In a significant development for Perth Glory FC, the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) has taken charge of the club’s management by appointing receivers to oversee the sale of its licence.
This move comes after the license was returned by the previous owner, Tony Sage. The advisory firm KordaMentha is now responsible for ensuring the smooth continuation of the club’s men’s, women’s, and academy operations as they prepare for the upcoming 2023–24 season.
During his 15-year ownership tenure, Tony Sage claims to have invested approximately $50 million into the club. However, the past season posed challenges, including the need for upgrades at HBF Park for the FIFA Women’s World Cup and limited compensation for temporary relocations, which added financial pressures.
Consequently, Sage, who had been trying to sell the club for some time, had to take a loan from the APL to cover player and staff payments.
With the APL now actively searching for a new owner, optimism surrounds the prospect of finding one within the next ten weeks.
The APL’s Chief Executive, Danny Townsend, had this to say when speaking to ABC Perth:
“We’ve already got the City Football Group, Manchester City owning the Melbourne City Club, [the] 777 Partners who own a bunch of clubs around the world investing in Melbourne Victory,” he said.
“So, we see the international investor market as being pretty buoyant right now. The enterprise value growth of A-League franchises is all ahead of us – so it will probably be a mixture of local investment and international investment.”
On the government’s involvement, WA Sports Minister David Templeman totally rejected the notion that the government was to blame, also telling ABC Perth Mornings:
“We commissioned an independent report, from Deloitte, to look at what financial support was required by the government to compensate for those challenges,” he stated.
“That report highlighted that the government’s payments of just over a million dollars were appropriate.
“The government’s made the decision that further compensation of Glory was not warranted and in the best interest of the taxpayer, we aren’t in the business of bailing out what is essentially a business.”
Perth Glory fans can find reassurance from the APL that the club is not facing bankruptcy or administration. The focus now firmly rests on securing a new owner, as the club eagerly awaits to begin a new chapter in its history.