Three Everton board members leave and Bill Kenwright expected to follow
Three members of Everton’s board left their roles on Monday and the chairman, Bill Kenwright, is expected to go in the next 48 hours in developments which signal the arrival of fresh investment.
The chief executive, Denise BarrettBaxendale, chief finance and strategy officer, Grant Ingles, and non-executive director Graeme Sharp have gone after months of protests by fans against the board and the owner, Farhad Moshiri.
Everton said when confirming the departures that a statement would follow on “interim appointments and the future of the chairman in the next 48 hours”. It is a sign that investment from the New York-based MSP Sports Capital is imminent.
Moshiri has been seeking investment for Everton’s new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock and to strengthen the squad after relegation from the Premier League was narrowly avoided for a second season in a row.
The three departing directors said in a statement: “We have all been fully committed during our time here and are disappointed to have made the decision to leave Everton.” They said commercial growth achieved on their watch and the new stadium project would “safeguard and sustain the commercial future of the club for generations” and expressed pride at work done on social programmes.
Kenwright and Barrett-Baxendale were expected to go but the exits of Ingles and Sharp are more surprising. Kenwright said: “This has been a great board who have all worked tirelessly for the club, no matter what the circumstances.”
MSP’s co-founders, Jeff Moorad and Jahm Najafi, could take places on the board after their initial investment. Either way, two successful local businessmen, the property developer George Downing and investor Andy Bell, who are Everton fans, are understood to be in the frame for board positions as part of the deal.