EFL club are targets of £50 million mystery takeover group

Historic EFL club Preston North End could be the subject of a £50 million takeover from a mystery firm based in Miami, Florida, recent reports suggest.

PNE’s current owners are the family of Trevor Hemmings, who died in October of 2021. They value the club at £50 million and will not let it go for anything less than this as things stand - however, this is more than the USA-based firm are willing to fork out. Despite these claims, it is thought that a £45 million bid would be deemed sufficient by the Hemmings family.

The Miami group are not alone in their quest to take over Preston - recently, it has emerged that a private equity firm from New York have also thrown their hat into the ring. They are also thought to be ‘looking at’ other football clubs in England, but it is unclear which these outfits may be as of yet.

In the 2023/24 season, Preston currently find themselves in tenth position in the Championship with just a single game left to play (against league leaders Leicester City). They have won 18 games in the current campaign, drawing nine and losing 17 - as a result, they have ended up with a points tally of 63.

A successful club in the 1800s, Preston have won two First Division titles and two FA Cups over the course of their history. Their trophy cabinet also contains three Second Division titles - an array of extra silverware could be added to it if the takeover goes smoothly.

In January, club director Peter Ridsdale said: "For those who think we should be opening the doors at Euxton and looking for someone with an oil well under their arm, we keep opening the door and having a look - but there is nobody there.

“And if anybody were to be interested, we would always welcome them. But again, I would stress that under Financial Fair Play rules - even if a multi-billionaire turned up tomorrow, you can only lose so much money every year and we are right up against that at the moment.”