Parish confirmed talks are ongoing over securing investment from Harris and Blitzer, which would see them become majority shareholders alongside Parish, but he stressed ‘a deal is yet to be struck’.
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Palace are now an established Premier League club thanks to the stewardship of first Tony Pulis and then current manager Alan Pardew, and are set to be boosted by the investment of American duo David Blitzer and Josh Harris, which is expected to be completed by Christmas.
Those negotiations stalled in the spring but contact has been revived, with the American investors’ interest in purchasing a stake in Palace as strong as ever, and there is confidence on both sides a deal will be done.
However, unlike a few of the other clubs, Parish will maintain a prominent place in the running of Palace on a day-to-day basis; a move which sources told ESPN FC is created to protect “the soul and ethos of the club”.
“The day-to-day decision making control will remain the same”.
Although there are planning obstacles to overcome, there has also been initial and positive dialogue with Croydon and Bromley councils, with any scheme to seek to regenerate that corner of south London.
“We simply can’t stand still and enjoy a nice couple of seasons in the Premier League – that’s simply not acceptable to me”. So it’s an exciting time and if it comes off I think we can make a few major developments for the club’. All parties are confident the joint local and American ownership model represents the best choice for the future.
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Harris is said to be worth around $2.1bn and is a keen sports fan, adding the New Jersey Devils to his assets in 2013, having previously headed the investment group that bought out the 76ers in 2011.
