Hong Kong-based businessman thought to be frontrunner to take over Blackpool FC sets up two new sports companies

Could Simon Sadler be the new owner of Blackpool FC?

Blackpool supporters are having their opinions heard and acted upon

Rose 123 Investments and Lily 123 Investments were both incorporated on May 29, 2019, according to Companies House.

Both are registered to an address in Altrincham, Cheshire, while a man named Brett Gerrity - a Poulton-based lawyer who works for the Crown Prosecution Service - is listed as an interested person in both companies.

Under the nature of business, Rose 123 Investments is described as “activities of sports clubs” while Lily 123 Investments is described as “operations of sports facilities and hotels”.

Sadler, who was born in Bispham and attended Warbreck High, founded Hong Kong-based hedge fund Segantii Capital. It is claimed the hedge fund’s assets are in excess of $1billion.

Sadler, who attended the home game against Peterborough United in April, is thought to be keen to keep current board members Ben Hatton and Michael Bolingbroke at the club.

Receiver Paul Cooper, of Rubin and Partners, told The Gazette on first arriving at Bloomfield Road in February that the entire sale process would likely take three to four months.

It’s understood mid-June is the target the club are working towards, meaning news could be forthcoming in the next week or two.

Sadler was featured in an old article in The Gazette on May 22, 2010 - the day the Seasiders sealed their remarkable promotion to the Premier League with a 3-2 win over Cardiff City in the Championship play-off final.

It included an interview with Sadler, then aged 40, previewing that famous day at Wembley.

The story reads: “Did you know there was a hedge fund on the stock market in Asia named after Blackpool? You do now.

“And the man who operates it is a Seasider who has flown back to the UK to watch the big game.

“Bispham-born Simon Sadler, a former Warbreck High pupil, was a regular in the old West Paddock throughout the 80s, watching the likes of Eamonn O’Keefe and Paul Stewart, as well as his all time favourite Oooh Andy Garner.

“Trips to Bloomfield Road became a bit of a problem though as his banking career flourished and he moved to Moscow and then Hong Kong.

“The 40-year-old operates a hedge fund which is the fifth largest in Asia - Segantii Capital – named after the original tribe of Blackpool and which has a tangerine and white corporate colour.”