The ‘real cost’ of a Sheffield Wednesday takeover is estimated to be £100m, over the course of three years, an emerging report from iPaper has revealed.
Sheffield Wednesday are looking for a new owner and today has seen the arrival of a ‘soft deadline’ for prospective buyers to register their interest and table indicative offers, with the club’s administrators hoping to name a preferred bidder by December 5th.
But as ever in these situations, and as ever with Sheffield Wednesday, it’s not going to be straight-forward. Buying SWFC comes with a lot of baggage and one such area of concern is the club’s iconic Hillsborough stadium.
Image courtesy of: ED SYKES/REUTERS.
During the summer, the North Stand was closed for spectators before being reopened days before the season began. A recent update from The Star has revealed how Sheffield City Council are pleased with how work on the North Stand is going and that SWFC ‘are well on track to achieve a renewed safety certificate’ for the stand.
Sheffield Wednesday takeover could cost £100m
An emerging report from iPaper however has revealed how the wider work needed to the club’s stadium, as well as other costs such as the £15.6m owed to Dejphon Chansiri and the club’s existing debts and so on, the ‘real cost’ of a Sheffield Wednesday takeover could reach up to £100m over the course of three years. At first, one of the club’s administrators Kris Wigfield claimed that an SWFC takeover would cost around £30million.
The same report goes on to reveal that there are likely to emerge ‘three or four’ serious contenders to buy the club, with Mike Ashley interested in a Sheffield Wednesday takeover, along with John McEvoy. However the same report makes no mention of John Textor.
Image courtesy of: DAVID KLEIN/REUTERS.
Furthermore, it is understood that a Middle-Eastern consortium have since pulled out of the running to buy the club due to the level of competition.
The Championship’s most valuable club – how much SWFC could be worth
Right now, Sheffield Wednesday just need stability behind the scenes. Whoever comes in as the next owner has a long-term rebuilding job ahead of them and a lot of work and money will need to be pumped into the stadium renovations, or into moving to a new home entirely.
But with SWFC being such a huge club, with a huge fanbase who have proven they’ll pump funds into the club time and time again, in a huge catchment area with a huge brand, there’s no doubting that with the right owner, Sheffield Wednesday could one day become a very valuable club.
Per Transfermarkt, the most valuable club in the Championship right now is Ipswich Town with a club valuation of an estimated £174million: they have stable ownership, no stadium issues, a good squad and have just been in the Premier League.
For SWFC and their next owner, that’s the kind of level to aim for. If Ashley or McEvoy or anyone else can come in, spend £30million on the initial takeover and £100million over the next few years, sort the stadium issues and keep the club competitive on the pitch, then the Owls could quickly come to Ipswich’s level in terms of club valuation.
Sheffield Wednesday is certainly a sleeping giant and a business-minded owner, with reliable income, will awaken that giant.