Portuguese group linked to Tranmere Rovers takeover

Apr 29 2008

TRANMERE Rovers could become the latest English club to fall into the hands of foreign businessmen.

The Daily Post understands a Portuguese investment company has had talks with the club and is working on plans to take a financial stake, or even control, at Prenton Park.

The group behind the move is believed to be responsible for the aborted takeover attempt at another League One club, Swindon Town, last year.

Operating under the name of Best Holdings SGPS, the Portuguese investment company announced they were taking control of financially troubled Swindon in July, 2007 – then pulled out in October.

Tranmere may look like a more stable target for the group than Swindon, who subsequently reached agreement with a locally-based consortium headed by businessman Andrew Fitton.

While Tranmere posted trading losses of around £1m last season and often rely upon transfer revenue to make up shortfalls, the club’s major burden of debt is owed to one source – controlling shareholder Peter Johnson.

The Wirral-based businessman is owed more than £5m in loans and accrued interest, built up in the years since he bought the club out of administration in 1987.

Tranmere announced at the club’s annual meeting in March that the loan to Johnson was recently formalised and secured against land at the Ingleborough Road training ground, close to Prenton Park.

Rovers hope to develop the Ingleborough Road site for housing and plan to use some of the revenue generated by the scheme to build a new training facility on the Wirral. The balance could be used to repay Johnson, the man responsible for bankrolling the most successful period in the club’s history.

However, the housing project must overcome difficult planning hurdles with the local authority, Wirral Council, to get off the ground.

Johnson has made no secret of his willingness to relinquish his 60% interest in Tranmere in recent years – provided the right buyer can be found.

In November, 2002, the club effectively put a “for sale” sign up on Prenton Park and attracted one firm offer, from the company behind Chester City owner Stephen Vaughan. The Vaughan offer was withdrawn early the following year.

Lorraine Rogers, Tranmere’s chairman for the last nine years, owns 30% of the shares in the club. The remaining 10% are spread around hundreds of small shareholders.

Rogers relinquished many of her day-to-day duties at Prenton Park last summer when she took on a full-time role as chief executive of The Merseyside Partnership, the region’s main investment and tourism body. Since August, Rogers has operated as Tranmere’s non- executive chairman.

With just one game of the season to go, there has been no word from the boardroom on the future of manager Ronnie Moore and assistant Peter Shirtliff, who will be out of contract in the summer, and no firm decisions have been announced about nine players whose contracts also expire in June.

In spite of the running losses and debts to Johnson, Tranmere hold significant assets, not least the nine acres of land surrounding Prenton Park, as well as the Ingleborough Road site. The training ground at Raby Vale, currently used by the first team, is leased.

Best Holdings allowed little information about the company’s background to reach the public domain during the brief flirtation with Swindon.

However, the Daily Post understands the man behind the Swindon takeover, Portuguese businessman George Rubenstein, was present at Prenton Park for a reserve team game last month.

Best Holdings appointed American Jim Little as chairman designate when they moved in at the County Ground at the start of the current season.

Rufus Brevett, the former Queens Park Rangers, Fulham, Plymouth and Oxford defender was co-opted to the board as an adviser.

Little, a former vice-chairman of Irish club Cork City and the managing director of a real estate advisory company, was reported to be behind Swindon’s recruitment of a number of continental and South American players.

By the time Best Holdings pulled out of the County Ground in October, manager Paul Sturrock was forced to trim his squad to meet budget demands and many of the foreign recruits departed. None made a first- team appearance.

Little and Brevett also left the club.

Sturrock subsequently moved on to take charge of Plymouth and was replaced by another Scot, Maurice Malpas.

Tranmere chairman Lorraine Rogers was unavailable for comment last night. Jim Little did not return the Daily Post’s calls yesterday.