Owls takeover falls through

Sheffield Wednesday have suffered a major setback in their battle against a High Court winding-up petition after the major financier in a proposed takeover withdrew his interest.

The Owls are due in court on November 17 over their debts to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, with a fear of going into administration should no takeover be completed before that date. A deal looked likely when the club announced three weeks ago that £2million of funding was to be advanced by a consortium led by Kevin Mundie, a senior executive at Certified Oilfield Rentals.

But a spokesman for Mundie told the Yorkshire Post: "For business and personal reasons which are wholly unconnected with the club, Kevin Mundie and COR have regrettably felt they must withdraw from further involvement in the proposed purchase. Other consortium members are continuing to discuss further involvement and a statement will be made shortly."

The Co-operative Bank had provided £800,000 to stave off a previous winding-up petition against Wednesday in September.

Former chairman Dave Allen, now majority shareholder at Chesterfield, says he is prepared to give up his 9.5% holding in Wednesday for nothing and also waive interests on his loans to the club as they bid to push through a deal.

He said: "If I get the £1.5m I loaned to the club back, without interest, I will give them my shares. In total, I'm owed about £2.4m but I'm prepared to take £1.5m."