Wednesday bidders told club face 15-point penalty

Sheffield Wednesday have been in administration since 24 October and been deducted 18 points this season [Getty Images] The preferred bidders for Sheffield Wednesday, Arise Capital Partners, have said they have been told by the EFL that the club will start next season in League One with a 15-point penalty. The consortium, led by David Storch, were named preferred bidders last month, after a previous takeover of the administration-hit club fell through. However, BBC Sport understands that their £20m bid when broken down will represent around 6p in the pound to the unsecured creditors - of which former owner Dejphon Chansiri would be the major beneficiary.

It is way short of the 25p in the pound required to avoid a 15-point deduction next season. Storch said in a statement that the group want the EFL to recognise the "unique" nature of the League One-bound club's situation. He said: "We have now been informed that a 15-point penalty is set to be imposed at the start of next season.

We fundamentally disagree with this decision. "We also requested the opportunity for this matter to be reviewed through independent arbitration - going as far as offering to cover all associated legal costs ourselves in the interest of transparency and fairness. That request has been denied.

"What makes this situation particularly difficult is that it is entirely unique. A significant portion of the club's debt sits with its former owner who has not agreed to write down or restructure that debt. "We have made repeated attempts, through the administrators, to engage with Mr Chansiri in order to find a constructive resolution.