Everton’s next prospective owner, Josh Wander, has written to supporters ahead of a possible takeover.
777 Partners, Everton’s putative new owners, have written to supporters before of the club’s game against Bournemouth.
“Despite the outcome,” remarked co-founder Josh Wander of his first Goodison Park experience, “the experience of being in the stadium and the unwavering support of the Goodison crowd reinforced our commitment to this great club.”
His statement, which was published on the Everton website, described the club’s acquisition from majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri as a “profound” opportunity. He also sought to dismiss concerns about 777’s suitability as Everton’s owners as “misleading and concerning.”
777 representatives will be at Goodison Park again on Saturday. Wander’s first public comments since the buyout plan was publicized can be found in full here:
Dear Evertonians,
Steve and I went to Goodison Park for the first time last Saturday. We waited for the whistle as the “Spirit of the Blues” became the siren and Z-Cars as the crowd welcomed the players on the field. Regardless of the outcome, our allegiance to this wonderful club was strengthened by the experience of being at the stadium and the unrelenting support of the Goodison crowd.
The opportunity to potentially purchase Everton Football Club is one of the most significant we will have as investors and individuals. We approach it with the knowledge that we will be carrying the enormous responsibility of 145 years of history, as well as being a founding member of the Football League and Premier League. The folks behind The folks’s Club have been a constant throughout Everton’s history. With that gratitude and awareness, I write to you personally for the first time.
We understand that change can be unsettling. We also admit that there have been a number of inaccurate and troubling media reports that have created an impression of instability and turmoil surrounding our potential purchase. In this scenario, rest confident that the truth is significantly more boring than the fiction.
We have a team of over 3,000 workers at 777 Partners who have worked hard to develop relatively conventional but lucrative finance and insurance businesses, allowing us to invest in and build positions in more interesting areas such as aviation and sports. Not all of our 60 businesses will be profitable at the same time, but the 777 Group’s core underlying business performance is robust.
777 is not your average private equity firm that invests in large, healthy firms with third-party funds. We’ve enjoyed entrepreneurial success by starting businesses from scratch or buying enterprises in bad shape and revamping them. We have also adapted these approaches to the football industry. Currently, we have direct control of four clubs: Genoa in Italy, Standard Liège in Belgium, Vasco Da Gama in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Red Star in France. We have significantly improved sporting results at each of these teams while lowering costs and improving player value. Our success on and off the field is undeniable.
After constructive talks with Kevin Thelwell, Sean Dyche, and club officials in recent weeks, we have a greater understanding of the club’s current situation and how we might be most helpful in resolving some of the underlying difficulties. We must be clear: there will be no magic wands or easy fixes; the road to building a sustainable business that converts into on-pitch success is littered with hard work and painful decisions. Our background is in establishing and holding successful enterprises for the long term. The holding company’s best-in-class resources are available to all 777 portfolio firms under a shared service model.
At 777, we follow this approach across all of our clubs, with central shared resources for player recruitment, data analytics, and commercial development. The global football business and sports economy are evolving, and we are confident that our commercial plans will provide us a competitive advantage while also improving your fan experience.
In the weeks since the announcement, our team has had fruitful discussions with members of official Everton fan groups and other club stakeholders. We are actively involved in a number of regulatory processes with the Premier League and others to ratify Mr. Moshiri’s purchase. We are sure that approval will be granted without difficulty, although we recognize that the process may take many months. These procedures must be allowed to take their natural course and should not be handled through the media. It is not appropriate to comment publicly about these processes at this time, but we will when the time comes.
