Leighton Samuel

Leighton Samuel is a Welsh businessman, and former owner of several sporting teams in South Wales.

In 1988, Samuel founded picture frame manufacturer Décor Frame, now Dekor plc, in Bridgend, South Wales.

Samuel purchased Bridgend RFC in the mid-1990s.

He attempted to merge them with Neath in 2002. Bridgend won the Welsh Championship in 2003.

In the summer of 2003, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) voted to reduce the top tier of Welsh rugby union from nine clubs in the Celtic League into five regions through a series of mergers. The new Celtic Warriors officially represented the Mid-Glamorgan Valleys area, which in practice meant that they were a combination of Pontypridd RFC and Bridgend RFC with the two parent clubs continuing in the Welsh Premier Division. Games were to be rotated between Pontypridd's Sardis Road and Bridgend's Brewery Field.

To concentrate on the Celtic Warriors, Samuel decided to withdraw his financial backing of Bridgend RFC in March 2004. The original club was finally wound up by HM Revenue and Customs in 2006.[1] Fans and businessmen of the area resurrected the team, naming it Bridgend Ravens as the name Bridgend RFC was still owned by Samuel.

Financial problems at Pontypridd RFC led to the sale of their half of the Warriors [2] to Leighton Samuel for £100,000; which he gifted to the WRU [3], his attempt to become sole owner of the club having been blocked by the WRU.[4]

...
Wikipedia