Former Charlton chief executive Peter Varney to meet new owners for fresh takeover talks

There could be yet another change in the Addicks' ownership.
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Giuseppe Muro10 June 2020

Peter Varney is set to meet Charlton’s new owners for talks about his interest in a fresh takeover at the Valley.

Ex-Addicks chief executive Varney and former Ritz owner Andrew Barclay want to buy Charlton and end years of turmoil at the Championship club.

Charlton are under new control after majority shareholder Tahnoon Nimer handed the reins to a consortium led by Manchester-based businessman Paul Elliott.

But Varney and Barclay have been encouraged that Elliott and lawyer Chris Farnell have kept them fully informed of the latest developments at Charlton, and both parties are arranging a face-to-face meeting in London to discuss the future of the club.

Varney said: “Chris Farnell and Paul Elliott have kept us up to date with what has been going on all the way along, and have made it clear they would like enter into dialogue to have an open discussion about where the club is going.

"We are very keen to do the same and both sides are committed to having an early meeting.”

Any takeover deal will be complicated by the fact former owner Roland Duchatelet owns the Valley and the club’s training ground, and £7m is owed to several ex-directors should Charlton reach the Premier League. But Varney, a lifelong Addicks fan, hopes Duchatelet would be willing to co-operate if a deal is on the table.

“We want to rid Charlton of all this negativity,” said Varney, who is chairman of sports management agency Integral Sports Management, which is co-founded by actor Ray Winstone.

“That means we have to acquire the Valley and the training ground and we have to resolve the previous director’s loans. If we can do that, then Andrew is happy to take it on. We want Charlton fans to go back to talking about the football team and forget all about the ownership.”

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