Yorkshire | Potential buyer pulls out of Sheff Wed takeover

It hasn’t been a good week for Sheffield Wednesday and their fans

A consortium led by former professional poker player James Bord has withdrawn from a proposed £47.8m takeover of Sheffield Wednesday.

Author | Jay Dean

A protest at Sheffield Wednesday earlier this season

The group, which also included Felix Romer and Alsharif Faisal Bin Jamil, was named preferred bidder for the Championship club on 24 December. Wednesday have been in administration since October, bringing to an end a decade under the ownership of Dejphon Chansiri.

Things can only get better

Their relegation from the Championship was confirmed on Sunday after a 2-1 defeat by city rivals Sheffield United, the earliest relegation in English league history. The relegation was inevitable since the start of the season. 

Administrators Begbies Traynor selected the Bord consortium after it paid a non-refundable £2.5m deposit and covered the club’s running losses, estimated at around £1m a month.

The prospective owners have since been undertaking the owners’ and directors’ test with the English Football League and the new Independent Football Regulator. A further payment was due this week to extend preferred bidder status by a fortnight.

However, the consortium has now pulled out after concluding that the club’s valuation has fallen below the £47.8m agreed figure. Under the terms of the deal, the price could not be renegotiated. The withdrawal leaves the administrators searching for an alternative buyer.