Insurance veteran Stewart Donald, who sold Oxfordshire broker Bridle Insurance to Finch Group last year, will now be letting go of another asset.
Donald, the ultimate controlling party of Sunderland Association Football Club’s parent firm Sunderland Limited, is saying goodbye to the team due to public demand. The call for change has come just one and a half years after he took over.
“Coordinated, ‘no turning back’ campaigns of this kind against owners are highly unusual at any club – particularly after 18 months,” noted the club in a statement released on Tuesday. “Given these circumstances, and Stewart Donald’s sincere commitment on his arrival at Sunderland AFC that ‘I won’t outstay my welcome’, the board feels that it has no option but to sell the club.
“That process has now commenced. Owing to confidentiality agreements, there will be no further updates until a preferred bidder is identified.”
Sunderland AFC added: “Given the scale of the task on arriving at the club and the amount of hard work put in over the last 18 months, the current owners would have preferred more time to complete the job and fully implement the vision originally laid out.
“However, recent events indicate that is not what some fans wish for – and, as football supporters themselves, the board understands that long-term success cannot be achieved by a disunited club.”
The ex-Bridle Insurance boss, whose reported net worth stood at £8.4 million in 2018, is the previous owner of Eastleigh FC and has decades of insurance industry experience to his name.
Commenting on the development, Donald said: “We would like to place on record our thanks for the wonderful support we have received from SAFC’s phenomenal supporters.
“We would also like to reassure those loyal fans that we are placing sufficient funds in the club to support the manager as he seeks to improve the first team in the next few weeks. Finally, I just ask that fans now unite to support the players and the coaching staff.”
