Sheffield Wednesday Football Club officially put an end to a troubled chapter in their history today and started what will hopefully be a more prosperous period for the club.
At the EGM for shareholders, held at Hillsborough this morning, over 99% of the clubs’ shareholders voted in favour of Milan Mandaric taking control of Sheffield Wednesday. The motion passed the sale of SWFC to Mandaric’s company, UK Football Investments LLC.
UKFI becomes the 100% owner of the Owls having paid the princely sum of £1. Significantly, UKFI have successfully negotiated a deal with the Co-Op bank to free the club of residual debt and loan note holders, Dave Allen aside, have agreed to waive a large amount of what they are owed with any remaining money to be paid only upon the club reaching the Premier League. Mr. Allen will receive an agreed sum on completion of this takeover.
Directors Ken Cooke, Robert Grierson and Geoff Hulley are to stand down with immediate effect. Mr Manadaric becomes the new Chairman of SWFC with Howard Wilkinson and Nick Parker taking up positions as directors.
The EGM was as expected pretty much a formality and lasted for around 20 minutes. Howard Wilkinson stated that he was delighted to bring his period as reluctant Chairman to an end and he is looking forward to working with Milan Mandaric. The outgoing Chairman thanked the bank for their cooperation and understanding, noting that they have taken a major financial hit to help see this deal through and he hoped that they could continue to have a good relationship with them in the future. Mr. Wilkinson also praised the fans, Alan Irvine and the staff and the outgoing board members for their valued contributions in helping to secure the future of the club.