Sheard to pursue Owls despite snub

LANCASTER businessman Geoff Sheard is pushing ahead with his plan to buy Sheffield Wednesday despite the withdrawal of a major shareholder’s offer to sell its stake.

Mr Sheard has been the public face of an international consortium’s £40m bid to buy the club since January.

But the fans’ group Wednesdayite, which holds around 10%, lost patience, believing there was “little, if any prospect” of a deal taking place.

Mr Sheard said the group’s holding was not essential to his strategy and he is still confident about acquiring 29.9% prior to launching a full bid.

He said: “We are pushing ahead with our plans. The decision by Wednesdayite doesn’t affect things.”

He added that he was “100% confident” about the credentials of his backers despite Press reports linking the Swiss company that will be used to broker a deal to businessmen barred for illegal trading.

“I wouldn’t have got this far down the line if I wasn’t confident,” said Mr Sheard.

Mr Sheard is hoping to strike an agreement with three major shareholders – former chairman Dave Allen, former board member Keith Addy and director Geoff Hulley – who each hold around 10%.

In its statement Wednesdayite said: “With regard to Geoff Sheard, we have always tried to give him the benefit of the doubt but given his inability to meet our conditions of sale during this protracted period, we are left to conclude that there is little if any prospect of any deal being completed.”

It prompted an announcement from Sheffield Wednesday stating that no formal arrangements exist between its directors and Mr Sheard’s consortium. The club added it was still willing to talk to potential investors.

Mr Sheard is a director of Lancaster-based Geoff Sheard Ltd, which was set up to conduct the deal.

He has previously worked with sports equipment manufacturer Asics and as a consultant for Sockatyes, a Stoke firm that makes branded sock tie-ups for football clubs.