September 16 – Chinese businessman Guochuan Lai has completed his £175 million acquisition of West Bromwich Albion following the deal being approved by the Premier League this week.
Lai has acquired Jeremy Peace’s 88% controlling stake in the club. Peace will remain at club as a consultant for a number of months but is replaced as chairman by former Blackburn Rovers chief John Williams
Lai said: “I’m delighted to complete the acquisition and to become the next steward of the club. I would like to thank Jeremy Peace for his leadership over the last 15 years and for laying the strong foundations for the next stage of the club’s development.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to support the club’s chairman, John Williams, and the team in building the club over the years ahead.”
Supporting the team building is already a contentious issue at the club after manager Tony Pulis criticised the board for failing to land his preferred transfer targets in the summer. West Brom did sign Tottenham midfielder Nacer Chadli, QPR winger Matt Phillips, Watford full-back Allan Nyom, Everton full-back Brendan Galloway on loan and free agent striker Hal Robson-Kanu.
But with the sale of the majority share of the club still being concluded and, presumably, a reluctance to spend big until there was security of tenure with the new ownership, Pulis may have mis-judged the timing and acidity of his complaints which in turn will raise questions of whether he can be trusted by the new ownership. It hasn’t been a great start.
Lai’s business wealth was built on the growth of landscaping company Palm which is valued at £1.8 billion on the Chinese stock exchange. West Brom’s ownership will be held by the Yunyi Guokai (Shanghai) Sports Development Limited, headed by Lai. Palm is an investor in this company.
West Brom posted a £7.6 million profit in its last reported financial year. (see http://www.insideworldfootball.com/2014/07/09/matt-scott-west-…-man-is-at-peace/)
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