Nottingham Forest handed boost as official documents filed – Keith Wyness
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness believes Evangelos Marinakis has shown his commitment to Nottingham Forest by converting debt into equity.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – suggested the Greek owner’s behind-the-scenes activity is “very positive” for the club moving forward.
The Premier League side have faced financial challenges over the past couple of seasons after being handed a points deduction earlier this year for breaching the profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
Forest were believed to be close to breaching the rules again in 2023-24, but some last-ditch sales are expected to see them remain within the £105million limit over a three-year period.
Marinakis has made a series of moves to convert debt to equity in recent years, with a Companies House submission on 5 July revealing Forest currently have 12.2 billion shares in issue.
Evangelos Marinakis makes commitment to Nottingham Forest
But Wyness revealed the amount of shares means very little as it’s normal for an owner to take such an approach to support their club.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “I think there are about 12.2 billion shares in issue at about 1p valuation for each one.
“It’s attracted headlines because 12.2 billion is a big number, but it really means nothing.
“It’s very normal for an owner and it’s a very strong sign from Marinakis that he is converting some of the debt from the money he’s put into the club into equity.
“It just becomes a mathematical formula as to how many shares have to be issued to do that.
“It’s nothing exceptional, but it’s very positive for the club that he’s converting the debt into equity as he’s done that on a couple of occasions before.
“It’s just him showing his commitment to support the club, so I take it as a very positive sign.”
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