Who owns Charlton Athletic?
In terms of actual information we have very little to offer this week but we have been puzzling over Paul Elliott's answer last week to our question about East Street Investments and Companies House registration:
Q: Why has the ownership of ESI not yet been updated on the Companies House website?
A: Until we get EFL approval, this won't be updated, it is important to us that we follow the appropriate protocol. The restructuring will take effect through the correct channels once everything is finalised with the EFL
We wrote back to Paul Elliott on 6th July asking him to elaborate on his answer as our understanding is that Companies House registration and EFL approval are two totally separate processes and that the legal requirement to register changes at Companies House within twenty one days cannot be overridden by the need for EFL approval. We haven't yet received a response.
One possibility is that the sale of ESI has been agreed contingent on EFL approval of the new ESI owners as "relevant persons" under the EFL Owners and Directors Test. If this is the case, however, we don't understand why Elliott did not simply say so.
Given Charlton's recent experience and the alarming news coming out of Wigan it is not surprising that supporters are concerned about the continuing mystery of the nature and the motivation of Paul Elliott's consortium. CAST will be endeavouring to shed some light on this in the coming days.
Meanwhile South London Press sports editor Richard Cawley has been in touch with the EFL and reports as follows:
"Contacted the EFL earlier this week about the latest on Charlton Athletic's ownership. They say they cannot comment on the change of control at any club and that there is no update at this stage. I'd asked if there had been any response from them regarding the Owners and Directors Test and the source and sufficiency of funds. Paul Elliott said that an application had been made for EFL approval. My understanding is that the EFL are expecting a figure between £15m - £17m to be available to cover the club's running costs for the next couple of seasons"
On a broader issue Paul McInnes in The Guardian has written an article speculating on when and how spectators might be allowed back into sports events again.
The Evening Standard also reported today that The Valley will be used as a testing ground for the return of spectators.
Over 1000 Charlton supporters have joined CAST in the last two months - no doubt motivated by the parlous state of affairs at our club. This has pushed our total membership over 2500 making us one of the largest supporters' trusts in the country. Together we are stronger. You can join here:
https://www.castrust.org/join/
If you are concerned about the future of our club sign up to the OUR CLUB campaign here:
https://www.castrust.org/2020/05/sign-up-if-you-love-charlton/