Sheffield Wednesday have been engulfed in fresh turmoil just days after enduring the earliest relegation in EFL history, with a consortium led by the poker player James Bord withdrawing their bid to buy the crisis club.
Bord’s group was granted preferred bidder status on Christmas Eve but, after receiving an additional due diligence report from the accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers this week, concluded they had offered too much for Wednesday and opted to withdraw their proposed purchase.
The Guardian reported last weekend that sources with knowledge of the bid had expressed concern that it was “unravelling”, but the speed of the collapse has come as a surprise.
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“The figure we offered is significantly higher than that justified by the findings of a lengthy due diligence process,” a spokesperson said.
Bord’s group are understood to have bid around £40m for Wednesday – considerably more than the £32.5m that was reported at the time – to emerge as the winners of a six-way auction that also included the former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley.
The consortium, completed by the German crypto‑casino owner Felix Römer and the Jordanian businessman Alsharif Faisal Bin Jamil, has spent around £4m on Wednesday in the form of a non-refundable deposit and running costs for the past two months.
The club have been in administration since 24 October and are now facing an uncertain future, particularly as the consortium’s withdrawal will have a negative impact on the club’s value. Wednesday have sufficient cash flow to complete the season after receiving the EFL’s central funding and raising money through player sales in January, but their medium-term prospects are shrouded in doubt.
A cut-price sale to one of the previously interested parties is the most palatable outcome for Wednesday fans, although that could still take months as any new bidders would have to pass the EFL’s owners and directors test, which Bord’s group had yet to clear.
To complicate matters further the Independent Football Regulator is also involved as it will take over responsibility for running the ODT in May.
The administrators Begbies Traynors will resume the search for a buyer this week amid questions from fans over their recommendation of Bord’s group as preferred bidders.
