Charlton Athletic: Thomas Sandgaard claims victory in fight to own club

Thomas Sandgaard has been confirmed as the new owner of Charlton Athletic, writing an open letter to fans to say: "We triumphed."

Sandgaard's takeover has been complex because Manchester-based businessman Paul Elliott has been attempting to take control of the League One side, after he agreed to buy East Street Investments (ESI), who own the south London club, earlier this year.

Elliot agreed to buy 65 per cent of ESI from majority shareholder Tahnoon Nimer in a deal which would also see him acquire the other 35 per cent from Nimer's former business partner, Matt Southall.

But, Elliott failed the English Football League's owners' and directors' test in August, preventing him from being involved in the running of the club - a decision he has been seeking to challenge on appeal.

Nimer then began looking for alternative buyers and Sandgaard agreed a deal, but was initially unable to complete when Elliott secured a court injunction earlier this month preventing the sale of shares in ESI to a third party.

On Friday, Sandgaard confirmed he was able to bypass that injunction by buying the club itself, rather than the shares in ESI.

In a statement, Sandgaard said: "While there was an injunction in place to prevent the acquisition of ESI, it did not prevent the acquisition of the club itself and so I am thrilled to announce that I have acquired the club from ESI.

"With the club about to run out of funds this month, it was important that I moved quickly to complete the acquisition and put funds in to the club to ensure its survival."

"The club will also be working quickly post-completion to recover any losses suffered as a result of the actions of the previous owners to the extent possible.

"I am truly humbled by all the support from Charlton fans, honoured to officially become part of the Charlton family and be part of a team that will lead the club into a successful future."

In his open letter to fans, Sandgaard added: "Today is the day! We did the impossible. We triumphed and we made it to this point because of you.

"Thank you for your passion, your perseverance and your patience. There is no club without you. We are Charlton Athletic Football Club.

"From early on, I felt that we were in this together. I am humbled by your support and honoured to officially become part of the Charlton family. The Charlton community is one of a kind. You welcomed and embraced this change of hands with more openness than many others would have given your history.

"Thank you for standing up for what you believe in. I will not let you down. Cheers to each of you. Cheers to Charlton! I assure you we are just getting started. We are London's club. This week and every week, we will #CheerForCharlton.

"Sincerely, Thomas Sandgaard, Proud Owner of CAFC".

Sandgaard also confirmed he has passed the EFL's owners' and directors' test, and confirmed Charlton will be able to sign players before Transfer Deadline Day after the EFL lifted the club's registration embargo.

Bowyer: Sandgaard has saved Charlton

In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports News, Sandgaard revealed his delight at the completion of the takeover and outlined his long-term plans for the club.

"It's one of the best days of my life, it's up there with when my two kids were born. It is the perfect club for me," Sandgaard said.

"My vision is to get promoted from League One as quickly as realistically possible. One of the more attractive things about Charlton was to have Lee Bowyer on board. We're totally on the same page when it comes to how to play football and how to look for players."

Charlton manager Bowyer was also relieved to see the club finally in good hands, and said he cannot hide from the fact that Sandgaard effectively "saved" the club.

"The most positive news that I've heard for a long, long time is that now Thomas has taken over and I've spoken to Thomas on a few occasions now, he's most definitely the right person to take this club forward," Bowyer said.

"I'm so happy it's happened for him today, because he understands what the club is about, and he wants to be part of that.

"He has saved us, you can't get away from that, we were in the brink of going to a bad place, just days away from it, and for this to happen now I'm so grateful to Thomas for persevering.

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