February 8 – One of English football’s best known boardroom faces, Keith Harris (pictured), looks set to get back into the game with a bid for Portsmouth, the former Premier League club currently stuggling in League One.
Portsmouth’s various stages of ownership and various owners have become one of English football’s longest runnning soap operas.
Harris may be the man to bring stability to the club whose fans hope to buy both the club and the Fratton Park stadium, but have been unable to raise the required amount for the club’s financial administrator’s to agree the stadium sale.
The new consortium’s bid hs been confirmed by administrators PFK and comes a week before a High Court hearing to decide whether the club can be sold to the Portsmouth Supporters’ Trust (PST).
Harris said: “I should first make clear that we would not have pursued this investment without sound financial backing and the right senior management. We have that.
“Secondly, I should also be very clear that we will not be carrying forward any legacy issues associated with the recent past. We will be starting with a financial clean sheet.
“Personally, I had signalled to my colleagues at the investment bank Seymour Pierce that I intended over a reasonable period of time to broaden my career interests and, therefore, I stepped down from the bank’s operating board on 17 May 2011, nearly two years ago. Over that period I have reviewed a number of opportunities in football. This, to me, became the stand out opportunity.
“We have the people with the ability to achieve solid progress over the next few years and bring much needed stability to the Club. No-one on the new team underestimates the scale of the task that lies ahead. We understand, of course, that the fans, the commercial partners and the staff will have many questions and we will address these over the immediate period ahead.”
Harris is a former chairman of the Football League and has been on the board of Manchester United (when they initially quoted), and Leeds United when they floated.
Harris was a major opponent of the Glazier family at Manchester United and a supporter of the Green and Gold campaign that had mooted buying the club from the family.
The new consortium bidding for Portsmouth, which also includes professional investor Alan Hitchins and investment banker Pascal Najadi, has stated it is willing to offer “a stakeholding and participation” to the Portsmouth Supporters Trust if it is successful with its bid.
Harris is the proposed new Chairman of the club. The rest of the senior management team would comprise Steve Hamer as managing director and John Redgate as chief financial officer. Redgate would be returning to his former post at Portsmouth.
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