Newsman Owen steps in to save club

BBC Midlands Today newsreader Nick Owen has been successful in saving his beloved Luton Town Football Club after getting the go-ahead to complete a takeover of the club through a consortium he was heading.

Mr Owen, who will adopt the role of non-executive chairman at the club, is heading the newly-formed Luton Town Football Club 2020 Limited.

The successful consortium has made an immediate loan to the beleaguered Coca-Cola League One outfit and aims to purchase the club by February.

The Hatters have endured a traumatic season and sit in the relegation zone after a 10-point deduction for going into administration.

But the loan has engineered a period of exclusivity until the end of February while a sale is negotiated and approval is granted by the Football League and the Football Association. "I'm very happy and I'm very relieved," Mr Owen said. "I'm extremely proud of what has been achieved by the consortium."We've been given exclusive principle priority bidder status and have a free run to take over the club fully by the end of February if we get approval from the FA and the Football League.

"The initial bid revolves around a figure of £10 million but in the long term the funding is there in a big way.

"In a sense it's a loan then a buyout and it's a very exciting time for the club.

"Stability is the first thing. We need to make sure that the figures add up and we're not spending more than we're taking in. That's been the crucial problem in recent times and that's why we had to go into administration. We need to get fans in the ground, want it to be the wonderful place that Kenilworth Road has been in the past.

"Relocation is another priority, but not the priority. Our bid is not linked to relocation, no-one has an agenda. We will do an independent feasibility study which will tell us which is the best site for the new stadium and take it from there."

Mr Owen, aged 60, has admitted he did not know what would happen to Hatters boss Kevin Blackwell, who handed his resignation in last Friday stating he and management team of Sam Ellis and John Carver would leave on February 9.

He admitted the club's fans were bearing the brunt of the recent sour times, with key players leaving Kenilworth Road in the transfer window and this season's 10-point deduction leaving them in the relegation zone. The club also denied 17 FA charges in relation to payments to agents between July 2004 and February 2007 last week.