Jack Walker Trustees restore Blackburn Rovers funding

11:11am Tuesday 8th July 2008

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By Andy Neild »

BLACKBURN Rovers’ finances have received a welcome boost - thanks to the help of the Jack Walker Trustees.

The Lancashire Telegraph can exclusively reveal the Walker trustees have decided to restore funding for the 2008/2009 season, which means £3 million will become available and may well help Paul Ince in the transfer market.

Welcoming the news, chairman John Williams said: “On behalf of the board, I’d like to say we are delighted the trustees have agreed to restore funding for this season.

“It’s important for us to help support Paul Ince in his new job and this helps us to remain competitive.”

Having supported Rovers to the tune of £40 million in the eight years since Jack Walker passed away in August 2000, the trustees took the decision to stop making annual donations last summer, once the club effectively became self-sufficient on the back of the new television deal.

However, the trustees made it clear at the time they would review that situation on an annual basis, and they have now decided to restore their financial support for this season, which is a welcome bonus for Ince at a time when he is settling into his new role.

Nevertheless, the trustees are still actively looking to sell their 99.8 per cent stake in Rovers, providing their advisers, Rothschilds, can find a fit and proper buyer who has the means to take the club to the next level.

The Lancashire Telegraph can reveal that talks are still on-going with several parties, including an American group who recently registered their interest in a possible takeover.

“The process is still on-going,” said Williams.

“There is some new interest from the States, which Rothschilds are currently working on, in addition to some on-going interest in the UK.

“But, in the meantime, we value both the support and stability that the trustees bring.

“It’s a difficult balance for the trustees because they don’t want to be too prescriptive as sellers, but they also know how important it is to protect Jack’s legacy by finding the right people to take the club forwards.

“They’d like to see a takeover funded with equity and not debt.

“And any new owner would have to be able to support the club in the transfer market, because we want to try to move to the next level, which for us means regularly finishing in the top six.

“In the current climate, that could be a very expensive business.”

The club has effectively been for sale for just over a year now, and during that period several interested parties have held discussions with Rothschilds at various levels.

The first to publicly make his interest known was the American-based businessman, Dan Williams, but, after several rounds of talks, he decided to withdraw from the process.

More recently, Chris Ronnie, the chief executive of JJB Sports, and Nabeel Chowdery, a Cheshire-based property tycoon, have also independently declared an interest, only to then baulk at the trustees’ valuation of the club.

According to one Sunday tabloid, Ronnie was only prepared to offer £25 million, which is thought to be well short of the trustees’ asking price.

Chowdery, meanwhile, was quoted recently as saying: "I have submitted my bid and my offer stands at £40m. I am ready to do business if they come back to me."

However, when you consider the club owns 50 acres of freehold land, and intangible assets estimated at £65 million, a valuation of £50m-plus for the trustees’ controlling stake would appear to be entirely appropriate.

Williams added: “I realise the fans sometimes get frustrated about the lack of information, but when we talk to third parties we both have to sign a None Disclosure Agreement.

“On occasions, some of those third parties have made their interest public, but that’s not something we can do because we are bound by the terms of the NDA.”

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