Preston North End’s future in the balance amid Saudi takeover talk | OneFootball

Takeover talks are rife around Preston North End ahead of this summer after another mid-table season

It has been more of the same in 2025/26 for Preston North End.

After a very promising first half of the season that saw them sitting comfortably inside the play-off places by the New Year, a woeful January and February saw the Lilywhites fall to the bottom half of the table and eventually settle for 14th spot by the season’s end.

During the decade plus since their fondly remembered promotion back to the second tier via winning the play-offs for the first time at their 10th attempt, they have finished as high as 7th in the Championship table, in 2017/18, and as low as 20th, in 2024/25.

Even with the Championship play-offs set to expand from four teams to six in the coming 2026/27 campaign, mirroring the format of the National League, PNE have only managed a top eight finish on one occasion in the last 11 years, which does not fill the fanbase with high optimism.

Whilst the club’s stability is admirable, as well as the fact that they have managed to cement themselves as second-tier regulars without Premier League relegation parachute payments or hefty loans, there is a growing contingent within Preston's support base that a change at the very top is needed to reignite any hopes of reaching the promised land.

PNE’s current owners have been in charge for over 15 years

The Hemmings family, with patriarch and local billionaire businessman Trevor Hemmings, have had a controlling interest in Preston North End since 2010, when Trevor, as a previous partial shareholder, acquired a majority ownership of the club to prevent a HMRC winding up petition that was issued on May 14th of the same year being acted upon.

Trevor Hemmings passed away in 2021, leaving his son Craig as his successor. Craig took on the role as PNE chairman at that time but stepped down from that role in October 2025. He is still one of the directors of the club, who the club have stated are responsible for its management in its Company Details on their website.

In September 2022, in a club update from Craig Hemmings, the following was made public knowledge: “It costs about £24 million pounds each year to keep us going. Because of this, we receive approximately £2.3m from season tickets and a further £7.3m in total from the EFL and Premier League. After other income streams, that leaves my family with an annual shortfall of around £12m which we have to put into the club each season.”

This is a shining example of the dedication that the Hemmings family have shown in their ownership of PNE. Another example of this dedication comes with the due diligence they conduct of any interested parties in buying the club from them.

Craig Hemmings provided an example of this due diligence that took place in 2022 in the same statement, where an unnamed party “claimed they had the ability to buy and invest to take the club forward”, but they “were able to determine soon enough that in this case it would not have worked”.

He finished the statement by saying, “When and if the next interested party come along, we will work with them and if it can be demonstrated that they indeed are able to move the club forward we will be the first to stand aside”.

Interestingly, that day might be coming soon.

Amr Zedan: The multi-millionaire reportedly interested in buying PNE

Reports initially surfaced in January, via Sky News, that US-born Saudi businessman Amr Zedan was interested in investing in Preston North End.

Zedan is no stranger to sports investments, having founded Zedan Racing Stables in 2016, as well as currently serving on the board of the Saudi Equestrian Authority, and as chairman of the Saudi Polo Federation.

Should he get involved with the Deepdale outfit, it would be his first foray into the world of football, but that’s not for a lack of previous attempts. It was reported by GOAL in 2022 that he was one of several individuals who made a public bid to buy Chelsea FC in the aftermath of Roman Abramovich’s departure from the Blues.

In recent weeks, however, stories have been frequent that Zedan doesn’t just want to invest in Preston – he wants to outright buy the club.

Alan Nixon reported in early April that a bid made by Zedan for the club was at an advanced stage, and that the Hemmings family are ready to sell the club for around £12m to £15m. As a sweetener, Zedan is also reportedly keen to bring in an unnamed local businessman to support his efforts and help persuade the current owners that he has the club’s best interests at heart.

To add further fuel to this fire, Zedan has also publicly shown his support for the club by actively viewing their matches during the run-in. He posted on his Instagram that he was watching their 2-2 away draw with Leicester City on April 3rd, and was at Deepdale in the flesh for the club’s next game – a 1-1 home draw with QPR.

Fans and faces associated with Preston are divided on a potential takeover

Since talks of the takeover have been rife, fans have not been afraid to voice their opinions on the situation, and some takes disagree with others.

FLW’s own PNE fan pundit said recently: “It's been a long time coming. I think we need a different direction, a new, fresh direction, and this is it. You know, I feel like this is something different. We need to have a proper clean slate. That means everything. We need to just do everything better this time around.”

In contrast, Ian Bryson, who played for Preston between 1993 and 1997, cited the mismanagement of other Championship clubs by those in power as a potential reason not for caution when speaking to the Lancashire Post recently: “When you look at what’s happened to Sheffield Wednesday... the EFL are supposed to put these guys (owners) through checks and various things.

“That has happened but Sheffield Wednesday find themselves in the position that they are in. They might even get sanctioned when they go down to the next league. It’s a travesty. Are we (Preston) in a good financial position? We sort of have been for a long while now and that is thanks to the Hemmings family.”

Even Preston’s current manager, Paul Heckingbottom, has thrown his hat in the ring on the matter, telling the Lancashire Post: “I'm not involved in the process. It's not my position. I’m in the same position as all the fans, waiting for something official, if it comes — positive or negative, in terms of it happening or not.

“So yeah, I just hear the speculation like you guys, (but) getting clarity on where we are, whether it's takeover, our budget, that type of thing, is a big thing for us to get rolling.”

Whatever happens, this summer might be one that completely redefines Preston North End’s current standing as a mid-table Championship side. Takeover or not, the ever-elusive play-offs are expanding, which gives teams like PNE quite the impetus to fight like never before for their chance.