Coventry City: New owner Doug King buys out Sisu to take 100% control of club
- Published
Doug King first agreed to take over Coventry City in November, initially with an 85% share
Doug King has become sole owner of Championship club Coventry City, after buying out previous owners Sisu.
Following his purchase of 85% of the club earlier in January, Sisu Capital Limited retained a 15% share, held by City director Joy Seppala.
But that 15% has now been purchased by Stratford-upon-Avon businessman King to give him 100% ownership.
The company name has also been changed back to 'Coventry City Football Club Limited'.
In the Sisu years, the club's company name was Otium Entertainment Group Limited, Sisu's parent company.
"To ensure that a new era for Coventry City Football Club begins with full transparency and clarity, I am happy to announce today my full 100% takeover of the club with my purchase of the 15% SISU shareholding," said King.
"As outlined in my recent press conference, the club at this moment has no debt owed to me or any other party.
"All future funding of the club via any loans will also not be interest bearing whilst I am the owner. This then concludes the change of ownership story.
"I am now totally focused on the balance of the season and the future thereafter, and following through on our plans to take this great club forward."
King's purchase of Coventry was approved by the English Football League earlier this month.
The Coventry Building Society Arena was owned by Wasps before they went into administration
But the club's rented Coventry Building Society Arena home is still currently owned by Mike Ashley's Frasers Group, with whom King has said he is happy to work alongside for now.
King made a late £25m bid for the ground in November, but a judge ruled the offer came too late, allowing Fraser to take over when previous stadium owners Wasps and their operating companies went into administration.
The club were served with an eviction notice last month, but agreed a new rental deal to enable them to continue playing home games at the stadium until the end of the season.
Coventry are 15th in the Championship, seven points off a play-off place, having not won in six games since Christmas.
The Sisu years in Coventry
The relationship between Otium Entertainment Group - and more specifically Sisu - first began in 2007, when the London-based hedge fund rescued the Sky Blues from being wound up.
After taking over the club with 20 minutes to spare, the next 15 years have not always been the smoothest ride.
That is largely because of the fact that City have not been owners of their own stadium since leaving Highfield Road, when it was sold for housing redevelopment in 2005.
A long-running row over ground rent twice forced the Sky Blues to seek temporary groundshare homes outside the city.
They moved first to Northampton in 2013 for more than a season, prior to Wasps being allowed to move in, later followed by two seasons with Birmingham City, before returning to Coventry again in 2021.
Even this season they were forced to play a Carabao Cup home tie at Burton Albion when the CBS Arena surface was ruled unfit to play on following overuse in the summer because of Commonwealth Games rugby and concerts.
However, the Sisu section in City's 124-year history is now over.
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