As per Sky News, one of the founding members of the English football league is collaborating with Rothschild to investigate potential options for its ownership in the future. Additionally, Preston North End, a Lancashire team that placed tenth in the Championship table the previous season, is receiving strategic review advice from Rothschild.
The process might not result in a sale, according to insiders in the football industry, but the club’s owners might be open to talks with potential purchasers who could show a sustained commitment to the team’s future.
One of the sources went on to say that it was possible Preston’s shareholder base will remain unchanged as a result of the review. Originally established as a cricket club in 1866, Preston North End joined the Football League as a founding member in 1888.
The most well-known member of the team, Tom Finney, played for The Lilywhites during the 1950s, when they twice finished second in the top division of English football.
Preston has frequently played in the lower divisions in recent years, but since its most recent promotion campaign in 2014–15, the team has been in the Championship.
Unlike many of its peers, the club has enjoyed relatively stable ownership.
It was bought by Trevor Hemmings, the prominent businessman and owner of three Grand National winners, in 2010 following a winding-up petition served by HM Revenue and Customs.
Mr Hemmings died in 2021, and the club is now managed by his family trustees including two of his children.
Among the other assets he owned during an active business career were Blackpool Tower, and stakes in Center Parcs and Pontin’s.
In common with many English professional clubs, Preston is lossmaking, with its owners funding its losses to the tune of roughly £11m-a-year.
The club has been led since 2011 by Peter Ridsdale, the former Leeds United and Cardiff City chief.
Mr Ridsdale also serves as one of the Championship representatives on the board of the English Football League.
Although a sale of Preston North End is far from inevitable, the work with its banking advisers comes at a critical time for questions surrounding professional football club ownership.
This week’s King’s Speech included a bill paving the way for the establishment of an independent football regulator, which would oversee a strengthened owners and directors test.
The regulator had been proposed under the last Conservative government, with a recruitment process already under way for a chair of the new watchdog.
Labour had said in opposition that it would pursue the plan if it won the general election.
EFL clubs and their top-flight counterparts have been engaged in on-off discussions for more than a year about a financial redistribution deal amid mounting political pressure on the Premier League.
Those talks have yet to reach a resolution.
Rothschild is a prolific adviser in football and elite sport more generally, and is currently advising on various ownership issues at top-flight clubs Brentford, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
Preston North End has been contacted for comment.
