Administrators accept bid for Coventry City FC

ADMINISTRATORS acting for Coventry City have accepted an offer from the Otium Entertainment Group to take over the football club.

Otium is the parent company of Coventry City Holdings Ltd, which is the division of the club which was not put into administration earlier this year. Otium, which is registered in London, is operated by three former Coventry City directors, Ken Dulieu, Onye Igwe and Leonard Brody, all three of which have a connection with the club’s current owner, Sisu.

It is understood the company’s bid was the highest submitted to administrator Paul Appleton.

Appleton was quoted in reports as saying he felt the sale would not be universally popular with the football club’s fans but that the Otium bid was “substantially more” than any of the three rival bids put forward for the club.

He said the Otium bid gave the best return to the cub’s creditors by a “considerable margin”.

Appleton said he was hopeful of concluding the sale as quickly as possible.
Coventry City issued a statement saying: “We are pleased with the decision which helps to assure the future of the club.

“Our absolute focus now is to exit CCFC Ltd from the administration process so we can get back to running a football club and make the decisions we need to in time for next season.”

There is still no confirmation on whether the deal will allow the club to continue playing its home games at the Ricoh Arena. An offer to allow the club to use the facility rent-free was tabled last week but whether this will still apply following the deal is unclear.

The club has been in dispute with the venue’s owner, Arena Coventry Ltd, for 12 months regarding unpaid rent.

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