Lloyd’s of London CFO leaves role with Prem Rugby club Saracens
Lloyd’s of London’s chief financial officer Alexandra Cliff has left her role as director of Prem Rugby club Saracens after less than a year.
The former Direct Line Group, StarStone, and AJ Gallagher figure was appointed as a director of Saracens on 25 November last year following the departure of former chief executive Mark Thompson but her tenure concluded on 13 November, according to filings on Companies House.
Cliff was promoted to chief financial officer of Lloyd’s of London this year having joined the Lime Street-headquartered firm in 2022.
It comes two months after a raft of director appointments at Saracens, which was acquired by a consortium of private investors in 2022 after decades of stewardship under Nigel Wray, who maintains a significant minority holding.
Enstar Group Limited chief executive and Saracens shareholder Dominic Silvester, chartered accountant and Faz Investments Ltd co-founder Kamal Shah, club chief executive Charlie Beall, former player Sonia Green and Clifford Chance’s Neil Barlow – who has spent time on secondment with CVC Capital Partners, investors in Prem Rugby, and 3i, according to the law firm’s website – were all appointed as directors in September.
Saracens rebrand
The club’s most recent accounts saw a loss of £7.5m on turnover of £22.78m in the year ending 30 June 2024, worsening from £5.3m the year before.
Saracens are currently undergoing a rebrand, though the club’s name will remain the same. They are labelling themselves the “Original Club of North London” in a bid to shift the demographics of its fanbase and attract younger fans to the StoneX Stadium.
At the time, the club’s chief growth officer Mike Leslie told City PM: “What [the branding] means is that you evoke a strong response in people and that can be strongly positive or strongly negative.
“We have been very successful on the pitch and it’s certainly one of the reasons why our opposing fans love to hate us.”
Saracens were approached for comment.