Owls fans withdraw Sheard offer

Sheffield Wednesday fans' group Wednesdayite have withdrawn an offer to sell their 10% stake in the club to the Geoff Sheard consortium.

Sheard, fronting a Swiss-based trust, first approached the Owls about a possible takeover in January.

Wednesdayite agreed in August to sell their shares after a ballot of members.

Now the group has ended negotiations with Sheard after proof of funds lodged in a German bank failed to materialise last week.

Lancashire businessman Sheard had revealed his consortium were willing to invest up to �40m in the club.

A statement from Wednesdayite said: "We have always tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but, given his inability to meet our conditions of sale during this protracted period, we are left to conclude there is little if any prospect of any deal being completed.

Should Mr Sheard be able to prove funds to the satisfaction of our legal advisers in the future, we would be happy to revisit the situation.

Wednesdayite statement

"In these circumstances the Wednesdayite board has today decided to withdraw our offer to sell our shareholding to him/his consortium.

"This does not prevent him from obtaining his stated aim of a 29.9% shareholding in SWFC through the three other major shareholders, former chairman Dave Allen, former board member Keith Addy and director Geoff Hulley, and it is a matter for them to make their own decisions in this regard.

"Should Mr Sheard be able to prove funds to the satisfaction of our legal advisers in the future, we would be happy to revisit the situation."

Wednesdayite added that any new approach over the sale of their shares would require a fresh member ballot.

Sheard had agreed in principle to buy Allen's 10% stake in the club in July and had been hoping to conclude similar deals for Addy and Hulley's 10% stakes in order to acquire a controlling 29.9%.

Should Sheard still prove successful in his bid to convince Addy and Hulley to sell their shares, his consortium would not require Wednesdayite's stake.