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Articles on football club takeovers and related issues
With Plymouth Argyle experiencing a faltering start to the season, joint administrator, Brendan Guilfoyle, has reiterated that he expects the takeover to go through by the end of this week.
Guilfoyle said: ‘We asked of proof of funds from BIL, which is the company that Kevin Heaney’s behind, and we haven’t had proof of funds [yet], but what we have had from his solicitors is evidence of a funding line that he’s working on and there’s some due diligence going on.’
Today could be make or break day for the bid by Malaysian airline entrepreneur Tony Fernandes to take control of Queens Park Rangers. A deal is close to being finalised but has not been sealed and could be delayed or even collapse as the parties seek to reach agreement on final details.
Plymouth Argyle’s players and staff are to go without pay for another month as the proposed takeover of the club drags on. Argyle are reported not to have paid players in full since the start of the year. Last week administrator Brendan Guilfoyle failed in a court bid to persuade preferred bidders Bishop International Limited to release £230,000 to cover wages.
After a poor start in the Premier League against Bolton, there is some good news for QPR fans. The close season has been blighted by uncertainty about the club’s future ownership, but Malayisan entrepreneur Tony Fernandes plans to arrive in London next Thursday to conclude a deal to acquire the club. He intends to make available a much needed £10m to reinforce the team.
Air Asia boss Tony Fernandes is reported to be making a £100m bid for QPR. This follows the news that steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal is ready to sell his 33 per cent stake in the club following his bust up with Bernie Ecclestone who has a 62 per cent share. This spring Mr Mittal tried to increase his stake to become the majority shareholder but had no joy.
Wrexham fans have been second to none in their long drawn out battle to save their club and put it on a sound footing. Today some of them are climbing Snowdon in a bid to raise another £20,000 and, assuming that the weather is as unseasonable as it is in the Midlands (rain and strong winds) that will be no stroll up the mountainside.
The new owners of Stockport County are yet to be revealed. Unsubstantiated rumours have been circulating that disgraced former Chester City owner Steven Vaughan is involved. Some tenuous links between him and consortium spokesman Tony Evans may have led to the rumours. Evans is a consultant for GT Law the Liverpool insurance claims specialists who have just signed a shirt sponsorship deal for Stockport. In May they also agreed to sponsor Liverpool boxer Rocky Fielding who is part of a stable managed by Vaughan.
Anthony Evans, a Liverpool-born 27-year old sales consultant at GT Law, a firm of Essex solicitors, is heading up the consortium that plans to buy Stockport County. The identity of the consortium members is unknown but Evans has emphatically denied rumours that one of the investors is Stephen Vaughan, the controversial former owner of Chester City. Vaughan was jailed for 15 months in August for assaulting a police officer.
Stockport County were relegated to the Conference at the end of last season after 105 years in the Football League, but now they have new owners and a new manager in the shape of former Premiership and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann in his first managerial post.
Despite last minute hitches, a deal to take Plymouth Argyle out of administration is nearing completion. Under the arrangement the property assets and the club itself will be run by separate companies.