Blow for Bradford Bulls as head of consortium looking to buy the club pulls out

Former Wakefield Trinity director Chris Brereton is out of the running to buy the Bradford Bulls Rugby League team.

He had been leading the consortium negotiating with chairman Andrew Chalmers to take over the cash-strapped club. But Brereton spoke to staff today to confirm that he would be withdrawing from talks, after weeks of negotiations.

In a public statement, Brereton said: “Over the weekend, I have decided to withdraw from the consortium looking to save Bradford Bulls. I have offered to help both the consortium and the Rugby League moving forward.

“I would like to thank the Rugby League for their help and advice during this process and Simon Hustler of Charters Solicitors for his guidance.

“Finally, I would like to apologise to all the fans of Bradford Bulls for not being able to help, and wish you, any new owners of the club, success in the future.”

Despite his departure, the Bulls will still hold this week’s planned fans’ forums with the rest of the consortium at Dewsbury’s Tetley’s Stadium.

The club went into liquidation less than three years ago and have left Odsal to play at Dewsbury Rams.

Following the statement from Brereton, the consortium issued its own message.

This states: “We would like to thank Chris for all his hard work over the past weeks, moving the club into a position where a transition can take place from Andrew and the previous board to new investors.

“We are sure it was a very difficult decision for Chris and we thoroughly understand and respect his reasons for standing down from the consortium at this time.

“Although Chris stepping down is disappointing, it won’t affect the resolve of the remaining group and we are hopeful of some positive news at the first fans forum tomorrow night.

“We look forward to speaking with all the fans who have managed to secure a ticket for either tomorrow or Wednesday nights fans forums.”