Coventry United saved from liquidation by local investor

Women’s Championship club Coventry United are set to be saved from liquidation following a ‘verbal agreement’ with locally-based investor Lewis Taylor.

Taylor runs West Midlands energy firm Energy Angels and is expected to invest a sum between £200,000 and £250,000 into the club, who were about to be dissolved.

After news emerged of players and staff being suddenly released two days before Christmas – only six months after the club had stepped up from semi-professional to fully professional, Coventry United confirmed they would be entering voluntary liquidation.

That deadline to save the club was 11:59pm on Tuesday 4 January, with Taylor and his company stepping in at the last moment to stop the club from being no more.

“Sometimes we just need to go and do the right thing,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

"It wasn’t in our financial plan this year to go and buy a football club, but at the same time, it was wrong not to when we can afford to save it.”

In a separate interview with Sky Sports, he added, “The deal is solely between us and the existing shareholders, so we're not reliant on any third parties to say we can or can't do this. I envisage the existing shareholders to just be happy someone else is willing to take it all on.

“We're not doing this just to keep the team together this season. That's the immediate concern, but I wouldn't be here doing this if it was only for this season. There's a potential to play WSL here, which should always be the goal.”

Coventry United are among a handful of Women’s Championship clubs run independently of a men’s Premier League or EFL club, alongside Durham, Lewes and London City Lionesses.

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