Plymouth Argyle takeover prediction issued - Will Simon Hallett sell? "He's made mistakes" | OneFootball

There's been talk for months that the Plymouth Argyle could be set to be sold, but FLW's Pilgrims fan pundit has his doubts.

There have been rumours surrounding the possibility of a sale of Plymouth Argyle for some time, but nothing's happened yet and FLW's fan pundit doesn't see that changing imminently.

Plymouth Argyle's start to their 2026-27 League One season has so far been inconsistent.

After opening with a defeat at home to Stockport County and a draw at Wycombe Wanderers, the Pilgrims have now won two of their last three matches and have lifted themselves to the middle of the table.

Behind the scenes, meanwhile, there have been rumours of outside investment into the Devon club - or perhaps even a full takeover - for quite a long time, but nothing concrete has yet materialised.

The club's owner, Simon Hallett, has been the owner of the club since 2018, and since then there have been ups and downs for Argyle, but a lot of work has been carried out on their Home Park stadium, while the summer of 2026 brought the news that the club's Foulston Park training ground and academy complex was set to be completed.

A sale of Plymouth Argyle could still be a long way off - "We've been round the houses"

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Football League World have spoken to our Plymouth fan pundit Luke Hodge about what his gut instinct is over what happens next with regard to Argyle's ownership situation, and Luke doesn't feel that a takeover is likely to happen this year.

"My gut feeling is that I don't think that Simon sells the club lock, stock and barrel any time soon; not this month, and I wouldn't bet the house on Christmas either," Luke told FLW.

"What I can see happening is new investment, and that's the bit that's been bubbling for ages. He's been looking but he's been cautious, and I actually like that. Too many EFL clubs have gone down the wrong path with the wrong people."

And our Plymouth fan pundit has seen too many of this type of story before to be confident that anything will happen imminently.

"He nearly had a deal last year, but it fell through after we went down and we've been round the houses again since," Hodge added.

"In mid-August he said talks were still on and he thought things would be wrapped up in a few weeks, but those weeks have come and gone and we've heard nothing. It's the same story that we've been told before.

"But I've got a lot of time for what he's done here. He's a Plymouth lad who's put his money in when it wasn't fashionable. He's rebuilt Home Park, pushed on Foulston Park, and kept the club in safer hands than a lot of supporters give him credit for on a bad Saturday.

"Promotion, Championship football and the infrastructure don't happen by accident. He's made mistakes, the same as anyone, but the club has been looked after.

"The money side won't drag on forever. He's put a fortune in. Loans after relegation, the losses last season were huge, and he said himself that Jane [Hallett's wife] will take his wallet away. He doesn't want to keep covering operating losses. He wants to leave the club in decent nick and I respect that."

But ultimately, while Luke does believe that external investment could come before the end of 2026, any takeover is unlikely to come until next year at the earliest.

"So if you're asking when he actually sells up, new money in maybe this autumn, him walking away as majority owner, I'd say more likely next year, unless whoever's taking over now wants the lot and he's happy with them," Luke concluded.

"But we've been here before and nothing happened, so I'll wait and see, and I suppose what will be, will be."

Simon Hallett's caution over external investment has signalled his care for Plymouth Argyle

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Running a football club in the EFL can be an expensive business, as Simon Hallett has found to his own personal cost since buying the club in 2018. The company accounts released at the end of 2025 demonstrated that Hallett had lent the club £9.8 million since they were relegated to League One, and that in total he lent the club almost £12.5 million between July 2024 and December 2025.

But nothing seems to have stemmed these financial losses, and in April 2026 it was reported that the club could be looking to make up to twenty redundancies as their attempts to get straight back into the Championship at the first attempt fell flat.

These issues preceded that 2025 relegation. In March of that year, Hallett confirmed that revenues were set to hit £30 million, but at the end of May it was confirmed that talks over external investment, which by that time had been going on for over a year and had come close enough to full agreement for papers to have been lodged with the EFL, had fallen through.

Hallett said at the time that patience was important: ""It is important we get the right investor, not the quickest investor, and this may take some time. We are committed to this, but in the meantime, current shareholders can (and will) support the club through its next stage of development."

Funding those losses and the care with which he is treating the club over the question of investment or selling it demonstrates that Simon Hallett has been involved with Plymouth Argyle for the love of the club, though it's unreasonable to assume that he will continue to throw good money after bad, especially if positive results are not forthcoming.