Football
Exclusive: Sheffield Wednesday’s Potential New Owner James Bord Puts £2.5m Down in Non-Refundable Deposit
Prospective Sheffield Wednesday owner James Bord has provided much-needed funds to the struggling Championship club. The American investor made a non-refundable £2.5m deposit to administrators. However, there are doubts about his ability to meet EFL regulations. Previous involvement with Sheffield United and Dunfermiline raises questions. Current owner Chansiri's reign ended with points deductions. Wednesday is facing relegation to League One despite potential squad reinforcements.
Charlton Athletic v Sheffield Wednesday - Sky Bet Championship by James Fearn | Getty Images
James Bord, Sheffield Wednesday’s prospective new owner, is understood to have handed a £2.5m deposit to administrators tasked with running the stricken Championship club until a buyer is found, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
The entrepreneur, who previously advised The Owls’ arch-rivals Sheffield United on recruitment and transfer targets, made the payment to Begbies Traynor around the time he was handed preferred bidder status according to well-placed sources at Hillsborough.
Crucially, the money was handed over on a non-refundable basis, meaning it will not be returned to Bord and his as-yet unknown backers if they fail to push through a deal.
And, intriguingly, there are still serious reservations among many of those monitoring the sale process that they will pass the strict regulations individuals or groups seeking to seize control of an English Football League member must pass.
If that scenario arises, it could pave the way for Dave Richards and Mike Ashley to re-enter the race for Wednesday after previously claiming the £30m asking price being demanded by BT’s Kris Wigfield, who as SportsBoom revealed last week is now set to take a lower profile role in administrative affairs, is too high and fails to take into account they money needing to be spent on squad-building and infrastructure.
AI INFLUENCED DRIVE
Bord, who also boasts an interest in Dunfermiline, previously worked closely with The Blades’ hierarchy over the course of a disastrous summer which saw Ruben Selles sacked only months after replacing Chris Wilder, who is now seeking to offload all of those players bought under the former poker professional’s AI influenced drive after subsequently being reappointed.
But his role in what is widely regarded as the unravelling of a near promotion winning squad - Wilder’s side was narrowly beaten by Sunderland in May’s play-off final at Wembley - has not discouraged Bord from trying to take over one of the EFL’s most-famous names following their implosion under the now deposed Dejphon Chansiri.
However, he has yet to disclose who is backing his attempt to succeed the controversial Thai business, who reign ended with The Owls being handed two debilitating points deductions which means they are certain to begin next term in League One rather than the Championship.
Although they are set to be granted permission to bolster the threadbare options manager Henrik Pedersen currently has at his disposal, Wednesday prepared for Sunday’s game against Queens Park Rangers 18 points from safety.
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.