Former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon is reportedly leading a consortium interested in the takeover of Everton. There has been no secret of the financial issues in recent years at Goodison Park, with speculation of a potential breach of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations emerging in recent months.
Leeds United and Burnley suspected, at the end of the recently-finished season, that the Toffees were not complying with FFP rules. Although, the query from the two sides battling relegation was largely overlooked as it was launched in the direct aftermath of Everton securing their Premier League safety.
The consortium led by Kenyon are at an early stage in talks with the club’s owner Farhad Moshiri, according to The Telegraph. To make a deal with the Everton chief, they are likely to want to know whether or not they face a points deduction or a hefty fine as a result of a potential reach of FFP regulations. Although, Moshiri and his colleagues insist that there has been no foul play on their part.
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Talks of a potential takeover from a number of interested parties arose when Everton had to cut all ties with Alisher Usmanov following the UK government’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He was a close business associate of Moshiri’s and was involved in several of the club’s multimillion-pound sponsorship deals.
Everton have since established a new shirt sponsorship deal with casino and gambling company Stake.com but have a number of other deals to make up for in Usmanov’s absence. That may go some way to explain why Moshiri is listening to offers for the club, especially considering the FFP claims and potential punishment that still may follow.
He values the club at over £500m which, whilst already taking into account the mounting debt, could be some way higher than what the interested parties – including the Kenyon-fronted consortium – are willing to play. Kenyon is a man familiar with dealing in the Premier League having held executive roles with Manchester United and Chelsea as well as playing a part in the takeover of Wolves. The 67-year-old was also part of one of the many attempted takeovers of Newcastle United.
