Scottish Rugby is calling a Special General Meeting of its member clubs on Friday 28 October to seek a mandate for inward investment.Member clubs from across the country will be invited to BT Murrayfield to approve a motion that would permit external investment into the Union’s professional and performance rugby set-up.Scottish Rugby is also separating its professional club businesses from its primary activities of grassroots development and national teams.The steps being taken will also insulate core domestic rugby and national team activities from rising costs in the professional game.A vote in favour of the motion will be the first step in enabling external investors to acquire a stake in the professional game.Any proposed investment would first have to be approved by the Scottish Rugby Board. At this time there is no immediate interest from an external investor on the table.Scottish Rugby Chief Executive, Mark Dodson, said: “It has been well documented that we face an increasing challenge to compete in this rising market. At this year’s AGM I outlined that change would be necessary and I want us to be proactive and early to market in order to attract potential investors.We have developed two strong clubs in Glasgow and Edinburgh that still have plenty of scope to grow and be more successful, which can only be attractive to outside investment.- – Scottish Rugby Chief Executive Mark Dodson”While we have made great strides in generating record revenues in recent years we also need to ensure we can fulfil and enhance the support available to our domestic game and national team operations.”The motion is being proposed by Scottish Rugby Union President Rob Flockhart who is asking member clubs for their support.He said: “The history of rugby in Scotland is characterised by a willingness to make bold decisions; we have to be inventive and innovative as we seek new income streams that will enable us to safeguard our ongoing investment in the domestic game and still support our pro-clubs at an appropriate level.It is increasingly clear that we must look at all options in order to attract more external funding. The Board, Council and I now all seek the support of our members to proceed to help us look to secure further investment in our great sport.”- – Scottish Rugby Union President Rob FlockhartClubs across Scotland were notified of the SGM meeting this week.