Sheffield Wednesday’s sale is drawing closer, so here’s the latest on the purchase of the financially troubled Championship club.
As players return from the third international break of the 2025-26 season, the takeover of Sheffield Wednesday draws closer.
There has been a lot of interest in buying this beautiful old club, and there is a good likelihood that a deal will be finalized before the all-important January transfer window starts.
On the pitch, Wednesday remains in serious peril at the bottom of the Championship.
Their 12-point deduction for administration has reduced them to -4 points, fourteen points from safety, and their first match back could not be more critical.
Not only is their Sunday lunchtime home game against Sheffield United a passionate local rivalry, but Wednesday’s opponents are also in the relegation zone after a tougher-than-expected start to the season themselves.
However, the news surrounding Sheffield Wednesday has mostly focused on off-field difficulties, so here’s a roundup of the most recent takeover news from Hillsborough.
Wednesday’s unsecured debt to previous owner Chansiri revealed
According to the Sheffield Star, the total amount owing to former owner Dejphon Chansiri is £62.6 million, but the controversial figure will not receive anything close to that sum as a result of the club’s sale.
According to EFL guidelines, any Company Voluntary Arrangement, or CVA – the method by which the club’s debts are dealt with under administration – must offer unsecured creditors a minimum of 25p in the pound. This indicates that if the CVA is accepted, Chansiri will most likely get approximately £15.6 million.
The publication stated that, “Given the unprecedented nature of Wednesday’s debt to Chansiri, it is thought to be possible that the EFL can elect to reduce the 25 pence on the pound liability, though that outcome is believed to be unlikely at this stage” , as well as “Chansiri has not yet formally raised the debt but is expected to do so prior to the sale of the club.”
These amounts are not yet finalized, but whatever amount is decided upon will result in a significant financial loss for the owner, whose mismanagement of the club put them in this situation in the first place.
Sheffield 3’s £54 million debt is owed to Chansiri, but he may not see any of this money back
Sheffield 3, the business owned by Chansiri that owned Hillsborough, was placed into administration at the same time as the club, allowing the administrators to sell both the team and the stadium together.
A charge of £7.4 million was held over the stadium to a company called New Avenue Projects, which was due to be paid at the end of September, and it is understood that the pressure to repay this, combined with outstanding monies owed to HMRC, were the primary drivers behind both companies being forced into administration.
The Sheffield Star reported: “Sheffield 3’s £54 million debt is owed to Chansiri, but that the Thai has no protections or rights over the Sheffield 3 debt under EFL regulations.” Without this protection, any payback of this money is projected to be exceedingly minimal, or, as the Star put it, “most likely, wiped-out” entirely.
Sheffield Wednesday’s overall sale price might reach £30 million.
Last Saturday, the Sheffield Wednesday website revealed minutes from a Supporters Engagement Panel meeting held on November 12th.
This extensive meeting revealed many information about the club’s current state of play, but one element that stuck out was that the new owners “will need to purchase the club for a figure in the region of £30 million.” It’s worth noting that Chansiri’s asking price for the club prior to administration was £100 million, more than three times that amount.
The minutes also established that “an anonymous and high-net-worth SWFC fan ultimately loaned the club £1 million and the administrators received this money on Friday 7 November.” Sheffield Wednesday fans definitely owe a lot of gratitude to this particular gentleman.
With a “soft deadline” set for November 21st due to EFL rules requiring the club to be advertised for sale for 28 days before a sale can be completed, all evidence suggests that Sheffield Wednesday’s sale and a brighter new future are now just around the corner.
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