Wannabe owner left ‘gutted’ by collapse of takeover
PAUL Richardson admits he is “gutted” by the collapse of his attempted takeover at Birmingham City but insists he is still open to buying the club off Birmingham Sports Holdings.
The news came through on Friday that the deal in its current guise had fallen through, with Richardson and Maxi Lopez – and their company Maxco – walking away from the negotiating table.
Speaking on talkSPORT, the former Gymshark chief executive said issues had come to light since they were given access to St Andrew’s in July and admitted the EFL’s investigation into the current ownership was one of them.
He told the White and Jordan show: “We have been there four months or so now, maybe a bit longer, closer to six months in talks. We signed off in July, obviously that’s our time to do our DD (due diligence). We have done the DD and ended up being November 30, where our time was running out and wanting to extend – and so did the owners. We couldn’t come to an agreement after we wanted to adjust some of the deal.
“I can’t really say specifically but there were several stumbling blocks around various things... we put a reasonable deal, we thought, to adjust it because as Simon [Jordan] would know when you start off a deal and you end up in your DD and you find out... it’s very difficult then to move on without adjustments. But just no compromise.
“We have gone further than anyone else. As someone said, ‘You crowbarred the door open’. The deal was on the table, it was there to be done. We haven’t tried to adjust the current deal, it would be only if it was subject to certain things happening.”
Pressed for details by former Crystal Palace owner Jordan, Richardson revealed: “One of the biggest issues with us, which was something we didn’t really know about, was the investigation into the current owners. That is still ongoing. That has always been something that was an issue for us because the outcome of that is unknown at this point of time. That was one of things we were discussing over the last few months.
“You don’t know what the answer is do you?
“It’s in the hands of the EFL and there are a number of answers to that. We don’t know that and no-one does at this point.
“The club is in my heart and I am completely gutted that we couldn’t do it. We got so far. I am not a guy to give up, if the right opportunity comes up we would still be around. We just couldn’t go any further with the current agreement we have got. It just couldn’t meander on.
“I love the club, the fans and the people that work there are as loyal as anyone I have ever known. I felt that and so did Maxi.
“If we can do anything in any way we will do what we can. We have put our heart and souls into this in the last few months. It’s tiring, to be fair.”