13-04-2023, 07:47
Three members of a consortium who failed in a bid to buy Birmingham City have admitted breaching EFL rules over the owners and directors test.
Paul Richardson, Maxi Lopez and Matthew Southall accepted they took control of the Championship club without going through the proper sign-off procedure.
Southall also accepted a misconduct charge over signing a false declaration of his role as a 'relevant person'.
Their bid to buy Blues was made in July 2022 before pulling out in December.
"Matthew Southall, Paul Richardson, and Maxi Lopez have all admitted to breaching EFL Regulations in respect of the Owners and Directors' Test (OADT) following their unapproved involvement with Birmingham City Football Club in 2022" a statement from the English Football League said.
Businessman Richardson, together with former Barcelona striker Lopez, opened talks last summer with Blues' Chinese owners - Trillion Trophy Asia - over buying a 21% stake in the club.
More than three months later, the deal remained under review with the EFL with Richardson saying he was "providing operational funds" before emphasising they were "adhering" to procedure and "as far as we're aware, we haven't made any breaches, either us or the seller".
At the start of December, Richardson's team withdrew their offer after failing to "renegotiate the terms of their original agreement with Blues' current owners".
As a consequence of the ruling, Richardson and Lopez have been banned from acting as a 'relevant person' in any similar takeover bid for two months and one month, respectively. The sanctions are suspended until the end of the 2023-24 season.
Former Charlton chief executive Southall, who was set to be brought in as the new CEO at Birmingham, is subject to the same sanction but for six months, suspended for three until the end of next season.
All three have also been made liable for the £45,000 cost of the investigation.
The news comes on the same day Blues announced they are in exclusive negotiations with another prospective buyer.
Birmingham City last changed owners in 2016
Birmingham City have faced an uncertain future for some time
Birmingham City's owners say that they have entered a period of exclusive negotiations to sell the Championship club.
China-based Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited made the announcement via the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Two letters of intent have been entered into with a potential buyer.
The deal would also include the purchase of the club's St Andrew's stadium.
"The club's owner, Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited, has announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that two letters of intent have been entered into with a potential purchaser," a club statement said.
"This is in relation to the exclusive negotiations of two potential transactions. One transaction would involve the disposal of 24% of the shares in Birmingham City PLC by Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited.
"The other transaction would involve the disposal of 21.64% of the shares in Birmingham City PLC by Oriental Rainbow Investments Limited and the entire issued share capital of Birmingham City Stadium Limited by Oriental Rainbow Investments Limited and Achiever Global Group Limited.
"The parties involved will now enter a period of exclusive negotiation to agree the final terms of the transactions which will formulate the Definitive Agreements. The Definitive Agreements are expected to be entered into within two months of the date of the letters of intent, at which time the potential purchaser will also be announced."
The club announced in January that its future was under discussion with regard to a "proposed investment deal".
Paul Richardson, Maxi Lopez and Matthew Southall accepted they took control of the Championship club without going through the proper sign-off procedure.
Southall also accepted a misconduct charge over signing a false declaration of his role as a 'relevant person'.
Their bid to buy Blues was made in July 2022 before pulling out in December.
"Matthew Southall, Paul Richardson, and Maxi Lopez have all admitted to breaching EFL Regulations in respect of the Owners and Directors' Test (OADT) following their unapproved involvement with Birmingham City Football Club in 2022" a statement from the English Football League said.
Businessman Richardson, together with former Barcelona striker Lopez, opened talks last summer with Blues' Chinese owners - Trillion Trophy Asia - over buying a 21% stake in the club.
More than three months later, the deal remained under review with the EFL with Richardson saying he was "providing operational funds" before emphasising they were "adhering" to procedure and "as far as we're aware, we haven't made any breaches, either us or the seller".
At the start of December, Richardson's team withdrew their offer after failing to "renegotiate the terms of their original agreement with Blues' current owners".
As a consequence of the ruling, Richardson and Lopez have been banned from acting as a 'relevant person' in any similar takeover bid for two months and one month, respectively. The sanctions are suspended until the end of the 2023-24 season.
Former Charlton chief executive Southall, who was set to be brought in as the new CEO at Birmingham, is subject to the same sanction but for six months, suspended for three until the end of next season.
All three have also been made liable for the £45,000 cost of the investigation.
The news comes on the same day Blues announced they are in exclusive negotiations with another prospective buyer.
Birmingham City last changed owners in 2016
Birmingham City have faced an uncertain future for some time
Birmingham City's owners say that they have entered a period of exclusive negotiations to sell the Championship club.
China-based Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited made the announcement via the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Two letters of intent have been entered into with a potential buyer.
The deal would also include the purchase of the club's St Andrew's stadium.
"The club's owner, Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited, has announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that two letters of intent have been entered into with a potential purchaser," a club statement said.
"This is in relation to the exclusive negotiations of two potential transactions. One transaction would involve the disposal of 24% of the shares in Birmingham City PLC by Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited.
"The other transaction would involve the disposal of 21.64% of the shares in Birmingham City PLC by Oriental Rainbow Investments Limited and the entire issued share capital of Birmingham City Stadium Limited by Oriental Rainbow Investments Limited and Achiever Global Group Limited.
"The parties involved will now enter a period of exclusive negotiation to agree the final terms of the transactions which will formulate the Definitive Agreements. The Definitive Agreements are expected to be entered into within two months of the date of the letters of intent, at which time the potential purchaser will also be announced."
The club announced in January that its future was under discussion with regard to a "proposed investment deal".
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