PLYMOUTH Argyle is under new management after a deal to buy the club was finally announced.

A consortium of international and local businesses is buying a controlling share in the holding company that owns Plymouth Argyle Football Club, saying it will establish a ‘New World’ for PAFC, targeting Premier League football within five years and expanding e-commerce operations based around the club’s brand.

As part of the takeover, chairman Paul Stapleton is standing down after what he told a press conference yesterday morning had been ‘eight momentous years.

“I’ll always remember the game at Rochdale to take us into League One and then the win over QPR to promote us to the Championship. As I said at the time, you can’t buy days like those. I wouldn’t change a moment of it all. It’s been a time of great pride.

“I’ve been very lucky to have people around who have supported me on the board, and the staff at the club as well. We’ve moved on tremendously. The fans have been very supportive to all of us and we thank them all for that.

“I’ve had a few managers and I can’t say enough about Paul Sturrock. He was the catalyst for all of this.

“We have taken this club as far as we think we can and it’s time to pass on the baton.”

Leader of the partnership Sir Roy Gardner, the former Manchester United chairman, will become the new chairman. Alongside him will be businessman Keith Todd.

George Synan and Yasuaki Kagami of K&K Shonan Management Corporation will become the largest shareholders.

“I’ll be staying on as vice-chairman, and Tony Wrathall and Robert Dennerly will also remain on the board,” said Mr Stapleton.

A wide-ranging five-year business plan is under preparation and will be published before Christmas, including proposals for a Youth Academy and increasing recognition of the PAFC brand, locally and globally.

It will also clarify plans to expand capacity to more than 25,000 via a fully-seated stadium.

Sir Roy is an avid football fan who has been eyeing a return to the game since departing from Old Trafford in 2005 following the sale of Manchester United to the Glazer family.

The consortium’s other partner is the Kagami Group, the Japanese business that bought into the club in April 2008 and has just increased its holding from 20 to 38 per cent.

Sir Roy and Mr Todd are buying 13 per cent of the shares through their joint venture company, KKC.

The Kagami Group and KKC have options to further increase their shareholding over the next year.

Sir Roy said: “I would like to thank Paul Stapleton for his great leadership over the last decade.

“Anyone who knows me will know of my passion for football, and I’ve been looking to get back into the game for a while now. We have some exciting ideas and I’m delighted to have this opportunity.

“Keith Todd is a lifelong Plymouth Argyle fan and we’re looking to make this a Premiership club.”

Mr Todd said: “You’d be amazed by how many Argyle fans there are around the world. This is a global brand and a global club.

“This is a partnership between a UK and Japanese consortium. It’s been a great time and the harmony behind the scenes is very strong.”

The new owners describe the deal as ‘a global and local partnership with football at its heart’ and say they aim to build on the achievements of the club and its directors over the last decade by working with the fans, the local council, local and international business partners to build the ‘New World’ of Plymouth Argyle.

The new owners have also confirmed that Paul Sturrock will continue as manager. The Herald revealed yesterday that Stapleton was to step down as chairman, a position he has held since 2001.

PLYMOUTH BUSINESS LEADERS WELCOME THE CHANGE

BUSINESS leaders today welcomed the new leadership at Plymouth Argyle and said their plans could have huge implications for the city’s economy.

They stressed that the fortunes of the football club and the city went hand in hand, with Charles Howeson, chairman of the Plymouth Area Business Council, saying: “A healthy city has a healthy football team – and a healthy football team helps make a healthy city economy.”

David Parlby, the chief executive of Plymouth Chamber of Commerce and Industry, added: “A successful sports team is a major fillip for the economy. With a successful team you get a lot of spectators coming to the ground, which spills over to local businesses such as pubs and hotels.”

He said any success on the pitch enhanced the city’s ‘offer’, and  also ‘helps the city in terms of a sense of pride which then permeates to other places and people. It’s a virtuous circle.’

Mr Parlby welcomed the new team in charge, saying: “More power to (Mr Kagami’s) elbow”, and Mr Howeson paid tribute to Paul Stapleton, who is standing down as chairman. He said the club was now ‘vastly different’ to the one Mr Stapleton took over.

 “The city, the club, its fans and the business community have to be enormously appreciative about what he has delivered.”

Mr Howeson said the new management should also be welcomed but said it should not be forgotten that ‘the club is run for the fans’.

PLYMOUTH PEOPLE WELCOME THE CHANGE

PLYMOUTH has given the thumbs-up to yesterday’s news, writes Matt Fleming.

Many people in the city spoke positively about Argyle’s future after the takeover was finally announced.

