Sheffield Wednesday 'to start next season with 15-point penalty' after takeover twist
Sheffield Wednesday are facing the prospect of starting life in League One with another significant points deduction, with the process to find a new owner dragging on. A group fronted by professional poker player James Bord dropped out of the running in late February, leaving the stricken club in a worrying position.
Wednesday were deducted 18 points earlier this season and saw their relegation from the Championship confirmed on February 22 with 13 games left to play, setting a new English Football League record for the earliest relegation. The club have been in administration since October and are searching for a new owner following the disastrous reign of Dejphon Chansiri.
Bord's consortium, which also featured Felix Romer and Alsharif Faisal Bin Jamil, was made the preferred bidder in December but couldn't get a deal over the line. They pulled out, saying "our sizeable binding bid can no longer be justified", having put £4million into the club during the process.
Others remain interested in taking over from Chansiri, with former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and American businessman David Storch the frontrunners. But even if they do decide to go ahead with investing in Wednesday, the terms under which they do so could mean another uphill battle for the Owls in the 2026/27 campaign.
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Sky Sports report that the remaining bidders for Wednesday are unwilling to pay Thai businessman Chansiri the money he is owed - and that would mean a 15-point deduction under EFL rules.
The rules state that all 'football creditors' must be paid in full, while other creditors need to be paid a quarter of what they are owed. Chansiri loaned the club around £60m over his 11 years in charge and new owners would therefore need to pay him £15m, or face another points deduction.
Sky Sports says that none of the bidders still in the running are willing to pay up, with £8m needed to improve Hillsborough, HMRC owed £6m and £3m in legal fees outstanding.
A new preferred bidder could be named later this week, but the latest development comes as another kick in the teeth for the Yorkshire club. Bord's consortium had agreed to pay around £48m for Wednesday before withdrawing from the process - over double the £20m bid originally made by Ashley.
American financier Storch remains interested in taking the club forward. “We remain incredibly passionate about the opportunity at Sheffield Wednesday and seeing the club return to its former glory," he said.
"We wish the preferred bidder well through the process but are ready to step in should the opportunity present itself again. We know all are disappointed by relegation yet wish the team well as they finish the current season.”
After the Bord consortium withdrew, Wednesday's joint administrators said: "The withdrawal of this bidder does not mean we are returning to the beginning of the process.
"We have already been contacted by other parties who previously participated in the sales process and who have reiterated their interest in acquiring the club. We are therefore moving immediately to re-engage with those bidders under a new expedited timetable."
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