With Sheffield Wednesday’s future still uncertain, there has been a continual flow of speculation about what will happen next for the troubled South Yorkshire club, so here is a round-up of the most recent news from Hillsborough.
Sheffield Wednesday’s future remains uncertain as the month of December begins. Bids for the ailing South Yorkshire club have now been received, and an announcement about the club’s new owners is likely in the coming weeks.
Since Wednesday went into administration on October 24th, there has been significant interest in purchasing the club, and there have been a lot of ongoing stories confirming the team’s future. So, as the Owls prepare for a new chapter in their long history, here’s a roundup of the most recent news from Hillsborough.
The administrators have obtained a valuation of Hillsborough to aid the sale of the club.
According to journalist Alan Nixon, Sheffield Wednesday administrators Begbies Traynor have obtained a value of Hillsborough in order to assist the sale of both the club and the stadium, which may be bad news for soon-to-be former owner Dejphon Chansiri.
Nixon wrote on Patreon that the valuation, “which is ‘a fair bit’ less than the £60 million wanted by former owner Dejphon Chansiri,” may imply that the club’s owner loses money he invested to buy it in the first place.
When the club went into administration on October 24th, two businesses took the necessary legal step. Sheffield Wednesday and S3 Holdings, the business owned by Chansiri, the legal owners of Hillsborough, were both turned over to insolvency specialists.
He also states that “the value of the ground is the major issue to be settled” before the club’s sale can be finalized. However, if there is a dispute over this, Chansiri must establish that his assessment of Hillsborough is more reasonable than what he believes he should receive for it.
The EFL has approved an additional six-point deduction for the team.
The EFL revealed at the start of the week that Sheffield Wednesday had been punished six points for failing to pay players in March, May, and June, as well as additional non-payments to staff and HMRC.
This deduction puts the club 27 points from safety at the bottom of the Championship table, and given that they’ve only won one game out of 18 in the League this season, it can only be regarded as the final nail in the coffin of any slim chance of remaining in the second tier at the end of the season.
All of this implies that, whomever the new owners are, their first priority will be to rebuild the first-team squad with the goal of returning to the Championship from League One next season.
Ryan Howsam and Simon Jordan connection established, as entrepreneur withdraws from the competition.
However, Howsam revealed that he was eventually unable to make the figures equal up. “We were thinking of a lower bid than has been touted,” he told the newspaper. “When you put the money owed to Chansiri together with some of the secured creditors, there’s the money that needs to be spent on the stadium.”
Howsam also confirmed that he intended to use Jordan as a figurehead for a bid, similar to how Shelby Companies used former American football quarterback Tom Brady in their purchase of Birmingham City through his minority ownership in that club: “I’ve watched the Wrexham stuff, but particularly with the Tom Brady thing at Birmingham, he’s such an impressive character.”
“That’s what I try to bring to my businesses,” he went on, “and with Simon would have brought it to Sheffield Wednesday.” However, for Howsam, it proved to be too much of a financial commitment for his interests: “But you’ve got to have a good starting place, and it needs to make business sense. “The numbers have to be correct.”
Rumors about Anders Holch Povlsen’s involvement are finally put to rest.
There had been reports that Anders Holch Povlsen, the owner of Danish club Midtjylland, was interested in acquiring Sheffield Wednesday.
The millionaire, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes to be more than £13 billion, became involved with the club after reading a report on The Athletic by Phillip Buckingham, however he cautioned that “it is unclear if that has led to a firm offer.”
However, another Athletic journalist, financial specialist Matt Slater, has stated that Povlsen will not bid for the club. Slater said on the social media platform X, “Midtjylland owner Anders Holch Povlsen has not made a bid for Sheffield Wednesday and does not intend to make one.”
Although two potential connections to the takeover have been ruled out, there is still significant interest in purchasing Sheffield Wednesday. It remains to be seen who will make the deal that provides the best return to creditors while allowing this legendary old club to regain its footing.
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