Sheffield Wednesday: New buyers sought after £40m takeover collapses
Sheffield Wednesday fans have called for a new buyer to be found urgently after the consortium behind a proposed £40m takeover of the fallen English football giants pulled out.
A group led by James Bord, a co-owner of Scottish club Dunfermline, was named preferred bidder in December but announced today that they were withdrawing their offer.
“We know this will be a bitter disappointment to many – who hoped that the ownership saga would soon be over – and for this we can only apologise wholeheartedly,” Bord and business partners Felix Romer and Abdullah Faisal Bin Jamil wrote in an open letter.
The group said they wanted to renegotiate the terms of their offer after being granted access to Sheffield Wednesday’s books but had been unable to.
“We genuinely believed we could play a positive long-term role as custodians of one of the greatest clubs in English football and wanted to help guide Sheffield Wednesday towards a brighter future,” a spokesperson for the bidders said.
“While we leave this process with a sense of regret, our admiration for the club and its supporters remains undiminished and it will always hold a special place in our hearts.”
Concerns had grown about the slow progress of the bid, which it is understood were in part down to delays in the consortium providing necessary details.
Wednesday fans: New owners needs ASAP
The collapse of Wednesday’s takeover raises fresh questions about the club’s future after their relegation to the third tier was confirmed by defeat at rivals Sheffield United on Sunday.
They have been subject to multiple points deductions from the English Football League due to the financial mismanagement of their previous owner, Thai tuna tycoon Dejphon Chansiri.
The Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust called on administrators Begbies Traynor, the EFL and Independent Football Regulator to “move this process forward as quickly as possible” in order to get new ownership in place for next season.
“Our squad has been decimated over the past year and we need our new owner to be in place to have sufficient time to plan and deliver a substantial rebuild before the end of the summer transfer window,” the trust added.
“The minimum expectation of Wednesday fans is that we can put out a team that is competitive in League One next season. We need our future ownership in place as quickly as possible if we are to have any chance of delivering that.”