Aston Villa fans delighted with Rothschild appointment

The Premiere League club still has not found a new owner/investor, but the club took a step toward aiding the process by appointing investment bank Rothschild as a financial advisor.

The club thought it was on the way to finding new ownership in October when a consortium comprised of Irish property developers Comer Brothers, headed by Michael Neville, formed Aston Villa Investment Ltd. (AVIL), an acquisition formed for the purpose of making a formal offer. The group was working on a GBP 64 million bid however, the club’s board has charged that AVIL has not shown evidence that is has the financial backing needed to make the bid.

“To date the Board is not aware that AVIL has performed detailed due diligence on Aston Villa and has not been provided with evidence of AVIL’s financial ability to proceed with an acquisition," Aston Villa said. The club’s supporters formed a protest group, Villa Fans Combined (VFC), against AVIL and understandably pleased with the appointment of Rothschild. “We are delighted the board have finally put the club in the hands of a merchant bank to seek out the best investors to take this fantastic club forward,” VFC said in a statement.

“Right from the inception of the protest group VFC, the main thrust was for (club chairman Doug) Ellis to put the club in the hands of a merchant bank who could actively seek new investment for Aston Villa. “Unfortunately Mr. Ellis didn't take the hint from the numerous protests and meetings! “It has been clear for years that the platform has been built at Aston Villa. The main failing of the current board has been the inability to push on from that base. “Friday's announcement should remedy that situation and we congratulate the board and Mr Ellis for finally doing what was required.”

The statement went on to claim that interested parties could now approach Rothschild instead of Ellis, whom the group charged with not listening to advice and being difficult. ”Our hope is that it will now bring forward the right purchasers for the club, not the right approaches for the major shareholder,” the statement said.