EXETER Chiefs chairman Tony Rowe says he wants to turn the Devonians into “the best club in the world” following the completion of a takeover by American investors Cannae Holdings’ Black Knight Rugby.

Rowe, who has bankrolled and overseen the rise of the Chiefs for 25 years, will sit on a new three-man executive board alongside Black Knight vice-chairman Bill Foley and chief executive Ryan Caswell.

However, despite the change in ownership structure, Rowe insists Exeter’s ambition has not altered – and is instead being raised.

“We want to be in the world club competition,” he said. “I have got no doubts that we will get back to being in the finals of the European competitions in the next two to four years. That’s our target. We want to be the best club in the world.”

It is a bold statement, but not an unfamiliar one from Rowe, whose tenure has been defined by ambitious targets and a track record of delivering on them. Under his leadership, the Chiefs have risen from the lower tiers of English rugby to become both English and European champions, lifting the Premiership title and the European Champions Cup in a remarkable period of growth for the club.

“We have been in the Prem for the last 20 years, and I consider we are in the top echelon of rugby in Europe,” Rowe said. “But we need to move on to the next phase.”

That next phase, he explained, will be fuelled by new investment directed firmly at strengthening the playing squad rather than infrastructure projects.

“We’re not going to put it into any capital project, we’re going to put it in around our squad,” he said. “Hopefully next season we’ll be able to spend up to the salary cap.”

Rowe added recruitment work has already been underway for months in anticipation of the deal being finalised.

“We’ve been talking to Black Knight since way before Christmas,” he said. “So we’ve known for some months now that, unless something was drastically wrong, today was going to happen.”

“You just can’t go out tomorrow and pick up the guys you want, so Rob Baxter has been recruiting and I’ve been signing them off for the last two or three months.”

Exeter’s recent form has shown both promise and limitations. The Chiefs reached their first Premiership final in five years last month, falling 26-17 to Northampton Saints at Twickenham. Rowe believes that result highlighted the gap they must close.

“We’ve got a massively talented squad, but we’ve got a few guys we’ve had to let go,” he said. “If we lack anything at the moment it’s experience and a bit of strength in depth.

“Our trip to Twickenham a couple of weeks ago probably showed that, so we’re just going to get them fixed.”

The takeover will also impact Exeter Chiefs Women, who reached the semi-finals of Premiership Women’s Rugby this season before losing to eventual champions Saracens.

“The women’s Premiership is still quite young in English rugby,” Rowe said. “We’re still trying to build a bigger supporter base, so we’re funding a loss. But Cannae and Black Knight Rugby are committed totally to supporting women’s rugby, which I think is great.”

The Black Knight group also own Premier League side AFC Bournemouth and NHL franchise the Las Vegas Black Knights.