Wigan Athletic - new ownership development

Wigan Athletic will have a change of owner

A document published on the Hong Kong stock exchange has listed the sale by International Entertainment Corporation to a fund 51 per cent owned by chairman Stanley Choi.

Today's development is not a surprise - IEC announced their intentions last November, and this is the next stage in the process.

One interesting line in the document is the Championship club, which owns the DW Stadium, is valued at £17.5million.

And listed as one of the reasons for the sale is the "income and the profitability of the club were not significantly improved as expected".

During the acquisition, the company hoped to increase profitability of the club's operations through "developing football fans' sensation" - which included a new big screen and a makeover of certain areas of the stadium. But the report says the club is under-performing despite IEC spending a "significant amount of working capital".

The report states: "The club only ranks 22nd in the Championship, out of 24 teams, and is unlikely to be promoted to the Premier League in the next season which is out of the Board's expectation."

In addition, the board admits Brexit could have "material long-term impact on the UK's economy" which may damage investors' confidence in the country and reduce local consumer spending.

The move is not expected to result in significant changes to the day-to-day running of the club.

But taking it away from IEC - which bought the club from the Whelan family - eliminates the need for major announcements through the Hong Kong stock exchange.