mike Ashley Acquires Cbs Arena
The Coventry Building Society (CBS) Arena, home of English Football League (EFL) Championship football club Coventry City, has been taken over by former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.
The British billionaire has bought the stadium’s three operating companies after his business, Ashley’s Frasers Group, was named the preferred bidder with a £17m bid for the businesses which had all fallen into administration.
The 32,600-capacity stadium had been run by Arena Coventry Limited since it opened in 2005 and until recently was owned by Premiership rugby union team Wasps, which has also since gone into administration.
Originally, businessman Doug King looked the favourite to purchase the stadium after he secured a 85% stake in Coventry City on Wednesday 16th November.
However, a court ruled his £25m offer to own the stadium, that would have put the ground into under the club’s ownership, had come too late.
The judge ruled there was ‘not enough substance’ in King’s bid to delay making the administration orders and had been told the Frasers Group would pull out if there was further delay.
The court heard that Arena Coventry Ltd (ACL), Arena Coventry (2006) Ltd and IEC Experience Ltd have only £1,201 in their bank accounts, with an energy bill for £2,000 due for payment on Friday.
On Wednesday, Arena advisors FRP disclosed that only an advance payment from Frasers had saved the stadium from closure.
This is Ashley’s first step back into the world of football since he sold Newcastle United to a Saudi-led consortium for £305m in October 2021 – having paid £134m for the club in 2007.
