YOUR Worcester News can today reveal details of the Sixways power shift behind the departures of Warriors managing director Charlie Little and head coach Richard Hill.

Cecil Duckworth is no longer Worcester’s majority shareholder after Hockley Investments Limited, who are represented on the Aviva Premiership club’s board by Tony Harris, increased their stake to a controlling interest.

While Duckworth, who has been Warriors’ long-term benefactor, is still a shareholder, he is no longer the club’s outright owner and is now titled executive chairman, but he insists he will not be joining the Sixways exodus.

Publicity-shy Geneva-based businessman Dave Allen, who made his fortune after founding worldwide logistics giant DHL International Ltd in Australia, is a close friend of Duckworth’s and, through Hockley, bankrolls Warriors.

Duckworth explained: “I am still very much involved and will carry on as executive chairman along with the rest of the team — we all have a role to play.

“I am a major shareholder, but it was a question of me wanting to secure the future of the club, which is why I brought in David, but he prefers to stay in the background.

“He has been very generous and has been putting in more money than I am, but didn’t want to become majority shareholder.

“However, I felt that was unfair, so he is now the club’s majority shareholder.

“We have a good working relationship, we do things together and one of us wouldn't do something without the other’s agreement.

“As a club, we are very financially secure and David and I are confident we can also turn it around to become a profitable company.

“We have significant reserves and in about six months’ time we won’t be borrowing any money.

“Hockley is an investment trust and is represented on the board by Tony.

“David and I decide policy and then the board implement that.

“David spends a lot of his time in Geneva, so is not a non-executive director, but I am.”

Duckworth added: “David likes to keep his head down, but everyone knows he is involved and we are more than happy to name him.

“He is a great guy who believes in rugby.

“Our aim is for the club to make profit — we’ve not done that yet — but we have to produce winning rugby first, which we have not consistently done.

“Then we can build on what is a pretty good base, but people want to watch the team winning.

“We haven’t got the right players yet, but that will change over the next few years and David is well behind that plan.”

Hockley’s man on the board of WRFC Trading Ltd, Harris, has extensive business experience and held a number of senior roles, including chief executive of ADT Fire & Security plc, managing director of NTL Business Inc and president of business services at BT plc.

Before joining BT, Harris was an executive board member for 11 years at DHL Worldwide Express.