Sheffield Wednesday takeover: The Storch family's net worth as James Bord deal collapses | OneFootball

The Owls' search for new investment has taken yet another unwanted twist

It is the news that no Sheffield Wednesday fan would have wanted to have heard, but the club's search for fresh, long-term investment and stability will be dragging on further as the consortium fronted by ex-poker player, James Bord, have withdrawn their takeover bid from the process.

For almost 12 months now, Owls supporters have seen the future of the historic club constantly jeopardised, particularly in the final weeks and months under the ownership of former Hillsborough custodian, Dejphon Chansiri.

Although it meant that the club entered administration and were automatically docked 12 points for doing so on October 24th, there was a huge outpouring of emotion in S6 when the appointment of Paul Stanley, Julian Pitts and Kris Wigfield as joint-administrators officially ended the Thailand-based businessman's dramatic 10-year tenure in the boardroom.

Whilst the trio who front Begbies Traynor have since been able to inject sums of cash that have kept the club running through the least normal of all Championship seasons, it remained to be seen which consortium would front up the cash to take Wednesday into a new era.

The likes of John Textor, Mike Ashley, John McEvoy and the Storch family were all heavily credited with interest, before Bord, who previously advised the owners of Steel City rivals, Sheffield United, on an AI-based transfer model at Bramall Lane, was named as the preferred bidder on Christmas Eve.

However, since the turn of the year, several question marks have been raised over the consortium made up of himself, Felix Roemer and Alsharif Faisal Bin Jamil.

The EFL were believed to have questioned the sourcing of funds amid links to gambling and crypto-gambling, whilst Bord was, last week, sued by former business partner, Jonathan Cohen, over controversies as to how the Canadian joined the board of Córdoba CF, who the previously prospective Owls owner also owns a stake in.

Now, with the takeover process back at square one to an extent, Football League World have looked at how wealthy the Storch Family are reported to be as they potentially plot a route to becoming the club's new owners.

How wealthy the Storch family are as James Bord, Sheffield Wednesday takeover deal collapses

With Wednesday marooned to the foot of the Championship table, the collapse of Bord's takeover comes just days after their relegation to League One was confirmed after a 2-1 defeat to their arch rivals at Bramall Lane, with the Daily Mail reporting that differences between valuations and significant costs when it comes to the upgrading of Hillsborough are some of the facets which have caused the unwanted developments to occur.

Earlier in the month, though, it was reported by the Times that the likes of Ashley and the Storch family would be waiting in the wings to potentially front up another takeover bid should Bord become unsuccessful in his own aspirations, which now appears to be the case.

In early December, it was claimed by the same publication that the Storch family and the aforementioned McEvoy had joined forces to aid their bids to become members of the Hillsborough board, with a reported valuation of the family coming to the fore in the process.

The aforementioned report revealed that the Storch family have a combined net worth that exceeds the £1bn mark, after they previously attempted to buy League One side, Plymouth Argyle, as part of a consortium which was fronted by ex-Real Madrid and Welsh international forward, Gareth Bale.

Prior to the confirmation of the Bord-led bid collapsing, it was also revealed that David Storch remains confident that he can put together a successful takeover bid of his own.

Given the tribulations which Wednesday have had to go through in recent times, it is another blow for supporters that Bord's takeover bid has hit the buffers, although some may feel slightly relieved at the same time given the recent controversies which have come to light.

Henrik Pedersen, his team and their long-suffering supporters have known their fate for this season for several weeks, and, as it has done for many weeks, off-field developments will continue to dominate headlines in this part of Sheffield.

However, it is clear that the sooner a resolution to the saga is found, the greater the chances are of the club being able to reset immediately in the third tier next season.