Charlton takeover bid collapses

American billionaire and sports entrepreneur Josh Harris has withdrawn a takeover bid for Charlton Athletic despite completing due diligence.   There appears to have been a disagreement about the overall asking price, although the figure quoted is much lower than in relation to earlier reported bids.

American billionaire and sports entrepreneur Josh Harris has withdrawn a takeover bid for Charlton Athletic despite completing due diligence.   There appears to have been a disagreement about the overall asking price, although the figure quoted is much lower than in relation to earlier reported bids.

The Charlton Athletic Supporters’ Trust recently had The Valley declared as an Asset of Community Value by Greenwich Council, but this is not thought to have had any bearing on the decision.

There were earlier rumours of a bid by a British property company, possibly linked with a relocation of the club to a purpose built stadium on the Greenwich Peninsula near the O2 arena, but nothing more has been heard of this.

Like most Championship clubs, Charlton is losing money.   A club needs substantial investment to take part in the race for promotion to the Premier League, but simply avoiding relegation to League 1 also requires the regular injection of funds.