Maidstone United Confirm Outline Terms Agreed for Club Sale

Maidstone United's co-owners Terry Casey and Oliver Ash have told supporters that outline terms have been agreed for the sale of a controlling interest in the club, with the prospective buyers - described only as "an experienced football club ownership group" - now carrying out financial, legal and operational due diligence.

In a statement published on the club's website, Casey and Ash said the sale process had "taken longer than we initially hoped" but was "now moving in a positive direction". They said they had spoken with a number of interested parties over recent months, but that not every approach had proved suitable - the pair said they had prioritised finding the right long-term partner over simply accepting the quickest offer. A fresh wave of investor interest in recent weeks led them to focus discussions on the one group now in due diligence.

Due diligence of this kind is routine in a club sale but can be lengthy, and Casey and Ash were careful not to put a firm date on completion. "While discussions remain confidential, we are hopeful that, if progress continues as expected, we will be in a position to share further news before the end of the year," they wrote. Neither the identity of the prospective buyers nor the scale of the investment involved has been disclosed.

Casey and Ash have owned Maidstone United since 2010, a period that included rebuilding and refinancing the club and developing the Gallagher Stadium from the ground up after the Stones returned to a home of their own in Maidstone in 2012, having spent two decades playing away from the town following a 1992 liquidation. Any new owners would inherit a club in a stronger on-field position than it has been for some time: the men's first team sit third in National League South, in the play-off places, with home attendances continuing to rise on last season. The women's first team, meanwhile, is settling into the sixth tier after promotion last season, with the club's stated ambition to reach the fifth tier within a few years.

Source: Maidstone United