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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Mark Whiley, football writer & Tom Pegden

Carlisle Capital issues rumoured £28m bid for Derby County Football Club

Derby County could prove a great deal to US investment firm Carlisle Capital after it issued a reported £28 million bid to buy the club out of administration.

In his Price of Football podcast today [Monday], football finance expert Kieran Maguire, said the Rams would look like a bargain to the US business compared to the huge expense of getting into Major League Soccer in the States.

He said: “They are an investment house so they will be looking for some form of return on their investment.

“There’s certainly a lot of interest from the US in English football. The price of buying into the MLS is probably going to cost you three or four hundred million dollars.

“For a fraction of that, you can buy into the English Championship. You’re not far away from the Premier League and there’s positives about Derby – you’re buying into a ready-made fanbase, a club with lots of history and heritage.

“Yes, they don’t own the ground but the landlord, who effectively is Mel Morris, he’s not got them over a barrel because if they don’t use it, where else is he going to get some rent from? There is a negotiation to be had with regards to the stadium.

"Is it a fair price? They’re buying the name, they’re buying that share in the EFL, they’re buying the existing squad.

“I think it’s a reasonable opening bid. I don’t think it would be enough to avoid a further 15-point penalty when the club comes out of administration, unless some of the preferred creditors, the likes of HMRC, are willing to take a discount.

“I can’t see MSD Holdings, who lent money to the club, they’re not going to take a discount. They’re a bank, they’re immune from all pressure.

“But there could be political pressure put on HMRC. We don’t know how much resistance will come back from that.

“Arsenal are owed around £8 million. That’s a football creditor and has to be paid in full.

“The Wycombe and Middlesbrough claims, nobody knows their status, and that’s an ongoing discussion.”

Overall, Maguire says news of Carlisle Capital’s bid is a step in the right direction.

He said: “This could be a masterstroke by the administrators.

“Seven days ago they put out a fairly incendiary message on the club website. That provoked a reaction from lots of other parties.

“You’ve got to give a lot of credit to the Derby fans because they’ve done the smart things.

“They’ve got mobilised, organised, they’ve bombarded MPs so you’ve had the matter being spoken about in the House of Commons and, all of the sudden, the pressure has come on.”

The battle to save the ailing Rams is reaching a critical phase, with the EFL demanding proof of how the club will be funded until the end of the season.

The process of finding a new buyer has been held up by multi-million pound claims against the club by Middlesbrough and Wycombe Wanderers.

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