Mike Ashley advantage emerges in Sheffield Wednesday takeover bid | OneFootball

Begbies Traynor have received takeover bids for Sheffield Wednesday following the collapse of James Bord's offer

Sheffield Wednesday are in a race against time to find a new buyer following the collapse of James Bord’s bid to buy the club.

The former poker player led a consortium that was named as the preferred choice to take over the Championship side in December.

But the deal collapsed before the EFL could ratify the agreement with administrators Begbies Traynor, leaving the Yorkshire outfit back at square one.

It’s been reported that the likes of Mike Ashley and the Storch family are both keen on buying the Owls still after they previously lost out in the initial round of negotiations.

Henrik Pedersen’s side have already had their relegation to League One confirmed even with a couple of months remaining in the season.

Sheffield Wednesday have been handed a total of 18 points worth of deduction penalties by the EFL this year due to going into administration, along with financial rule breaches.

Sheffield Wednesday takeover update

It has been reported by Alan Nixon that the offers have been received by Begbies Traynor following Friday’s deadline.

It is believed that the Storch family have made a significantly greater bid than Ashley at this stage, although that may not be enough to secure preferred bidder status.

It is understood that neither offer has managed to eclipse the figure needed to avoid another 15 point penalty for next season.

But Ashley remains in position to potentially take over the club, as ratification of his proposal will not take as long because the Storch family’s wealth is tied up in money abroad.

Sheffield Wednesday are believed to have enough money to get through the remainder of this term, but they will quickly run out as the year goes on, unless something changes.

That adds to the pressure of needing to get a preferred bidder lined up quickly, and the timescale of completing a takeover will be taken into consideration through this bidding process.

The prospective new owner of Sheffield Wednesday will have to put money into the club quickly in order to ensure a sale can go through, given how little time there is left before they run out of money.

The Owls will be hoping for a swift resolution so that they can start preparing for life in League One.

However, because these offers do not meet the reserve asking price, all creditors will not be paid at 25p in the pound, which will incur a 15-point penalty from the EFL that will come into effect in the next campaign.

Time is running out for Sheffield Wednesday

The good news for Sheffield Wednesday is that there are two parties putting forward bids to buy the club, so there is some hope that a resolution is close.

However, the bad news is that a 15-point penalty for next season is now looking inevitable and that will put the new owner on the backfoot with supporters.

It effectively consigns the team to at least two years in League One, or maybe even at threat of relegation to League Two next year.

A lot of investment will be needed over the next couple of seasons in order to get the squad back into competitive shape, but at least the bidding process is moving at a good pace and that should mean a new can be found swiftly now.