Will Sykes, 28, from Peverell, said: “It can only be a good thing which will bring more money into the club.

“Hopefully the new owners will be able to take the club forward. I think it is realistic that Argyle will be in the Premiership in five to 10 years’ time.”

Ken Corrigill, 52, from Eggbuckland, is a Middlesbrough fan who also follows Argyle. He said: “I will be watching Argyle next season. I think it’s brilliant news.

“If Burnley can get in the Premiership then so can Argyle. And Middlesbrough.”

Sharon Goodwin, 32, from Plympton, said she would now go along to games. She said it was good news for Plymouth. She said: “My family will be happy with it.”

Ivan Osborne, 62, a season ticket holder from Leigham, said: “It’s superb and Paul Stapleton still being on the board is important. He is true Argyle.

“I would love to think the team could get into the Premiership in five years but they will have to spend a lot of money.”

Sam Kerr, 16, from Eggbuckland, is also a season ticket holder. She said: “The manager should go because he doesn’t work with the team well enough, but I think the fact Paul Stapleton has stepped down was best for the team.

“The new owners could bring lots of money in for new players – otherwise it would just be another bad deal.”

Charlie Imms, 43, from Eggbuckland is a West Ham United fan who also looks out for Argyle.

He said: “It’s got to be a good thing because Plymouth Argyle has got a massive catchment area and something like this should bring far more fans in.

“Too many young people in Plymouth support teams like Manchester United but it would be good for many more to support Argyle.

“They could get into the Premiership within five years. If the cash is there it’s doable. But whether they could stay there is a big step.”

ARGYLE supporters across the UK have backed the move, among them London-based John Lloyd, editor of Argyle fanzine Pasty News.

“It’s a relief it’s all over,” he said. “You can’t rush these decisions, but still, it would have been better if it was done earlier so we were prepared for the new season.”

Mr Lloyd said the promises now being made by the club about communication with the fan base were welcome, as it had been ‘sorely lacking’ over the past couple of years.

He also said ‘Everything is possible’ now, but added:  “We want to see more information about what they have achieved in the talks so far.”

TIMELINE OF A TAKEOVER

THE takeover saga at Plymouth Argyle began 14 months ago and rumbled on until the announcement was made yesterday.

On April 17 last year The Herald reported that Argyle was looking east to expand its business horizons.

In a shock move, directors sold 20 per cent of Argyle’s shares to K&K Shonan Management Corporation, with the firm’s Yasuaki Kagami becoming a club director, expanding the Home Park board by a fifth.

A week later, Mr Kagami told Plymouth he was aiming to get the Pilgrims into the Premiership. He also pledged to invest in a new stand, new players and a hotel at Home Park.

In June last year it was reported that ties had been strengthened between the club and Kagami, while he and his American associate George Synan, the senior vice-president of K&K, made their first visit to Home Park.

Paul Stapleton admitted the club was actively trying to sign some of Japan’s top international footballers, and in an exclusive interview with The Herald, former Japanese footballer Yasuhiko Okudera revealed he had taken on the role of Argyle president with the intention of helping the club reach English football’s top flight.

In September, Argyle revealed it was chasing major business deals in Japan – but would not be able to finalise them unless Japanese players were brought to the club. It also revealed it was in talks with one of Japan’s largest advertising firms about ‘various sponsorship and advertising opportunities’.

In December, the club said it was in negotiations about the signing of Japanese midfielder Akihiro Ienaga.

In March this year, rumours began to circulate around Home Park that the board was considering selling a much larger share in the club to Mr Kagami in time for the start of next season, but club bosses remained tight-lipped.

The other side of the coin was revealed at the end of March when Argyle told all its non-footballing staff their jobs were at risk as the struggling club sought to cope with a huge loss in revenue. The combined effect of the recession and the team’s relegation- haunted Championship campaign resulted in up to 2,000 fewer supporters going through the turnstiles at each home game, it was revealed.

In April, further talks about a potential takeover of Argyle by Kagami were held. Kagami and Synan were once again in Plymouth and understood to be talking about buying a controlling interest in the club. Paul Sturrock admitted he knew ‘very little’ about the possible takeover.

In May, The Herald reported that Kagami was on the brink of assuming control of Argyle.

There was still no comment from the club or Kagami about the talks, which were held in April and May.

Following the end of the 2008-09 season, it took almost two months of final talks until the takeover was announced this week.

Speculation continued over the takeover and it was Argyle’s hottest topic for months – but the club is now under new management after Kagami’s deal to buy a majority in shares was finally announced yesterday.