage of the exciting opportunities presented by the creation of this new competition.”