Selling Sunderland Short?

It would seem Ellis Short is keen to sever ties with Sunderland. The American owner has now enlisted New York-based investment bank Inner Circle Sports to help conclude a sale, according to reports.

It is also rumoured that Short is holding out for £170million for the club, having already turned down £150million from a Chinese consortium led by Wang Hui, owner of Dutch side Ado Den Haag.

To help generate interest in the Black Cats Inner Circle Sports have drafted a short prospectus, setting out the most marketable attributes of the club to any prospectus purchaser.

Admittedly - on the face of it – it must be a hard sell when you consider the position in which Sunderland find themselves. Any side propping up the table with yet another relegation battle firmly underway and no guarantees of survival can only attract the keenest of suitors.

Of course, the financial incentives that the Premier League can offer any cash rich investors are now unprecedented. Each side lucky enough to be amongst the 20 teams competing in the English top flight receives in the region of £120million. On that basis it becomes easier to see why buyers are considering even perennial strugglers like Sunderland.

Any sale would not just include the team but also assets associated with the club too such as the Academy of Light - which is Sunderland’s training facility - and its surrounding land. Over the last few years the club have also attracted a host of music stars to the Stadium of Light during the quieter summer months. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Beyonce, Oasis and Foo Fighters etc have all played to a packed house, which in turn has generated significant income for the club and helped the city’s economy.

Therefore, commercially there are a number of opportunities interested parties would be eager to explore further and a decision will no doubt be taken on the wider merits of any potential ownership not just on the Premier League table alone.

Fans may have mixed feelings about the reports. Whilst Short has been heavily criticised in some quarters for a perceived lack of investment he has not yet become as unpopular with supporters as say Liverpool’s Tom Hicks and George Gillet or the Venky family at Blackburn Rovers. Despite any frustrations with Short’s reign there does feel like there is a genuine fondness for the club and the area from the billionaire owner.

Where does this all leave the all important team? Well, until any deal is concluded it will be very much business as usual.

However, whilst David Moyes has spent a large part of his Sunderland managerial career fearing the sack, he may soon come under further scrutiny from any new owners wanting their own man at the helm.

Stability has always seemed to be an issue on Wearside and so it may be again very soon.