Russian talks have support of Turf board backingfootball club

Turf Moor talks with Russian investors continue
John SullivanJohn Sullivan
John Sullivan

The Turf Moor board has revealed that talks are continuing with Moscow-based businessmen, as exclusively reported by the Express in December.

But there are no plans for a complete takeover of the club – to offset any fears that it could result in a situation similar to the problems being experienced by arch rivals Blackburn Rovers.

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Life-long Clarets supporter John Sullivan, a former director who is now an international ambassador for the club, says the talks stalled due to changes on the board but are now back on track and he is currently in Russia meeting with business associates there with a view to them investing millions of pounds in Turf Moor.

Before heading to Moscow on Sunday he told the Express that he wanted to assure fans that the talks are still on, but the sudden departure of former operations director Brendan Flood, who had been closely involved in the negotiations, had been a setback.

Now the board are expecting to see some development in the close season once the re-purchasing of the ground has been completed. The joint chairmen, John Banaszkiewicz and Mike Garlick, will now be involved in the talks which have the support of the four-man board.

Mr Sullivan, who has had business connections in Russia for many years, said: “The Russians are still interested in talking but we had the setback of director Brendan leaving the club and we are now waiting for the ground buy-back to be completed in the close season and then hopefully things will move forward.

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“Both chairman will be involved in the negotiations and if and when something happens it will be in the close season. They are also keen for fans to know that any capital injection into the club will only be as a commercial venture and there are no plans for a complete takeover.”

The Burnley FC board announced in January that the club was to buy back Turf Moor and its training ground at Gawthorpe which have been owned by Longside Properties Ltd since 2006. It decided to repurchase the assets via a new company, Turf Moor Properties Ltd, which is owned by Burnley FC Holdings.