The end of Delia Smith’s introduction as director of Norwich Town has been approved by the football club’s shareholders.
For more than 25 years, the famous chef’s name has been synonymous with the Canary Islands as a joint majority shareholder with her husband, Michael Wynn Jones.
A general meeting was held on Carrow Highway on Wednesday night to allow shareholders to vote on a takeover by Norfolk Holdings, the gang led by American businessman Mark Attanasio.
The principal owner of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team, who co-founded the California-based investment firm Crescent Capital Team, He joined the club’s board of directors two years ago later obtaining a minority stake.
The city announced two months ago that a guarantee had been reached so that Norfolk Holdings would think that the majority controlled the club. if authorized.
The result of the meeting is that Smith and Wynn Jones will no longer be administrators, although they will continue to expect games over time as future honorary presidents. They will not get any benefit from the exchange.
The couple are aged over 80 and live near Stowmarket in Suffolk. They joined the board in November 1996 with an initial cash injection of £2m at a time of economic turmoil.
They became majority shareholders in 1998 and their eventful 26 years at the helm have been characterized by six promotions, six relegations, two play-off finals and 15 managers.
His nephew, Tom Smith, will remain a director alongside Zoe Webber and Attanasio, and the American’s industry spouse, Richard Ressler, will become a board member. Norfolk Holdings may also have the ability to appoint other directors.
The Canary Islands recently settled a £14.4m pre-tax shortfall for the financial past 2023-24but they made an excellent start to the Championship season and then a busy summer of business which brought Danish manager Johannes Hoff Thorup to the club.
1996
Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones joined Norwich Town’s board on 28 November, a few months after previous owner Robert Chase resigned amid financial turmoil at the club.
1998
The couple become joint majority shareholders after having bought 42% of the shares of former director Geoffrey Watling, who was in his 80s and suffering from his illness.
2002
Town narrowly missed returning to supremacy and then reaching the Category One play-off final under manager Nigel Worthington, losing a penalty shoot-out 4-2 to Birmingham at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.
2004
Inspired by the signing of Darren Huckerby, the Canaries achieve a personal triumph that takes the club back to the Premier League for the first time since 1995. However, it only lasts one season.
2009
Relegation to League One leaves Town in the third tier for the first time in 50 years, and the club closes in to move into management.
2010
A nightmarish 7-1 first-half defeat to Colchester saw the Canaries rob rival coach Paul Lambert. The Celtic legend evokes a notable change and romp in the name of League One.
2011
Lambert continues to paint his spell as players like Holt and Wes Hoolahan offer second-place supremacy in the Championship and a surprise promotion to the Premier League.
2014
In the next two seasons of balancing mid-table in the hunt for supremacy, Town were relegated under Neil Adams, having sacked Chris Hughton five games apart.
2015
Norwich bounced back, inspired by the arrival of young Scottish manager Alex Neil midway through the campaign, to beat Middlesbrough 2-0 in the play-off final at Wembley. Again, it only lasts one season at the supremacy level, as the city becomes known as a yo-yo club.
2019
German manager Daniel Farke leads a remarkable run to the Championship title, but once again promotion is followed by a brief relegation from the Premier League during the pandemic-disrupted season.
2021
Farke is the mastermind of another championship title triumph in a campaign usually conducted behind closed doors. Relegation continues as Town’s self-funded financial style once again struggles to compete for supremacy.
2022
The beginning of a new generation begins when a group led by businessman Mark Attanasio acquires a minority stake in the club in September 2022. The American, main owner of the American baseball team the Milwaukee Brewers, becomes director.
2024
With the blessing of Smith and Wynn Jones, the Attanasio staff, Norfolk Holdings is of the same opinion so that the majority watches of membership.
