Sunderland’s real worth as Donald seeks sale of club
Stewart Donald is seeking a new owner for Sunderland AFC - but what are the club REALLY worth?
Donald publicly placed the club up for sale earlier this month, and is hopeful of completing a deal to sell his majority stake in the Black Cats in a matter of weeks. But what is the true valuation of the club in the current market?
Donald told supporters at the Red & White Army Supporters Collective meeting on December 4, that he estimated the club to be worth ‘approximately £30-50million’ - and football finance expert Kieran Maguire of the University of Liverpool believes the lower end of that bracket is a ‘realistic’ valuation.
“I think £40million is an asking price, rather than a final price,” he said. “If he gets £40million for it, fair play to him - he must be a very good salesman. “I appreciate it’s a big ground with fantastic support, buy money from fans is far less than people envisage in the grand scheme of things.
“You would pay a premium for the potential to get 47,000 people in the ground, and you would factor that in, but on the down side until they are selling out every week you have the overheads of a 47,000 capacity stadium every week. I think £30m is more realistic, and is a fair price for both parties.”
That valuation could, however, change in the short-term - particularly if Sunderland mount a successful promotion push and seal a return to the Championship.
“If they goo na fantastic run and are in the top two by the end of March, then you could probably add a bit more on to that,” explained Maguire.
“Whoever is buying Sunderland is buying it on the basis of it being a Championship club - whether it’s there now, or at the end of the season or in two seasons.”