Latest news with #RolandWycherley
BBC News
07-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
TNS owner admits interest in buying Shrewsbury Town
The New Saints of Oswestry owner Mike Harris has confirmed on social media he made a bid to buy Shrewsbury Town last September and is still interested in exploring a takeover of the League One two clubs - based just 18 miles apart - were already in negotiations over Saints' rental of Shrewsbury's Croud Meadow home to stage their three European Conference home 83-year-old owner Roland Wycherley then announced his continued intention to sell the League One club.A deal for a new multi-millionaire American owner to take over has been on the table since then, which included a six-month exclusivity deal collapsed last week, allowing Shrewsbury the chance to explore other options, but Wycherley has warned that any other potential new buyers are unlikely to be on X, Welshpool-born businessman Harris, who was behind the rise of telecom specialists Total Network Solutions in the late 1980s and is a boyhood Salop fan, says he wants to "engage with fans or a group of potential investors" and return the club to its "glory days".The Shropshire club, who have spent the last 10 seasons in the third tier, are the longest-serving members of League One, having even more impressively spent a decade in the second tier from 1979 to following their home defeat by Cambridge United on Saturday, they will be relegated back to League Two this Saturday if they lose their next two TNS last month clinched their fourth straight Cymru Premier title - their 17th in the 33 seasons since the formation of a Welsh national Radio Shropshire have approached Mike Harris for comment
BBC News
01-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
End of era for local owners says 'let down' Wycherley
Shrewsbury Town owner Roland Wycherley says he feels "deeply let down" by the failed process of selling the Shropshire official confirmation that the almost season-long negotiations with an American prospective buyer had come to an end, Wycherley says there is already interest in relegation-threatened Town, who are bottom of League the long-serving 83-year-old chairman, who previously ran two businesses in the town, has also warned that any other potential new buyers are still unlikely to be local."The era of a local businessman running clubs at this level is coming to an end," said Wycherley in a prepared statement. "The reality is that football has moved on. "Previously my intention has been to find a successor who was a local businessman who had the club's and town's best interests at heart."I twice believed I had found the right local investor, only for both parties to withdraw from the process after agreeing to the asking price."This time, we appointed an intermediary with a track record of success in selling clubs. When we entered into an exclusivity agreement, we were optimistic. This was the first time we had entered into an exclusivity agreement with an overseas investor. "From a Shrewsbury Town perspective, all due diligence was completed before Christmas, ensuring the best possible chance for the new owner to have an impact in the January transfer window. However, as with any sale, completion depends on the buyer's willingness to complete."We understand our prospective owners remain embroiled in a lengthy and complex legal dispute unrelated to football. Their ongoing situation has demanded much of their time and attention, preventing them from dedicating the necessary focus to acquiring the club."Both the board and I feel deeply let down by how events have unfolded over the past few months."We are no longer in an exclusivity period. The search for new investors has already resumed, with fresh expressions of interest received as early as this morning."Despite this setback, I remain fully committed to finding the right successor. As someone born and raised in Shrewsbury, and as a lifelong supporter, I will continue to do everything in my power to act in the best interests."Nobody likes uncertainty and I understand the concern among supporters – something that isn't helped by people who decide to spread rumours and misinformation."
BBC News
31-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Shrewsbury Town takeover plans fall through
Shrewsbury Town have been forced to look elsewhere for new investment following the collapse of a takeover deal from a potential American existing deal on the table, to end long-serving chairman Roland Wycherley's 29-year ownership of the struggling League One club, had been under discussion since first being publicly announced in the prospective new owner's application had not yet been submitted to the English Football League Owners and Directors 'fit and proper person' test, it had nearly reached completion following a six-month exclusivity period ends on Monday, 31 March, after which time Shrewsbury would be free to talk to any potential media report says it looks like the takeover has already collapsed as the interested party had decided the timing was not right due to a liquidity issue from another business. But, in reality, the proposed first-choice bidder wanted to spend the weekend ahead of Monday's deadline thinking it is believed the club already have three other interested parties ready to negotiate. Shrewsbury on the edge This latest twist on Shrewsbury's uncertain future caps a bad week in a bad season for the Shropshire Town head coach Gareth Ainsworth, who knew that the proposed Town takeover was not guaranteed when he first took the job in November, left last Tuesday. He was on contract until 2026 but a settlement fee was agreed between the two clubs for both him and his number two Richard Dobson to join more than 24 hours later Michael Appleton was appointed as head coach until the end of the season but his first game ended in a 4-1 defeat by leaders Birmingham City on Shrewsbury, 14 points adrift of safety with just eight games left, now face a further daunting test against another of Ainsworth's former clubs, third-placed Wycombe Wanderers, at Adams Park on Tuesday they lose that and again at home to Cambridge United next Saturday, that could conceivably be enough to relegate them with a month of the season left. Wycherley's time as Town chairman For a club of their comparatively limited resources, Shrewsbury have done well to enjoy a 10-year tenure of English football's third tier - and that has largely been down to the steady hand Wycherley has kept on the financial stepping up from his role as vice-chairman when previous Town chairman Ray Bailey stepped down in the summer of 1996, Wycherley suffered relegation to the fourth tier in his first season, then the even worse fate of relegation from the Football League in they were promoted back in a year later under then boss Jimmy Quinn - and Wycherley was also the driving force behind leaving their quirky but flood-ravaged old Gay Meadow home on the banks of the River Severn in 2007 to move to a new 10,000 all-seater stadium on the edge of town at Meole Brace - and a boom in average home won back their place in the third tier when they got promotion to League One under Micky Mellon in 2015 but for a side that only first entered the Football League in 1950, they are still judged by fans who hark back to the near decade they spent as a Second Division club (1979 to 1989), largely under Graham Turner and Chic Bates.
