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Town Rubbish Claim Club Up For Sale - Ipswich Town News

Town have dismissed claims that owner Marcus Evans has put the club up for sale for £35 million.

Quizzed on the report, which appeared in The Sun this afternoon, a Blues spokesman told TWTD: "It’s rubbish.”

The story claims Evans has put the club up for sale at £35 million but is not prepared to write off the debt which stood at £95.5 million at the end of June 2018, according to the Financial Highlights document issued to shareholders yesterday.

That would be a surprise even if there were any truth in the story with the club having previously said on a number of occasions that Evans’s loans weren’t made with the expectation they would be paid back.

As has been the case with other clubs in similar positions, such as Bolton Wanderers in 2015, the loans which make up most of the debt would almost certainly be written off in order to facilitate a sale.

Speaking about his continued ownership of the club, which he took control of 11 years ago, when speaking to iFollow Ipswich in April, Evans outlined his position.

"If I didn’t feel we had a chance [of winning promotion], then, yes, it would be time for me to move on,” he admitted.

"But I’ve got no desire to sell, I think the plan that I’ve got in place has a chance of success and I want to be here to carry out that plan.

"But money is always going to make a difference and more money in this league would give us a better chance, particularly if it’s spent wisely and particularly if someone came along who could do a better job, had the personal and financial credentials to do a better job, I’d always do what’s right for the club.

"I suppose I’m in the fortunate personal position where I don’t have to recoup the investment I’ve made in the club.

"So, I suppose, yes, if the right person came along, offered the right prospect for the club, it would be wrong for me to stand in their way and I’d have to look at that very seriously.

"But I have to be honest with you, I’m not too sure why, but I haven’t seen too many Chinese or Russian oligarchs racing up the A12 in the last few years.”

Meanwhile, football finance expert Kieran Maguire has assessed the Financial Highlights document released yesterday in a series of tweets, which can be found here.

Maguire says what should be of greatest concern is the potential drop in media income if Town are relegated to League One.

Last season this totalled £7 million, almost half the club's income, but would drop to around £700,000 in the third tier.

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