Exclusive: Former football club owners are considering acquiring Sheffield Wednesday.

Over the last week, there has been much of interest in buying Sheffield Wednesday.
Joint administrator Paul Stanley has indicated that more than one potential buyer for Sheffield Wednesday has previously owned a football club.

As first reported by BBC Radio Sheffield, The Star understands that a third party has released proof of cash to the administrators. Begbies Traynor LLP, insolvency specialists, is seeking £50 million in proof of finances.

Almost 70 parties expressed interest in purchasing the Owls within 48 hours of their administration last Friday. The club entered administration for the first time in its history when former owner Dejphon Chansiri’s hand was eventually pressed by the growing danger of a winding-up petition filed by HMRC over an unpaid tax bill.

Unsurprisingly, interest in purchasing the club has been high, with joint administrators Kris Wigfield, Julian Pitts, and Stanley flooded with inquiries. On Monday, Wigfield revealed that “four or five interested parties look like the real deal”.

Although the identities of the interested parties are unknown, Stanley has stated that there are people in the running who have previously owned football clubs or other athletic companies.

“There are people who have owned clubs; there are certainly more than one in there,” Stanley told The Star. “There are people who have owned such sporting organizations.

“When we enter into NDAs (non-disclosure agreements), it is a two-way street: they expect to be kept confidential, and we expect them to keep the information they get confidential. It would be unfair of me to disclose names, both for that person and for everyone else, because people will suspect favoritism.

“What Kris, Julian, and I have been doing is providing anything we have to the lawyers so that they can go through the vetting process first. We will not be involved in meetings with folks until they have gone through that because there are simply too many people.

“We have so many other things that we need to do. I believe that if people can demonstrate that they are interested, that they have the right pedigree, that they have the right money, and that they are discussing what offers they want to make, then as long as we are confident that we will be able to pass the EFL process, we are pre-vetting it.

“That has to be at the front of your mind because the EFL directors, officers and owners policy is quite strict, and there are lots of things you have got to show them before they will let somebody get in on a football club.”

Wednesday’s infrastructure requires maintenance.

Whoever is fortunate enough to purchase the Owls must be willing to go deep into their wallets and upgrade the club’s infrastructure across the board.

Stanley went on to say, “It’s not like fantasy football or Football Manager; you don’t come in and buy only the playing squad. There are infrastructure items that require funding.

“There are a lot of things at this club that need to be fixed but haven’t been for a long time. The North Stand was constructed for the World Cup in 1966. I must admit that it still looks fantastic. I’ve been to games here before, and it still looks good and generates a lot of noise.

“It was the first cantilever; it has no stanchions and provides a fantastic perspective. However, it is 60 years old, and structures that are 60 years old, with people jumping and shouting in them every week, wear away.

“The standards change, so there is work to be done on the stands, as well as on all of the infrastructure, whether it is the computer systems or the shop.” Things sort of work, but there is a fatigue about parts of the infrastructure that has to be fixed, which a new owner can do.

“On the back of that you can make more money because your club shop got has terminals that are faster, you’re not waiting 20 minutes for a receipt and stuff like that.”