A consortium seeking to buy Sheffield Wednesday says it has withdrawn from the process but three other parties, including Mike Ashley, remain interested in buying club.
The consortium, which features James Bord, the co-owner of Dunfermline and a former professional poker player, was granted exclusivity by club administrators in December.
However, it has now released a statement confirming that interest is at an end.
A spokesperson for the consortium said: “Throughout the process to purchase Sheffield Wednesday Football Club we have at all times respected the integrity of the process, working professionally, constructively and transparently with the administrator, the EFL and the IFR to provide them with the details they need to satisfy their tests.
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Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday
“We have done so in full adherence to the rules applied – including on communicating our involvement, vision and future plans, rather than making any public comments.
“Unfortunately, we have regretfully decided that we must withdraw from the process.
“Our initial bid had constraints applied on our ability to renegotiate – which is crucial as the figure we offered is significantly higher than that justified by the findings of a lengthy due diligence process.”
Three other groups contacted The Owls’ administrator on Wednesday, saying they are still interested in buying the club in the wake of the collapsed deal.
Sky Sports News understands Mike Ashley’s representatives are in contact with Wednesday’s administrators, along with other interested parties.
Former Newcastle United owner Ashley has a clear interest in Wednesday, but the price he was originally prepared to pay was below that of some of his competitors.
Whether Ashley is prepared to improve his offer at this stage is unclear.
As Sky Sports News reported on Monday, the accountancy firm Begbies Traynor maintained dialogue with a number of other interested parties as a contingency, ever since Bord was given preferred bidders status in December.
Detailed talks are now expected to take place with those three businesses, who have already proved they have at least £50m in funds to buy the club and take it forward, if they were to be successful in completing the purchase.
Wednesday fans voiced immediate concerns around cash flow when Bord withdrew because he has been helping to fund the club’s financial shortfalls for the past two months. But we have been told that previous cost-cutting exercises and player sales at Hillsbrough have left the hierarchy confident that Wednesday can fulfil their Championship fixtures, and remain solvent beyond the end of the season.
A statement from the administrators revealed: “The offer from the preferred bidder was valued at £47.8m and represented the highest and best proposal received during the structured sales process.”
Meanwhile, Bord has lost over £4m of his own money during his takeover attempt, Sky Sports News can reveal.
He paid a £2.5m non-returnable deposit when he was given preferred bidder status in December, and he has put forward more than £1.5m to fund the club day-to-day since that time. It’s thought Wednesday are currently losing around £1m a month.
Bord said in his statement that the rules didn’t allow his consortium to renegotiate on the original price they had agreed with the club’s administrator. It’s thought concerns over the necessary maintenance work at the stadium was a key reason for the offer being withdrawn.
But sources have told us that there may have been room for renegotiation, had Bord’s lawyers approached the administrator with plans for a revised offer.
Wednesday suffered the earliest relegation in EFL history after a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United on Sunday. They entered administration last October.
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Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen gave his reaction after they suffered the earliest relegation in the history of the English Football League
The spokesperson added: “Our consortium has a strong track record of restoring football clubs through financial stability, disciplined management and robust governance.
“We genuinely believed we could play a positive long-term role as custodians of one of the greatest clubs in English football and wanted to help guide Sheffield Wednesday towards a brighter future.
“While we leave this process with a sense of regret, our admiration for the club and its supporters remains undiminished and it will always hold a special place in our hearts.”
Bord and fellow consortium members Felix Romer and Abdullah Faisal Bin Jamil wrote an open letter to Wednesday fans explaining that the “historic mishandling” of the club under previous owner Dejphon Chansiri meant the size of their original bid could not be justified.
“We have fondly watched Wednesday from afar for many years. It is a club whose glory has been diminished over the years by poor owners who forgot or intentionally disregarded your passion, your history and your value. You deserved, and deserve, better,” they wrote.
“When the opportunity came about to be part of your next chapter, we jumped at the chance and in good faith began the process of purchase.
“We have always engaged professionally, transparently and constructively with the administrator, EFL and IFR via an exceptional team of advisers.
“Tragically, the historic mishandling of the club and pattern of catastrophic under-investment means our sizeable binding bid can no longer be justified.
“As widely reported, we have spent over £4 million to help run the club over the last two months and, after much consideration, have decided that we can no longer continue to do so as the exclusivity agreement we signed means only a small amount could be removed from our offer – regardless of the outcome of our analysis work.
“We know this will be a bitter disappointment to many – who hoped that the ownership saga would soon be over – and for this we can only apologise wholeheartedly. It is a decision that we have come to after much consideration.”
Supporters Trust calls for administrators to find suitable new owner before next season
A statement from Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust:
“The Trust notes today’s announcement that the James Bord consortium has withdrawn from bidding to buy #SWFC.
“We now call on our administrators and relevant regulators to move this process forward as quickly as possible to ensure Sheffield Wednesday can have a suitable new owner in place before the start of the 2026/27 season.
“Our squad has been decimated over the past year and we need our new owner to be in place to have sufficient time to plan and deliver a substantial rebuild before the end of the summer transfer window.
“The minimum expectation of Wednesday fans is that we can put out a team that is competitive in League One next season. We need our future ownership in place as quickly as possible if we are to have any chance of delivering that.”
