Charlton Athletic chief executive Peter Storrie on takeover negotiations and season ticket price reveal date

Charlton Athletic chief executive Peter Storrie says it is not possible to put a timeframe on when takeover talks could be concluded.

American Marc Spiegel is in a period of exclusivity with current owner Thomas Sandgaard.

Storrie, who held top-level roles at Portsmouth and West Ham United, was brought in after Sandgaard pulled the plug on negotiations with a group spearheaded by former Sunderland co-owner Charlie Methven.

Spiegel is the founder of Rubicon, a software company that is in the recycling business. Sandgaard is set to keep a stake in the Addicks.

There have been claims that Spiegel’s acquisition of the League One club could be completed by April. But Storrie told the South London Press: “I don’t honestly know where April came from. I’ve got no idea when it will be.

“It will be when it is finished – that’s really the only answer I can give because these things do drag on.

“At one stage I went through three of these – different owners – in six months (at Portsmouth). I’ve gone through quite a few of these type of situations and it’s very, very difficult to put a timescale on it.

“Due diligence is continuing and it’s all going well. But we can only do so much each day, in terms of the information. We send it and they come back with more information. In that aspect I don’t know how much more there is to come back from Deloitte, who are doing the due diligence for Marc.

“Once that gets concluded – when things are finalised and there is a SPA, sales and purchase agreement, then you’ve got the situation of the EFL requirements, in terms of the fit and proper persons and also on the financial side.

“If people are outside of the country, which these people are, then it is a longer period.

“I’m working for Thomas but also in conjunction with Marc as well, in terms of looking at everything – forecasts for the rest of this year and a budget and target for next year.”

The indications have been that Spiegel is not set to be the sole new investor in the Addicks.

Asked if there was more than one individual involved, Storrie replied: “I don’t know. I speak to Marc. He’s the point of contact that Thomas has asked me to deal with, I don’t know any other parties involved in it.”

Charlton have pressed ahead with some of their football decisions.

Manager Dean Holden has signed a new contract until the summer of 2026 with highly-rated keeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer extending his terms until then as well.

Club options have also been taken up on winger Corey Blackett-Taylor and Richard Chin, who were both set to be free agents at the start of July.

“Dean and myself are making those decisions – authorised by Thomas,” said Storrie. “On the football side there is also Steve Gallen, Martin [Sandgaard] and Ron [Dangerfield], the club secretary, who are very important on the football side.

“In terms of looking at the squad for next season, that is already under way. We are looking at positions. At this stage it is a template of which players will be renewed or released and which positions will be replaced.

“I always work by a template document that has a positional base and then you fill in the names as and when we go forward.

“Thomas is 100 per cent funding the club and continues to fund the club with a considerable amount of money.

“Whatever supporters may think about the current situation, owners need lots and lots of money to keep clubs going and he has kept Charlton going.

“I very often say to people who talk to me: ‘Why do you want to buy a football club?’ You don’t see too many who make money out of buying them. The Glazers might do okay (at Manchester United) and some of the other big ones, but do you see many outside of the Premier League making money on football clubs? Not too many.

“I said to the staff when I first came in that many people put football clubs up as being separate, but it’s no different to any other business – apart from the fact that it is a football club. We have departments, incomes and costs – exactly the same as other businesses.”

Charlton have a no-penalty option to exit the lease on The Valley and Charlton’s training ground in New Eltham in 2025.

Storrie says he has not been involved or seen the lease arrangements for either site.

“As far as I’m aware the club had a 15-year lease and there were 13 years still to run,” he said.

“Obviously it will be on the new owner’s radar, in terms of the future. But while I fully understand why it is so important to the fans (to obtain the freeholds) it will be quite a detailed negotiation to finalise.

“In my eyes, and I’m not speaking on behalf of the club, I would say the number one priority is getting out of League One and into the Championship while you have a lease of that length.

“While it is important to own the ground, I wouldn’t personally see it as a number one priority. I know it is definitely on their radar, it’s just a question of timing.”

Charlton are set to announce their season ticket prices on March 31.

They have just under 8,000 season-ticket holders for the current campaign. The Addicks are heading into a fourth straight season in England’s third tier for the first time since the end of the 1920s when they competed in the old Third Division South.

It is the second one running that they have been out of the promotion race comfortably before the closing straight came into sight.

“We have been in discussions with supporters’ groups,” said Storrie. “It is a difficult time for the club. The team has done pretty well recently, since Dean has been in charge. We’re 11th and looking to continue this little run.

“We are hit, like all businesses, by all our suppliers putting their prices up between 10 and 15 per cent.

“The minimum wage is going up, so we’ve got to take that into account for all our part-time staff on  matchdays.

“Inflation is generally still at 10 per cent and although we have got slightly subsidised heating, that ends in October. We’re going to have a real big hit there.

“We have to take it all into account and look at what we can do to increase the income of the club but, at the same time, be fair and reasonable to supporters. I think we’ve got a balance and that will all come out at the end of March.”

Storrie is juggling his Charlton commitments with being a consultant for Millonarios in Colombia, owned by Joseph Oughourlian. The Parisian businessman also owns Lens and Padova.

Storrie, 70,  told Charlton Athletic Supporters’ Trust recently he had been recommended to Sandgaard.

Asked who had put his name forward, Storrie said: “Good question. I have no idea. I came out of a meeting on Friday afternoon and I had a phone call from someone who said I was going to get a call from a Thomas, who is involved at Charlton Football Club, and he’s going to explain what is happening.

“That was all I knew. I had a long chat with Thomas on the Friday night – he explained some of the problems he had got.

“To have your FD (finance director), your COO and sports director all walk out on the same day  – at the same time Thomas was dealing with the fact his mother had just died – is a tough period.

“I needed to understand what was going on. I came and met him on the Monday morning and said I’ll do it temporarily, for a couple of months.

“I immediately asked if I could speak to the staff to get their point of view. That’s what I did. It was the right thing to do and I’ve enjoyed it. It’s a good club and good supporters.

“Ever since I’ve been in football, whether people like my decisions or not, my door has always been open for anyone to come in and chat to me about their concerns or whatever issues they have with the club or individual decisions.”

MAIN PICTURE: PAUL EDWARDS