Bolton Wanderers Sold

Bolton Wanderers have been sold for £7.5m to the Sport Shield Group Consortium which is headed by former Bolton striker Dean Holdsworth as the group will now take over ownership, pending ratification from the Football League. 

Bolton owe an outstanding debt of around £3m to the HMRC, which is currently gaining interest of £175,000 a week. The club still face the prospect of entering administration should this debt be unpaid at the end of the two-week deadline.  Bolton, who are currently second bottom in the Championship, would then be issued an automatic 12 point penalty effectively sealing relegation.

The advisor to the Bolton board, Trevor Birch, confirmed during the hearing on Monday that a Sales and Purchase agreement was now in place and the club was ready to move forward. Birch said this in a statement released on Bolton's website “Whilst this continues to be a challenging time for everyone at the club, we are confident that the adjournment will give us the necessary time to conclude a transfer of ownership of the club, subject to approval from the Football League," Holdsworth, who made 158 appearances for the Trotters, is expected to become the club's new chairman”. 

Birch also said that “There's been a hell of a lot of work gone in behind the scenes. We're still subject to Football League ratification. That's the key point to this - today was a poignant moment for the club because no one wants to see a club like Bolton go into administration. It's a great day in terms of saving that identity and it's an exciting day”.