Ryan Bertrand’s £87m EFL club takeover bid collapses at 11th hour

Ryan Bertrand consortium has pulled out of a takeover deal for AFC Wimbledon on the basis that ‘investment priorities have changed’. The former England defender had proposed a £87million minority investment into the League One side alongside British technology expert Omar Mir last month. His company Sloane Street Capital proposed they would invest £16m on completion for a minority 34 per cent of the shares in the fan owned club, with the rest of the amount spread over the next five seasons. Mir has left the ex-Chelsea player without any financial backing days before an active fan vote deadline on November 17, with thousands already casting their ballot in favour of the takeover. The Sun reports that on Sunday members of the Dons Trust received an email with the news . It read: “We have been informed that Sloane Street Capital has withdrawn  from the proposed investment in AFC Wimbledon on the basis its investment priorities have changed. “As a result, the board has withdrawn the resolution that members were asked to vote on and cancelled the vote. Under our rules, an EGM can only be held on a single item of business. The EGM called for 10 November has therefore been cancelled. “Thank you to everyone who has taken part so far: the thousands of you who had already voted, and the hundreds who came to meetings, watched videos or asked questions. “The original investor group, Ryan Bertrand , Stuart Fiertz, Oliver Ward and Hugh Rosen, will continue as Sloane Street Football (SSF). SSF has told us it intends to seek fresh investment and to return with a proposal on the same terms. “The club continues to operate as normal. The Dons Trust and club boards will keep working on the club’s short-term finances and on future investment. “The board will give members a further update shortly, and will answer questions in person at our AGM on 14 December at The Cherry Red Records Stadium, Plough Lane. “Any future investment proposal from SSF will go through full due diligence and come to a vote of members, as before. Any decision on investment in this club is yours. That has not changed. “We thank SSC for their time and interest in Wimbledon and our community.” Who is Omar Mir? After his interest emerged, people found virtually no public digital footprint before 2023 and he had never attended presentation meetings to Wimbledon fans. Supporters found he bought a Scottish feudal title, boasted an unfindable doctorate, and was connected to an empty shop in south London. Additionally, it was found he had close business ties to Marty Edelman who was a director of Manchester City for nearly 20 years and worked at a company alongside Sheikh Mansour ‘s brother. Despite this, Wimbledon’s lawyers completed source-of-funds and background checks on the individuals involved in the consortium before the fan vote. Former Crazy Gang hero Robbie Earle was fronting an American-backed consortium in January; however, it was pushed aside after Mir’s proposal was put on the table. While Wimbledon are a very proud fan-owned club , financial backing from an external source is crucial with the Dons sitting with a £7.5million debt. Bertrand reportedly intends to seek fresh investment and return with a deal on the same terms. That includes the Dons Trust voting rights would be unaffected, and they would hold veto control of the Cherry Red Record Stadium freehold. AFC Wimbledon currently sit 18th in League One with 13 points, and have only won three games out of 13 this season.