Derby County chairman Mel Morris completes club takeover
Thursday 3 September 2015 12:41, UK
Derby County have confirmed that chairman Mel Morris has completed his takeover of the club.
Morris, a Rams supporter who re-invested in May 2014, took over as chairman in May 2015 and has now become the majority shareholder after purchasing shares owned by American Partners LLP.
The club's executive team will continue to be managed by chief executive Sam Rush and a new board of directors will be announced in due course.
And in a statement released by the Championship club, Morris outlined his vision for a future in the Premier League.
He said: "Whilst I firmly believe that the club's ownership is very much a tertiary concern to most fans, I hope together we can help steer this club back into a sustainable place in the Premier League.
"We have many of the key components in place, but I am conscious that we must all commit our total support in pursuit of this goal, which I know is shared by all of us, as fans of this great football club."
"I wish to pay tribute to the North American Ownership group, who collectively provided the finance and leadership stability the club needed following the traumatic times which followed the 2007/08 season in the Premier League.
"They have been terrific to work with and I am sure they will continue to follow the Rams well into the future."
Morris is previously the non-executive chairman of King – a mobile gaming company that developed the successful Candy Crush Saga app.
Derby finished eighth in the Championship last season before sacking manager Steve McClaren and replacing him with Paul Clement.
Clement has failed to win any of his first five matches in charge this term, drawing four and losing once.
