Middle East Consortium Acquires League 2 Club

In one of the more unlikely recent football takeovers, a Middle East consortium has bought Notts County which is the world’s oldest professional club but finished sixth from bottom of League Two last season. Munto Finance have promised to provide the funds to establish the Magpies as a Championship club within five years. Munto is a special purpose vehicle which the club described as a Middle East-backed investment fund based in Switzerland. The club’s new executive chairman will be Peter Trembling, previously head of sport at MBNA International Bank and commercial director at Everton.

In one of the more unlikely recent football takeovers, a Middle East consortium has bought Notts County which is the world’s oldest professional club but finished sixth from bottom of League Two last season. Munto Finance have promised to provide the funds to establish the Magpies as a Championship club within five years. Munto is a special purpose vehicle which the club described as a Middle East-backed investment fund based in Switzerland. The club’s new executive chairman will be Peter Trembling, previously head of sport at MBNA International Bank and commercial director at Everton. Peter Willett, described as the client representative of the al Thani family, is also joining the board although it is unclear whether this refers to the Qatar ruling family. The club was 60 per cent owned by a supporters’ trust which gifted its shareholding to Munto in a vote last month.