Professional gambler Matthew Benham has completed a deal to take control of Brentford FC and secure the club’s financial future for the next five years.
The Smartodds Ltd owner, who now has an initial 35 per cent stake in the Bees, will pump £1m-a-year in to the Griffin Park coffers until 2014 - when he will have the option to increase his shareholding in the club to 75 per cent.
Bees United (BU), the supporters’ trust which owns more than 60 per cent of the club, unanimously backed the deal in a vote last summer before the paperwork was finally rubberstamped last week.
Richard Smith, from Brentford Independent Association of Supporters (BIAS), welcomed the move adding: “The need for Brentford to become more sustainable and grounded, is highlighted by recent troubles suffered by clubs such as Portsmouth, Chester City and Crystal Palace.”
For more on the takeover see the news section of this week’s Richmond & Twickenham Times.
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