On a day in which global markets have been in turmoil, unfashionable south-east London club Charlton Athletic have received a bid from a Dubai-based investment group headed by His Excellency Mohammed Ali Ali Hashimi. Apparently the group considered a number of football clubs but thought that Charlton offered the greatest potential. In a statement, the prospective new owner has praised the passion of the club’s fans, its heritage and its commitment to the community. He also expressed his determination to get the club back to the Premiership.
On a day in which global markets have been in turmoil, unfashionable south-east London club Charlton Athletic have received a bid from a Dubai-based investment group headed by His Excellency Mohammed Ali Ali Hashimi. Apparently the group considered a number of football clubs but thought that Charlton offered the greatest potential. In a statement, the prospective new owner has praised the passion of the club’s fans, its heritage and its commitment to the community. He also expressed his determination to get the club back to the Premiership. Due diligence has to be undertaken, but it is hoped that the sale could be completed within a few days. It has the full support of leading Addicks shareholder, Richard Murray. Normally reliable sources at the club indicated that among the factors that had attracted the new owners were: the development potential of the Thames gateway; the status of Greenwich as an Olympic borough; the club’s community programme; and the fact that it has a reputation for good internal management and effective structures.
Zabeel has links with Dubai International Capital, the group that was interested in buying Liverpool. They received approaches from a number of clubs in England, elsewhere in Europe and in South America before settling on the Addicks. They had talks with Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, but thought that his asking price of £480m was too much. Portsmouth were available at a bargain price, but it was thought that the London club offered more potential. They are thought likely to pay somewhere in the region of £20m-£25m, giving them a relatively economical route into English football with reasonable prospects of a Premiership place. They do not intend to splash the cash, however, but to build up the club steadily in a similar way to the strategy being followed at Queen’s Park Rangers.
UPDATE 23/10/2008: Charlton Decision a Straw in the Wind
The decision by Dubai’s Zabeel Investments to pull out of their proposed takeover of Charlton Athletic has a wider significance than the future of the south-east London club. Zabeel made it clear that, contrary to press reports, they were not pursuing an interest in Everton or any other clubs. They put their decision not to invest in Charlton down to the worsening economic climate in the UK and the current debate about foreign ownership of clubs. This suggests that Andy Burnham’s speech may have had an effect in the sense that prospective foreign investors may feel that there is no longer a political dividend from any investment and less prestige than there was, indeed possibly some reputational damage. There has also been some analysis this week that suggests that the Dubai economy has been more affected by the world economic downturn than was first thought, particularly in terms of the ratio of debt to GDP. This suggests that sovereign wealth fund countries may no longer be in the market for clubs and that the likes of Newcastle may find it difficult to get a buyer at an acceptable price.