NEC lodges bid to buy CBS Arena
Exhibition venue giant could be about to launch a bid for the home of stricken Premiership rugby side Wasps and Championshire football club Coventry City.
The NEC Group has lodged a bid for the Coventry Building Society (CBS) Arena last week, according to reports from Sky News.
The proposed deal did not extend a bid for Wasps themselves, according to Sky New sources, but the deal could be part of a wider trail of acquisitions by the Birmingham-based NEC Group which stretch to other venues in the Midlands and wider UK.
The news comes as a bid was launched by a former boss to save the club. Former CEO and non-executive director David Armstrong is thought to be working with Terminum Capital on a bid for Wasps and the Coventry Building Society Arena.
The bid from Armstrong, who stepped down as chief executive in 2017, and the investment firm is said to be worth more than £50m, with a further £12m for working capital.
The club’s owner, Wasps Holdings Limited, released a statement on the 5th October after filing a second intention, saying that talks with investors are at “a relatively advanced stage” as it faces a winding-up order from HMRC over around £2m in tax arrears.
Wasps are also facing the repayment of a £35m bond that was used to help fund their relocation from High Wycombe to Coventry in 2014. This was due in May.
