York Knights’ new owners are prepared to invest millions, both on and off the field, and say there is a “pretty special” period ahead for the club

A consortium headed by David Dickson, his family and wife Sara Shepherd, has bought the Super League club from chairman Clint Goodchild. Shepherd is a member of the York-based Shepherd family, regarded as one of the richest in Yorkshire, and worth an estimated £1.3bn.

As part of the ownership change, general manager Neil Gulliver has been appointed CEO of York, and he told The i Paper that the club has been on an upward trajectory in recent years and the takeover will help accelerate that.

“Where we’re going to next and the plans that are in place and the things that I think we can do could be pretty special for this city, really, and for the region,” Gulliver said.

“It will just allow us to probably have a little bit of extra resource, so we’re able to put in place a few things to give us a bit more sustainability and long-term planning.

“We’ll probably be able to kick on with our centre of excellence and a few other things that will just help performances off the pitch, help us develop players and continue the growth of the club.

“We’ve got a training venue that is outstanding and we’ve got plans to improve that. We’ve got kids’ activities going on, we’ve got a foundation that’s doing unreal stuff.

“The game’s probably never had so many participants in York, and what we’re trying to do is grow that further and extend the reach. That’s why we’re going to Selby, Scarborough, places like that, and getting more people playing.

“The opportunity is just there to be grasped, and I know the new owners, they’re keen for that community side. They love how that impacts lives.”

The Knights were promoted into Super League this year, entering the first division for the first time since 1990.

Just eight years ago, the club was in third division League 1 but has been promoted twice since 2018 and last year they finished top of the second tier Championship.

York are one of the lowest salary cap spenders this year, and received only half the central distribution from the Rugby Football League, but are expected to ramp up their activity in the transfer market and add more staff after the takeover.

“Having half funding in your first year in, when you change from part-time to full-time, and there’s so many extra costs that come in with that, it’s a challenge,” Gulliver admitted.

“It’d be a challenge for anybody coming in, but to do it with our funding has not been the easiest thing.”

Gulliver confirmed that should the Knights be in Super League in 2027, they will receive a full distribution, which this year was £1.3 million.

“It’s difficult when you’re on a half distribution and you’re trying to go to the market and find the players,” he said.

“At least now, maybe we’re a bit slow with it, but actually we’re in Super League. So you’re not even telling people a pipe dream. What you’re doing is you’re in there, you’re at the table and we’re going quite well.

“Who’d have thought we’d be sat there on 14 points at this stage of the season.”

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The make-up of Super League for next year has yet to be confirmed, but Gulliver is confident York will stay in the top flight under the IMG grading system.

“We’ve been told it’s 14 teams with IMG on the grading, so that’s cool, I’m okay with that,” he said.

“We know the rules of the game. And in terms of our grading score, well, we’ve strengthened in pretty much every area. If you look at our attendances, our attendances have probably gone up by about threefold this year. Our social media scores are off the charts this year.

“We’ve got two years of really strong performance. So you look across all the pillars and we’re improving.

“I don’t know where we’ll finish in the whole league table eventually, but I’m confident we’ll be in the 14 and we’re in it. We’re looking forward; we’re certainly not looking down, we’re looking up because that’s the direction we’re headed.”