Parties with ‘significant financial means’ have expressed interest in buying Sheffield Wednesday and could ‘revolutionise the club’, joint administrator Kris Wigfield has said. The club and the company that owns Hillsborough were placed into administration on 24 October after HMRC prepared a winding-up petition over about £1.7m, ending Dejphon Chansiri’s 10-year ownership and prompting Begbies Traynor to be appointed as administrators.
Wigfield said the club had been run on an extremely tight budget under the previous ownership, but that the financial position has begun to stabilise since supporters returned following a boycott. He added that, provided ticket sales continue at expected levels, the administrators expect to have the club generating roughly a £1m profit by January.
There are already seven bidders who have shown proof of funds, and Wigfield expects that number to rise, possibly to nine or ten serious offers. He said the administrators need bidders to demonstrate both long-term viability and that they can pass the EFL’s fit-and-proper person tests. Beyond those checks, the sale process will be driven by the best offer, although many of the interested parties could substantially improve the club’s prospects.
‘We’re pretty confident we’ve got the cashflow sorted now, so as long as fans continue to buy tickets at the rate we’ve predicted, then we’ll be OK,’ Wigfield told BBC Sport. He also highlighted increased matchday and retail income, saying the club shop and kiosks are making noticeably more than before – kiosks taking about 50% more than they typically would for a similar crowd.
A soft deadline of 21 November has been set for first bids, but Wigfield said the process could move to closed offers if needed.
On the pitch, Wednesday sit bottom of the Championship with minus four points after a 12-point penalty for entering administration, leaving them 17 points adrift of the first team outside the relegation zone. The club also faces potential further deductions amid charges over unpaid wages in five of the seven months before administration. In addition, Wednesday are subject to five EFL embargoes covering financial information, funding, HMRC reporting and amounts owed to other clubs and football creditors.
The Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust has been fundraising to help keep the club running and to try to fund signings while the club is in administration. Chairman Ian Bennett said the trust’s GoFundMe had so far raised £58,000, the trust had contributed £20,000 from its own funds, and the fans’ forum Owlstalk had added £10,000 – around £88,000 in total at present. Bennett described that as a ‘drop in the ocean’ compared with what the club needs but said further plans are in development.
The trust intends a two-pronged approach: appealing to high-net-worth individuals for larger sums while continuing to mobilise the fanbase to buy tickets, merchandise and otherwise inject cash into the club. ‘We’re looking at putting something together to raise some money so the administrators can try and sign a few players and carry on running the club on a day-to-day basis,’ Bennett said, urging supporters to keep turning up and spending to help stabilise the club.
With multiple bidders interested and fundraising under way, the administrators say a sale could materially change the club’s finances and ambitions. However, a complex regulatory and sporting picture remains: securing a buyer who can meet EFL conditions, resolving embargoes and avoiding further points penalties are all critical to Wednesday’s short- and long-term recovery.
