Nottingham Forest’s fortunes have radically turned around when Evangelos Marinakis and Sokratis Kominakis took over the club in 2017.
Marinakis owns an 80 per cent stake at the City Ground, while Kominakis’s shares are worth 20 per cent.
Following an update earlier this week, it was discovered that Kominakis has departed his position as Forest Director.
Nottinghamshire Live stated on February 13 that the most likely reason for the board change is that the club is prepared to comply with Uefa competition restrictions next season.
Forest and Olympiacos, owned by Marinakis, could compete in Europe next season, as the governing body’s rules forbid clubs controlled by the same owners or directors from competing in the same competition.
Former Man City financial consultant Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider one of the teams would need to be put into a blind trust if there was a potential the two sides might play each other.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side now rank third in the Premier League table, while Olympiacos are fighting for the Greek Super League title.
Nottingham Forest ownership is ‘one to watch’ with fresh twist.
Borson stated that the ownership issue at the City Ground is “one to watch” after Kominakis departed the board.
He told Football Insider, “I think it’s very difficult to read too much into something like that without any background knowledge.”
“To be honest, I don’t think you can guess what it’s about. I’m not sure what kind of relationship Kominakis and Marinakis have.
“It’s probable that both Forest and Olympiacos will be in Europe next season. However, if Marinakis retains ultimate ownership, the departure of one director will have no effect.
“This is just guesswork, but it is possible that they have agreed to transfer all of Olympiacos’ ownership to Kominakis and all of Forest’s ownership to him, with no cross-directorships
“But then Marinakis would presumably have resigned from Olympiacos. We could not know if he has or not. However, if both teams are in the Champions League, one of them will have to put their belief in the other, as Man City and Girona did.
“They will have to make some provision for it, but it’s probably one to watch.”
Nottingham Forest receive a boost after Evangelos Marinakis’ infusion
Kominakis’ removal as a director follows Marinakis’ efforts to convert his shareholder loans into stock.
On January 16, Football Insider disclosed that Marinakis had written off £72 million in loans, following a similar £82 million transaction earlier in the month.
Following the Premier League’s recent legal struggle with Manchester City, any shareholder loans that remain in place after January 11 must be reported as an associated party transaction (APT) and subject to a fair market value evaluation.
The Nottingham side will no longer have to pay any interest on the Greek businessman’s loans.
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