Everton On The Verge Of Sale
Premier League football club Everton is close to being sold to Miami-based investment firm 777 Partners.
In May, the Toffees reached an exclusivity agreement with MSP Sports Capital for a ‘significant investment’, however, the New York-based company subsequently withdrew its interest after opposition from another of Everton’s existing lenders.
The takeover will end the tumultuous tenure of owner Farhad Moshiri, who first invested in 2016. In February Moshiri told the fans’ advisory board the club was not “not for sale” but has been talking to “top investors of real quality.”
Next month, the club will go before an independent commission for an alleged breach of the Premier League’s financial fair play rules, but Everton has denied wrongdoing and said it was ‘prepared to robustly defend’ its position.
The club posted financial losses for a fifth successive year, totalling more than £430m over that period. This breaks financial rules set by the Premier League that states £105m is the maximum losses allowed over a three-year period.
The problems have been compounded by growing costs on the Toffee’s new 52,888-capacity stadium that is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2024-25 season. Since originally budgeting £500m to build the stadium, costs have increased to around to about £760m.
The Toffees sit in 18th position with just one point and two goals scored in four games.
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