Ex-Everton chief Keith Wyness 'not invited to join Real Mallorca'
THE Cheshire entrepreneur who has agreed to buy shares in Real Mallorca has dismissed rumours that he has asked the former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness to join the club.
Paul Davidson, 53, said although he was friendly with Wyness he had only asked him for "advice and assistance" about football clubs before agreeing to buy the 93.7% share in the Spanish La Liga team earlier this month.
Mr Davidson said: "Keith's a great friend of mine but when buying tiles you talk to the people who know about tiles.
"I do wish him well. It is a great loss to the club. It is a great loss to Everton."
He said he had spoken to Wyness about football clubs because he had been a "success" and he believed it would not be long before he had another job.
"Keith Wyness has been advising me about this (Real Mallorca) all the way. The deal would not have happened at Real Mallorca without him. He has given advice and assistance.
"He has not been asked to join the club."
Wyness had been the driving force behind Everton's plans to relocate to a new 50,000-capacity stadium in Kirkby, but quit the club this week.
Davidson also revealed: "I don't know much about football but I will use the club to promote my other business interests.
"I do not intend to sit on the board, and I intend to leave all decisions about football to the current management.
Last night Wyness also moved to quash rumours surrounding his decision to quit the club yesterday.
He also said he wanted to get the situation "cleared up" as soon as possible.
He told the Daily Post speculation about a move to Real Mallorca was "far fetched".
Yesterday we revealed how a a senior Everton shareholder had spotted Mr Wyness and his family in Mallorca just a few weeks ago.
Wyness said: "My wife and I had a giggle about that. I was on holiday - going out for meals at restaurants.
"I was in a villa with eight friends."
Asked about possible friction between himself and retail billionaire Philip Green - a friend of chairman Bill Kenwright and rumoured to be an increasingly influential figure at Goodison - he added: "That's something that's been speculated on by many journalists in the past but I've absolutely no comment to make.
"I'll put a statement out when it's ready. I want to get it cleared up as soon as possible.
Asked if destination Kirkby will continue without him he said: "I've got no comment to make on anything. I can't comment on anything."
Wyness confirmed again that he is waiting for advice from his legal team.
Club spokesperson Ian Ross said the club had not made any plans to find a replacement.
He said: "Until the board has met there will be no decision, and that won't be for a couple of weeks."
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Surely the majority should rule on this decision, they are the fans after all!
KW has just been appointed a director of Fluid Leader which is Paul Davidson,s business! Coincidence!
DAVIDSON QUITS PLC BOARD TO CONCENTRATE ON REAL MALLORCA
By Humphrey Carter
PALMA
MILLIONAIRE British businessman Paul Davidson yesterday took the first of the final few steps towards taking over Real Mallorca Football Club and confirmed the Bulletin’s report last month that the former Chief Executive of Everton Football Club, Keith Wyness, would be joining him in the new venture.
Davidson officially announced to the City of London yesterday that he has stepped down as Chief Executive from the board of his engineering and pipe company Fluid Leader Group PLC “in the light of his other business commitments.� Davidson explained in confidence to the Bulletin on Monday night that those other business interests are his new project in Majorca and has stepped down so that he can “dedicate all his energy and attention 100 percent to Real Mallorca.� He will however remain as a non-executive director and technical consultant to the company which will be marketing and producing what will become Real Mallorca branded pipe fittings as part of Davidson’s commercial plan to generate funds for the club.
The other significant announcement was the appointment of Keith Wyness, who resigned from Everton last month, as a non-executive director of the company
Wyness, an Industrial Economic graduate from Nottingham University and marketing and press director for the Sydney Olympic Games, British Airways and Concorde as well as CEO of Everton Football Club, will, for the time being, apparently take care of marketing Fluid Leader Group’s products until Davidson takes control of Real Mallorca when he buys chairman Vicente Grande’s 93 percent share in the club for an estimated 38 million euros.
Once the take over is completed, Wyness’s responsibilities are expected to widen and include marketing of the global Real Mallorca brand Davidson intends to create to finance the club’s football which will continue to be directed by the current chairman and his team.
As we reported yesterday, Davidson started studying the completed due diligence report on Monday night and he said everything, as he and his team had expected from Vicente Grande, “appears in order. Very good.� Davidson added that they now have to study the report more closely “there may be a few questions we will need answered, but we’re really now waiting for the seal of approval from the accreditors and the judge. “ He said that he has the money on the table and, once any possible last minute queries are sorted out and the accreditors and judge handling Grande’s insolvency give their seals of approval “I’ll part with the money and be able to concentrate 100 percent on my new Majorcan adventure.� Davidson also said that he had been monitoring the club’s activities over the past few weeks regards new signings and sponsorship deals and said approvingly that Grande’s recent achievements further demonstrate why he wants to keep Grande on as chairman for at least five years. “As I’ve said from the start, I know how to manage companies and market products, I don’t know anything about running a football, club. I’ll stick to marketing and raising funds and let Grande and his team continue the good work managing the team and managing the funds I provide them with.� Frustratingly for Davidson, Plc business commitments will prevent him from being able to attend tonight’s City of Palma Cup.
This article seems to contradict the original comments although given our performances on the pitch do i really care!!
'The Plumber' battles to pay for soccer clubNick Mathiason
guardian.co.uk, Sunday November 23 2008 00.01 GMT
The Observer, Sunday November 23 2008
Article history
Paul Davidson, the colourful City entrepreneur known as the Plumber, is running out of time to clinch a €38m (£30m) bid to become the first foreign owner of a Spanish football team.
Davidson, who this summer agreed to buy Real Mallorca, now has less than 10 days to seal the deal after requesting an extension to raise finance.
Davidson is still confident of completing the sale, but sources in Mallorca believe the opportunity for him to take over the club is fast receding. If Davidson fails, former Newcastle chairman Freddie Shepherd and an unnamed Russian oligarch could step in.
Real Mallorca is a mid-ranking La Liga team. The opportunity to develop land around the stadium, as well as to redevelop it and increase revenues by encouraging more tourists to watch matches, has made it an attractive proposition.
Davidson had agreed 'heads of terms' with the Grande family, who own the club. But the sale should have completed two months ago. The delay is leading Real Mallorca fans to lose patience with him.
The entrepreneur also sees Mallorca as an opportunity to market the plumbing products that have given him his nickname. He wants to install former Everon chief executive Keith Wyness to run the club on a day-to-day basis.
Davidson, best known for beating the Financial Services Authority on a damaging market abuse charge, is in Kiev this weekend in a bid to secure a major pipeline contract for Fluid Leader Group - the company he launched onto the London Plus market earlier this year.
Last week the 53-year-old Lancastrian stepped down as a non-executive director. When the company floated on Plus earlier this year with technology pioneered by Davidson to connect sections of oil and other large pipes, he proclaimed: 'I am planning to build Fluid Leader into the biggest conglomerate in Britain.'
Davidson had raised £5m for a 12 per cent stake in the company from Sheikh Faisal al-Qassimi, a member of the ruling family in the United Arab Emirates.
Davidson will now be an inventor and consultant for Fluid. The company has appointed director Philippe Chappelle, former president of German hydraulics and valves group Bosch Rexroth, as its new chief executive officer.
Davidson's tussle with the FSA became a major City story after he proved that a senior FSA official met a member of the appeal tribunal during the trial, thus giving the impression of collusion. He overturned the initial verdict. Though he won £750,000 in costs from the FSA, the lengthy process nearly ruined him.