Written evidence submitted by Richard
Scudamore, Chief Executive, The Premier League
Sir Dave Richards has asked me to respond to your
query about Premier League inquiries into potential owners.
At your Committee hearing of 15 April Niall Quinn
used the language of covert operations to describe our process
and clearly this has aroused some concern amongst some committee
members, particularly Mr Sheridan.
What actually happens when a change of ownership
appears likely is that the Premier League makes detailed inquiries
as to the identity and circumstances of potential buyers. Unless
these persons or entities are already well known to us then we
engage specialists in corporate investigations and intelligence.
These are well established companies of good reputation and there
is nothing melodramatic about their methods. A better term than
covert would be the simpler "confidential", because
we do not announce that checks are underway and the identity of
potential purchasers is generally not disclosed until it is apparent
that they are serious and credible bidders and the selling owners
are actually considering a genuine offer. Many ownership inquiries
are made of the Premier League and of individual Clubs which do
not proceed and it is unnecessary and inappropriate for every
single inquiry—spurious or serious—to be dealt with
in public. We fully understand that fans have an interest in ownership
issues but we believe that, as with many commercial transactions,
transparency is required at the point of contractual engagement
rather than earlier when there is often considerable uncertainty
as well as issues of commercial confidentiality to consider.
We remain committed to our Rules which require ultimate
ownership interest above 10% to be declared and published. The
text of this Rule and of the Owners and Directors Test are attached.
I hope you find this clarification helpful. I look
forward to discussing this and other football issues with you
next week.
PREMIER LEAGUE HANDBOOK, SEASON 2010-11
SECTION D
Owners' and Directors' Test
2. A Person shall be disqualified from acting
as a Director and no Club shall be permitted to have any Person
acting as a Director of that Club if:
2.1 either directly or indirectly he is involved
in or has any power to determine or influence the management or
administration of another Club or Football League club; or
2.2 either directly or indirectly he holds or
acquires any Significant Interest in a Club while he either directly
or indirectly holds any interest in any class of Shares of another
Club; or
2.3 he becomes prohibited by law from being a
Director (including without limitation as a result of being subject
to a disqualification order as a director under the Company Directors
Disqualification Act 1986, or being subject to the terms of an
undertaking given to the Secretary of State under that Act, unless
a court of competent jurisdiction makes an order under that Act
permitting an appointment as a Director); or
2.4 he has a conviction (which is not a Spent
Conviction) imposed by a court of the United Kingdom or a competent
court of foreign jurisdiction:
2.4.1 in respect of which an unsuspended sentence
of at least 12 months' imprisonment was imposed; or
2.4.2 in respect of any offence involving any
act which would reasonably be considered to be dishonest (and,
for the avoidance of doubt, irrespective of the actual sentence
imposed); or
2.4.3 in respect of an offence set out in the
Appendix 12 Schedule of Offences or a directly analogous offence
in a foreign jurisdiction (and, for the avoidance of doubt, irrespective
of the actual sentence imposed); or
2.5 he makes an Individual Voluntary Arrangement
or becomes the subject of an Interim Bankruptcy Restriction Order,
a Bankruptcy Restriction Order or a Bankruptcy Order; or
2.6 he is or has been a Director of a Club which,
while he has been a Director of it, has suffered two or more unconnected
Events of Insolvency (and for the purposes of this Rule D.2.6
and Rule D.2.7 a person shall be deemed to have been a Director
of a Club which has suffered an Event of Insolvency if such Event
of Insolvency occurred in the 30 days immediately following his
having resigned as a Director of that Club); or
2.7 he has been a Director of two or more Clubs
or clubs each of which, while he has been a Director of them,
has suffered an Event of Insolvency: or
2.8 he is subject to a suspension or ban from
involvement in the administration of a sport by any ruling body
of a sport that is registered with UK Sport or Sport England,
or any corresponding national or international association, whether
such suspension or ban is direct or indirect (for example a direction
to Persons subject to the jurisdiction of the ruling body that
they should not employ, contract with or otherwise engage or retain
the services of an individual); or
2.9 he is subject to any form of suspension,
disqualification or striking-off by a professional body including,
without limitation, the Law Society, the Solicitors' Regulation
Authority, the Bar Council or the Institute of Chartered Accountants
of England and Wales or any equivalent body in any jurisdiction
outside England and Wales, whether such suspension, disqualification
or striking-off is direct or indirect (for example a direction
to Persons subject to the jurisdiction of the professional body
that they should not employ, contract with or otherwise engage
or retain the services of an individual); or
2.10 he is required to notify personal information
pursuant to Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003;
2.11 he is found to have breached (irrespective
of any sanction actually imposed), or has admitted breaching (irrespective
of whether disciplinary proceedings were brought or not):
2.11.1 Rule V.34; or
2.11.2 Rule E.8 of the Rules of the Football
Association (as amended, or replaced from time to time); or
2.11.3 any other rules in force from time to
time in relation to the prohibition on betting on football matches
played in England and Wales.
Persons Prohibited by Law from entering the United
Kingdom etc
25. No Person may acquire any Holding in a Club
if, pursuant to the law of the United Kingdom or the European
Union:
25.1 he is prohibited from entering the United
Kingdom; or
25.2 no funds or economic resources may be made
available, directly or indirectly, to or for his benefit.
SECTION V
Dual Interests
11. A Club shall forthwith give notice in Form
51 to the Secretary if any Person either directly or indirectly;
11.1 holds; or
11.2 acquires; or
11.3 having held or acquired, ceases to hold
any Significant Interest in the Club.
12. A notice given pursuant to the provisions
of Rule V.11 shall:
12.1 identify the Person holding, acquiring or
ceasing to hold the Significant Interest in question; and
12.2 set out all relevant details of the Significant
Interest including without limitation the number of Shares, their
description and the nature of the interest; and
12.3 set out where appropriate the proportion
(expressed in percentage terms) which the relevant Shares in respect
of which the Significant Interest exists bear to the total number
of Shares of that class in issue and of the total issued Shares
of the Club.
13. Each Club shall publish the identities of
the ultimate owner of each Significant Interest in the Club.
"Significant Interest"
means the holding and/or possession of the legal or beneficial
interest in, and/or the ability to exercise the voting rights
applicable to, shares or other securities in the Club which confer
in aggregate on the holder(s) thereof ten (10) per cent or more
of the total voting rights exercisable in respect of the Shares
of any class of Shares of the Club. All or part of any such interest
may be held directly or indirectly or by contract including, but
not limited to, by way of membership of any Concert Party, and
any rights or powers held by an Associate, Nominee or Connected
Person shall be included for the purposes of determining whether
an interest or interests amounts to a "Significant Interest";
March 2011
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