Preston North End owner Trevor Hemmings is given the option to buy Cork City

Preston North End owner Trevor Hemmings has been given the option to buy League of Ireland side Cork City.
Preston North End owner Trevor HemmingsPreston North End owner Trevor Hemmings
Preston North End owner Trevor Hemmings

Members of Foras, the supporters trust which has run Cork since 2010, voted on Wednesday night to give Hemmings the exclusive option to purchase the club for one euro.

Hemmings has business and horse racing links in the Cork region, with his interest in taking over the Rebels through one of his companies Grovemoor Ltd, dating back to earlier in the year.

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In February, North End struck a deal to buy out the sell-on clauses Cork had with Alan Browne and Sean Maguire.

A further payment is believed to be have been made by Hemmings at the time to help Cork meet a tax bill, hence enabling them to get a licence to play in the League of Ireland in the season just ended.

In exchange, the option to buy the club was given to the Isle of Man based tycoon.

Cork fans had intended to vote on the matter in March but that was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic until Wednesday night.

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The online vote saw around 70% of the supporters trust vote in favour.

When and if Hemmings takes up the option, the ball is in his court.

Although the sale price is just one euro, Hemmings would take on Cork's debt.

Cork, champions of the League of Ireland as recently as 2017, were relegated from the top flight this week and will play in the First Division next season.

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A statement on Cork's website said: "We are pleased to confirm that the members of the trust have endorsed the board’s recommendation and have voted in favour of the motion.

"We have already engaged with Grovemoor Limited on the matter, and a further comment will issue in due course.

"The Board would like to thank all of our members for their input and their ongoing support."

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