Hemmings to step down as Preston chairman
Craig Hemmings succeeded his late father, Trevor, as Preston chairman in 2019
- Published
Preston North End owner Craig Hemmings is to step down from his role as club chairman after more than six years in the position.
In his place, Ian Penrose will become the new non-executive chairman, taking over on Monday, 13 October.
Lifelong North End fan Penrose comes with a business background in gaming, technology, sport and media.
"Having been chairman of this historic club for over six years, and with growing responsibility across the other family businesses, I have felt it was time for me to find a successor, the right successor, for some time," Hemmings, who remains owner of the club, told Preston's website, external.
The change in chairmanship is part of a wider strategy to find new investment - and a potential new owner or ownership group - for the club to allow them to continue to compete in the Championship.
Hemmings succeeded his late father, Trevor, when becoming Preston's chairman in June 2019.
Since then, they have continually remained in the Championship. They finished between ninth and 13th for five straight campaigns, but only survived relegation on the final day of last season with a 20th-placed finish.
However, after an extensive summer of rebuilding under manager Paul Heckingbottom, they have the most expensively-assembled squad in the club's history and currently sit fourth after just one defeat in their first nine games.
Despite that, though, they still have one of the lowest wage bills in the division.
So Hemmings says that with each season, it is becoming increasingly difficult for a club like Preston to compete against teams whose income is "artificially and unsustainably inflated, external" to four or five times that of clubs who receive no Premier League parachute payments.
After a strategic review at Deepdale, Hemmings admits it has been concluded the Lancashire club must find fresh investment.
But as a result of "long-term financial stability", they are giving themselves a two-year window to try to find new owners or investors, who are the "right fit" to become "custodians" of the club.
Hemmings says the emphasis will be on finding people with "the global sports insights, experience and investment firepower" to give them the financial strength to compete against some of the more heavily-backed Championship clubs and dream of a return to the top flight for the first time since 1961.