Holdsworth group completes Bolton takeover

A consortium led by former striker Dean Holdsworth has completed its takeover of Bolton Wanderers.

The High Court granted a 14-day extension of a winding-up order against the struggling Championship club this week, giving owner Eddie Davies time to ratify a deal to sell his majority stake to Sports Shield Group and Inner Circle.

“Bolton Wanderers Football Club is delighted to announce that a deal between Sports Shield, Inner Circle and Eddie Davies to transfer ownership of the club has officially been completed,” a club statement on Thursday confirmed.

“The Sports Shield consortium, fronted by ex-Bolton striker Dean Holdsworth, and Inner Circle, owned by Ken Anderson, have taken control of Eddie Davies’ 94.5 per cent controlling share of Burnden Leisure.

“The remaining 5.5 percent of the Burnden Leisure shares will remain with individual shareholders.

“All documentation has been signed, submitted and ratified by the Football League.”

Holdsworth will now join the club’s board of directors, with Davies named honorary president in recognition of his work.

“We would like to thank the staff, fans and club sponsors for their continued support during what has been an incredibly difficult period for all involved,” Holdsworth said. “This is a great day for Bolton Wanderers Football Club and Sports Shield.

“We very much hope that we can build on the continued support of a club steeped in history for many years to come.

“We will not give up the fight of maintaining our Championship status. We believe we have a group of excellent players to work with and we hope that today’s news will give everyone a lift, both on and off the pitch.”

Bolton, who announced debts of £172.9million last year and are also under a transfer embargo for breaking the Football League’s Financial Fair Play rules, are bottom of the Championship and 10 points from safety ahead of Saturday’s clash with Preston North End.