October 29 – A consortium led by lawyer Chris Farnell and Egyptian businessman Mohamed El Kashashy looks to have taken pole position amongst the bids to buy Premier League Burnley.
The club is priced at about £120 million with Farnell and El Kashashy reported to have done a deal with Burnley chairman Mike Garlick who owns 49.24% of the club. Burnley’s other leading shareholder is John Banaskiewicz who has a 28.2% share of the club.
Farnell is a partner in law firm IPS law and was yesterday cleared to pursue his bid after an independent tribunal ruled that an EFL ban on him owning a football club – imposed after he tried to buy Charlton Athletic in August – should have been for only five weeks and would thus have ended September 14.
With Farnell out the picture and seemingly focussed on Charlton, American sports investment company ALK Capital had been favourites to buy Burnley.
ALK Capital, is fronted by former banker Alan Pace, who is partnered with American businessman Dave Checketts, and has an interest in Sheffield United.
Burnley currently sit 18th in the Premier League and are generally reckoned to need new funds for players in order to stave off relegation. The relationship between Burnley manager and Sean Dyche and Garlick are reportedly strained.
Although early days, relegation for Burnley from the Premier League to the Championship would likely see a huge drop in the club’s value to about £40 million, according to City insiders.
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