The Preston North End stance amid takeover interest from United States

Preston North End are the subject of takeover speculation, with two separate parties from the United States said to be interested.

The Lancashire Post reported, on Monday, that a New York-based consortium have shown interest in the Deepdale outfit. The group, believed to be a Private Equity Firm, are looking at a couple of other English clubs too. The first party mentioned in the media, though, were a ‘mystery Miami group’ - as per reports last weekend.

In that report, a £50million asking price was mooted - though the ‘mystery group’ were said to eyeing a lower figure than that. It is thought that the football club is valued closer to £45m. PNE have been owned by the Hemmings family since 2010 and after Trevor Hemmings’ death in 2021, Craig Hemmings, his son and club chairman, has signed off on all finances.

North End manager Ryan Lowe has continuously been backed, with the club’s transfer record broken to sign Milutin Osmajic (£2.15m) last summer. In 2022/23, around £11m was injected by the Hemmings family and that support has continued this campaign. PNE have remained in safe hands, but the ownership has been consistent in its stance that it will not stand in the way of the right buyer - should one come along. Not actively looking to sell, therefore, but happy to in the correct circumstances.

In September 2022, Craig Hemmings said in a statement: “Whilst I was born and brought up in Preston and I am proud of the state of the club under my family’s custodianship, we will never stand in the way if anyone approaches us and can demonstrate the financial resources to take us to the next step. Ownership change can be a force for good and sometimes not so but only time will tell. When and if the next interested party come along, we will work with them and if it can be demonstrated that they indeed are able to move the club forward we will be the first to stand aside and wish them the best for the future.”