IT IS barely two years since the Friedkin group took over at Everton, but they seem to have had enough – the word on the Mersey is that they want out, despite a gleaming new stadium, a financial restructuring and a reasonable start to the 2026-27 season. By all accounts, the Everton fans are not unhappy about a possible change of ownership, for months now there have been rumblings that Friedkin are not terribly interested in the club and are focusing their attention on the other club in their multi-club ownership, AS Roma. Manager Moyes has never spoken to the owners and the chairman has never seen a game at the Hill Dickinson. On top of that, they had a disappointing transfer window, which sent some signals that perhaps Friedkin were unwilling to invest more money in the team.
They paid around £ 500 million for Everton and football finance experts expect they will be seeking a sale price of between £ 750 and £ 800. Given the club was a distressed asset when the Moshiri-Kenwright regime sold up, that’s a good turnaround for the Texan-based Daniel Friedkin. It looks as though Friedkin are following the path frequently trodden by private equity – buy an undervalued asset, improve its finances and make clear its potential and then sell at a healthy profit. If that sounds unpalatable, there is a good chance that Everton’s next owner may be from the same sector or a sovereign wealth fund from the middle east.
What has motivated Friedkin to sell at this stage, and so soon after acquiring the club? Everton are one of English football’s modern under-achievers and their barren run of success, which dates back 31 years to 1995, shows no sign of ending soon. Everton have won 15 major trophies and the average gap between them has been around 10 years. Since 1970, they have won four pots, all in the period between 1984 and 1995, a 12-year spell that was preceded and followed by a considerable amount of mediocrity.
They have a rich heritage and they are now back in the 50,000-plus attendance category, but 40 years ago, they were one of the “big five”(Liverpool, Everton, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham), now they are a second tier club within the Premier trying to break back into the elite.
That may well happen, but perhaps the possibility looked too far away for investors with a medium-term view. The move to Hill Dickinson was supposed to be a launch pad for Everton to move up a gear, but as yet, the financial benefits have not yet become obvious. The 2025-26 accounts have yet to be revealed, but it will be interesting to see if they have broken the £ 200 million mark in revenues. Everton’s earnings have been remarkable consistent in the past five years, but equally, growth has been modest. In 2024-25, revenues were up by 5%, largely due to commercial activity. The most positive aspect of the figures was a pre-tax loss of £ 8.6 million, a big improvement on the previous season.
But Everton’s income of £ 196 million in 2024-25 represents just 30% of the average amount earned by the “big six” clubs. They now have the prospect of making far more money from matchdays but they need to generate more commercial income, which is well below mid-table in the Premier League and a fraction of the amount enjoyed by Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool et al. They also need to be regular European participants in order to benefit from lucrative broadcasting payments. Breaking into the bracket that renews their UEFA passports on an annual basis is a big challenge, but a club of Everton’s size should have realistic hopes of qualification for the Conference League, at least. Put simply, if you make more money, you can spend more on improving the team.
Everton’s current shortcomings may have influenced Friedkin in their thinking and the decision to engage the investment bank Moelis to seek-out possible investors. Closing the gap between Everton and the clubs in the upper quartile could be shaping up as a more expensive project than originally envisaged by the ownership. True, Friedkin have stabilised what was becoming a sinking ship, but truly leveraging potential depends on driving up income.
What sort of owner do Everton’s supporters want? Visibility is arguably not that important, some traditional club owners were not always present at games, preferring to spend their time in a tax haven or a sunny climate. The important thing is transparency and regular communication around decision-making, financial status and expectations. Increasingly, private equity is being seen as an irritant to many people, largely due to clubs becoming assets in a portfolio. Around 33% of clubs in the top five European leagues are owned, in some form, by P/E firms. Sovereign wealth funds have plenty of money, but with the Manchester City affair still bubbling away, nobody is going to be too satisfied if another petro-state rocks up at the Hill Dickinson. The disposal of Everton may, at least, knock Manchester City off the back pages, albeit temporarily.
Photo: Nick, via Flick, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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