No deal: Thomas Sandgaard has pulled the plug on the sale of 90 per cent of Charlton
(Picture: Getty Images)Charlton owner Thomas Sandgaard says talks over a takeover of the club with a group led by former Sunderland director Charlie Methven have collapsed.
Sandgaard had appeared on the verge of selling 90 per cent of the Addicks in a deal worth about £8.5million but this afternoon told the South London Press that Methven's consortium did not comply "with very specific terms". Methven's group has confirmed that Sandgaard has pulled out of the deal.
Methven was fronting SE7 Partners - the name reflecting Charlton's London postcode - which included Simon Lenagan, whose father Ian formerly owned Oxford United, and a number of US investors.
Methven, a former PR consultant who arranged a takeover of Sunderland in 2018, led the recent appointments of Charlton COO Jim Rodwell, finance director Ed Warrick and technical director Andy Scott - who have all left the Valley - as well as new manager Dean Holden, who is under contract until the end of the season and appears set to remain in the job.
Explaining his decision to call off the deal, Sandgaard told the SLP: "I had signed a long-term sheet with that group that was led by Charlie. There was some very specific terms that were very clear at the end of January and coming into February that they didn’t comply with.
“Those were really the key items in the deal. So this morning I told Charlie I can’t keep doing this, that’s why that deal is off.
"But everything is good in that we are moving forward and have a plan B. I think actually that everything is looking up for the club. If you look at the football side then I think Dean Holden is doing pretty good. I’m very happy about the job he is doing – very aligned.
"And I think he has said that publicly. It’s a good working relationship."
Holden has overseen an impressive run of form since his appointment in December and Charlton have won four of their last five league games, rising from 19th to 12th in League One.
Asked if Holden would follow the other Methven appointments in leaving the club, Sandgaard said: “He is on a whole different contract and, as a matter of fact, we are talking about making that a new and stronger contract.
“Both parties like that position. I think he likes it too. We’re working on that, it’s totally separate.”
Asked about talks with other potential investors, Sandgaard added: “Yeah, yeah – for quite some time I’ve been looking at different ways of getting more investments into the club other than just my own money. There’s a lot I’m working on that hopefully will strengthen our position coming into the summer."
But the Dane, who bought Charlton from Roland Duchatelet in 2020, insisted his own finances were sound.
“I’m doing just fine," he continued. "Everything is good in camp Sandgaard, if you want to call it that. I didn’t suddenly pull out of a deal. It was a group that simply didn’t adhere to the terms and for quite some time did not do that. They didn’t fund anything – it’s still on me.
“I know they were very interested at getting into the club but if you can’t stick to the terms that you set up the original deal with then there is really nothing there. Eventually I had to say this can’t continue.”
