SARACENS have agreed a £32million takeover of the club from a consortium of investors including South Africa's World Cup-winning former captain Francois Pienaar.
The consortium will obtain a majority controlling stake, with the owner of South Africa's Sharks rugby team Marco V. Masotti another individual in the six-person group.
Pienaar made 44 appearances for Saracens as a player-coach but is best known for leading South Africa to the 1995 World Cup.
Nigel Wray, who has owned the club for 26 years, will retain a 'significant minority shareholding, albeit a passive one'.
He said: “I have given my heart and soul to the club for more than two decades, having chaired Saracens since the first days of professionalism.
'Sadly, I’m not getting any younger and I have always wanted to make sure that Saracens is in very safe hands for many future generations."
And Neil Golding, who will continue to chair the club, added: “We move on from the recent challenges with hard lessons learned and with robust new governance procedures in place.
"We wish to thank the incredible fans and sponsors of Saracens for their continued support and we cannot wait to welcome the Saracens family back to the StoneX in the near future for our return to the Premiership."
Ex-England and Saracens women's player Maggie Alphonsi has been added to the Saracens board.
Saracens were found guilty of breaching salary cap regulations in 2019.
They were punished with a 35-point deduction and fined £5.36m, a sanction which led them to be relegated from the Premiership.
However, they immediately returned to the top flight the following season after winning the second tier title.
The club believe the new owners will 'maintain their position at the top of the men's game'.
And long-time owner Wray is happy with the people he has chosen to pass control of the club over to.
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He added: "I am thrilled to hand over control to the consortium which comprises people who I know well and who understand the culture we've been able to create over more than 20 years both on and off the field.
"I am looking forward to becoming just a fan again and supporting the club I love."
The new investment into the club is set to be poured into redeveloping the West Stand, facilitating women's sport and creating a high performance training centre.
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