Farhad Moshiri wants to make good on his pledge to deliver Everton’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock – whether he remains owner of the club or not.
It has now been widely reported that Mr Moshiri is in talks over a potential takeover of the Blues with a consortium spearheaded by Peter Kenyon. But while the escalation of the process has surprised even senior officials among Goodison Park’s corridors of power, any change of ownership would still be expected to be a lengthy process.
Moshiri, who paid for the enabling works as part of a phased funding model for the new stadium, has previously indicated that the club would be looking to secure money from the private sector to complete the estimated £500million project, and talks with would-be investors are understood to have developed into discussions over the possibility of a full-scale takeover.
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With Everton having been on site at Bramley-Moore Dock since July last year and construction of the new 52,888-capacity stadium now well on the way, the ECHO has already stated that it is understood that regardless of ownership, its completion should not be compromised and Mr Kenyon’s consortium or any other interested parties wishing to buy the Blues would have to factor in the building cost.
Everton continue to look for stadium funding alongside JP Morgan, an American multinational investment bank, and MUFG, Japan’s largest bank, but with the private market not particularly favourable at this present time, the ECHO also understands Mr Moshiri has offered to front the money until such a time that conditions in the sector improve.
After the infill of the dock using fluidised sand and then the completion of the filling and piling for the foundations, the four concrete cores which represent the corners of the structure have already been built, and Everton remain on schedule to leave Goodison Park and move in at their new stadium in the 2024/25 season.
