coventry City Sale Approved
The sale of English Football League (EFL) Championship club Coventry City has been completed after its new owner, Doug King, passed the EFL’s owners’ and directors’ test.
King has secured a majority 85% share in the Championship club, after the British businessman agreed a deal in November.
The club has said that the deal will clear all the Sky Blues’ debts but City’s stadium, the CBS Arena, no longer belongs to the club after Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group purchased the ground for £17m prior to the sale going through.
King had made a late £25m bid to buy the stadium after Wasps, the ground’s owner since 2014, went into administration, however, owing to the lateness of his bid, ultimately Ashley became the preferred buyer.
King commented, “I am honoured and excited to be taking this club forward into its next chapter. To get this deal ratified in just over six weeks and over the Christmas period was a great effort from all involved.
“Already I have been struck by the enthusiasm of Sky Blues fans, with many personally wishing me well and I thank them for those sentiments. I am looking forward to the future of this great club and what we can achieve together.”
City did receive another serious offer to buy the club from energy drink company boss William Storey, but he officially withdrew his interest last Friday.
King takes over from the previous owners, SISU, but the London-based hedge fund retains a small share in the club. Former City chairman Tim Fisher will no longer be involved in the club, with the Sky Blues announcing his resignation as a director after 12 years on the board.
Coventry City Chief Executive, Dave Boddy, commented, “Tim has been a figurehead at the club for a number of years and offered important advice and counsel to many. Having worked through difficult periods for Coventry City, he now leaves with the club in a far better place than he found it.”
Coventry City currently sit 14th in the EFL Championship table, but are only four points off a play-off place.
Image: Shutterstock
