Sheffield Wednesday takeover collapses as would-be buyers end their interest

A consortium seeking to buy Sheffield Wednesday says it has withdrawn from the process. The consortium, which features James Bord, the co-owner of Dunfermline, was granted exclusivity by club administrators in December. However, it has released a statement confirming that interest is at an end.

A spokesperson for the consortium said: “Throughout the process to purchase Sheffield Wednesday Football Club we have at all times respected the integrity of the process, working professionally, constructively and transparently with the administrator, the EFL and the IFR [Independent Football Regulator] to provide them with the details they need to satisfy their tests.

“We have done so in full adherence to the rules applied – including on communicating our involvement, vision and future plans, rather than making any public comments. Unfortunately, we have regretfully decided that we must withdraw from the process.

“Our initial bid had constraints applied on our ability to renegotiate – which is crucial as the figure we offered is significantly higher than that justified by the findings of a lengthy due diligence process.”

Wednesday, who were relegated to League One last weekend after a defeat at Sheffield United, entered administration last October. Bord and his fellow consortium members Felix Romer and Abdullah Faisal Bin Jamil wrote an open letter to Wednesday fans explaining that the “historic mishandling” of the club under the previous owner, Dejphon Chansiri, meant the size of their bid could not be justified.

“Tragically, the historic mishandling of the club and pattern of catastrophic underinvestment means our sizeable binding bid can no longer be justified,” they wrote. “As widely reported, we have spent over £4m to help run the club over the last two months and, after much consideration, have decided that we can no longer continue to do so as the exclusivity agreement we signed means only a small amount could be removed from our offer.

“We know this will be a bitter disappointment to many - who hoped that the ownership saga would soon be over - and for this we can only apologise wholeheartedly. It is a decision that we have come to after much consideration.”

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