Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has recently discussed the latest regarding the ownership of Charlton Athletic.
On Thursday last week, it was reported that businessman Paul Elliott had succeeded in an appeal to be granted an injunction to prevent the sale of the Addicks (per BBC).
The injunction will last until a court case on 23rd November determines his claim on the club.
It is stated that Elliott has already put £500,000 into Charlton and has agreed to pay £50,000 in compensation should it be found that he is not the rightful owner of the League One outfit.
The £50,000 in compensation would also be dependant upon whether or not East Street Investments (ESI) can prove they have lost out financially due to the delay.
So, in the latest episode of The Price of Football podcast, Maguire discussed the latest with the Addicks and shared what he had discovered about Elliott.
He said: “[East Street Investments] were initially trying to sell to this guy called Paul Elliott; he failed the owners’ and directors’ test, which, as we know, is quite a low bar.
“He’s now penned an open letter to fans – he claims it was just due to an administrative issue. Now, if it was just an admin issue, given that this ban on him took place at the start of August, you would have thought that that could have been sorted out very quickly.
“I did a bit more digging into Paul Elliott, he was trying to take over East Street Investments via this company called Lex Dominus. He claims he’s a businessman – according to the Lex Dominus background information, he’s a property owner and developer.
“Now, I’ve now got a large klaxon sounding in the background when you see property developer and football grounds mentioned in the same sentence, so I’m a bit twitchy there.
“He’s got a couple of other companies, one of which is losing money every year and the other one has got £1 worth of assets, so it does make you feel slightly uneasy.”
TIF Thoughts…
As can be seen in what Maguire had to say, having done some digging around the background of Elliott he feels “slightly uneasy” about the potential owner of the Addicks.
Are you concerned about the situation surrounding Paul Elliott?
Yes, I don't trust him
No, he seems trustworthy
However, for Charlton supporters, it seems that they will just have to wait until the court case on 23rd November to see what happens with the club.