Mohed Altrad, in 2020 with Serge Guiseppin who was then leading his municipal election campaign.
Faced with a deep financial crisis with a deficit of nearly 650,000 euros, the association chaired by Serge Guiseppin is reducing staff and reducing the compensation of its educators by 20%. Mohed Altrad, the main shareholder of the professional club, has agreed to bail out the association structure until June 2025.
The Montpellier Hérault Rugby association has entered a new era since the beginning of the year. An unprecedented period of all-out savings and a new managerial approach imposed by the deep financial crisis that the organization has been going through in recent years.
This drastic austerity cure is led by its new president Serge Guiseppin, a close friend of Mohed Altrad, the boss of the professional club, elected last November. With the association's office and its steering committee, Serge Guiseppin has established a savings plan that aims to present “a controlled balance sheet in June 2025 and establish a balanced 2025-2026 budget”. When he arrived, the hole in the coffers of the structure that houses the largest school in French rugby (961 members, including the women's section) had been estimated at more than €600,000 and the prospect of a cessation of payments was no longer a figment of the imagination.
€600,000 from the professional club for cash flow
Initially, the managers therefore, as they had indicated, called on Mohed Altrad and the Société anonyme sportive professionnelle (SASP) to get the finances of the amateur section back on track. The professional club could not exist without its support from the association. “The SASP is helping us to overcome the cash flow problem. We have made a plan that is generally around €600,000. It is a give and take. It agrees to co-assume the cash flow so that things can be restructured. But trust does not exclude control and we will show in black and white the actions undertaken”, specifies Serge Guiseppin.
Jean-Michel Arazo is leaving
At the same time, the management has initiated a program to reduce operating costs and therefore its payroll. “Unfortunately, three redundancies are already underway and a fourth will take place at the end of the season to avoid any excessive disruption” continues the new president. Three of these departures, out of a total workforce of 11 employees, concern the sports sector and one the administrative sector. It concerns a figure of the MHR, Jean-Michel Arazo, promoted to general manager in November 2023 and whose initial gross remuneration of €5,000 had already caused internal unrest. “We had to examine each position according to its financial burden and its usefulness in the new structure” justifies the one who is also an elected municipal opposition member.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000A joint recruitment unit and equipment supplier
The rapprochement initiated between the association and the professional structure, while preserving the legal independence of the two entities, results in certain mutualizations. As an example, Serge Guiseppin mentions the upcoming change of equipment supplier for the club. “It is essential that the association follows this evolution to maintain visual coherence and benefit from the best conditions negotiated by the professional sector”.
A common recruitment unit is also set up.“No player will be able to join the association – from young people to hopefuls – without validation from the recruitment unit managed by the SASP and the association. This guarantees real coherence in talent management and allows, in the long term, to bring more young people from training onto the Top 14 match sheets” we are assured.
In addition to this reduction in the payroll, the allowances paid to educators have been reduced by 20%. “And this is voluntary. This demonstrates a real commitment to the association and a collective desire to ensure its future”. To compensate for the departures, the association is counting on increased participation by the association's elected representatives, “with monitoring and concrete objectives”and a stronger involvement of volunteers. A new internal organization that, according to the management team, will not affect the supervision of licensees. “We have optimized expenses without affecting the quality of the players' experience. The main thing is to guarantee the continuity of services without compromising the sporting ambitions of the association”, they maintain. The decision not to organize, this year, the Mer et soleil tournament, an important event, has however been taken.
According to Serge Guiseppin and his team, the MHR association now has a “structured and sustainable model”, “without depending on uncertain subsidies or exceptional financing”. What about its independence from the professional structure ? “The SASP has no decision-making power over the association but benefits from access to information to ensure good coordination” assures its president.
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