Charlton could still face legal action even if takeover goes through, says director Marian Mihail
Charlton director Marian Mihail says the club could still face legal action from a group of former directors even if a change of ownership goes through.
East Street Investments (ESI), the current owners of the club, has agreed to sell 65 per cent of its shares to an unnamed third party and served noticed to Matt Southall, who owns the remaining 35 per cent, to do the same by Monday.
A Portuguese consortium has claimed they have made two offers for the club, while Charlton's former chief executive Peter Varney and British investor Andrew Barclay are also hoping to complete a takeover.
Among the issues for a new owner to resolve is the attempts of a group of seven former directors to unpick ESI's £1 takeover from Roland Duchatelet in January.
ESI's deal included a commitment to buy The Valley and the club's Sparrows Lane training ground from Duchatelet for £50million by 2024 but the former directors, led by Derek Chappell, argue that the Belgian businessman had no right to separate the club from its assets and want to reverse the sale.
The former directors left around £7m in the club following relegation from the Premier League and have final say on major decisions, including a sale.
Answering questions from supporters' groups on Friday, Mihail said: "The club is not being sold, ESI is.
"The chances of success of an action from the former directors to unpick the sale of Charlton Athletic to ESI in January remain the same, regardless of who owns ESI. I may have mentioned before that I do not see a successful injunction happening."
ESI's majority shareholder Tahnoon Nimer has yet to inject any money into the club, nor prove the source of funding to the EFL, but Mihail insisted all staff were paid last month.
"The wages were paid without third-party support or a cash injection," he said. "Also, to be clear, it wasn’t done with any form of credit from a financial institution. Going forward, the short-term funds can be covered via other sources, such as financing, recalling debt or revenue generated by the club."
In an interview with The Sun, Varney, who was also formerly vice-chairman of the club, said he hoped all issues could be resolved and backed Barclay to provide Charlton with stability.
"The reality is there is an appetite to resolve all of these issues in one go, otherwise you are kicking a can of worms down the road for later," he said. "Everyone is getting older and I'm sure there's an agreement that can be reached that satisfies everyone.
"Andrew ticks all the right boxes. He has the funds to do the deal, lives in London, is passionate about football and will run the club prudently.
"Charlton fans know I wouldn't put my reputation on the line if he didn't.
"I've been a fan since 1960 and seen promotions, relegations, Premier League football. And until recent years all we spoke about was the games, the managers, players, performances. But all I hear now from people sitting around me at The Valley is the off-the-field stuff.
"The club must get to the point where we are talking about football again."
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