How wealthy is Charlton Athletic's owner? | OneFootball

Charlton Athletic fans will be hoping better times are ahead after their takeover by SE7 Partners this summer.

The company is a subsidiary of Global Football Partners, headed by former Sunderland director Charlie Methven, and they completed their takeover of the Addicks in July.

It brought Thomas Sandgaard's reign at The Valley to an end, closing another turbulent chapter in the club's history after the disastrous ownership of Roland Duchalelet and East Street Investments.

Methven spoke of his delight after SE7 Partners' takeover of the club was confirmed, and promised supporters that they would deliver "through actions rather than words or grand promises".

"We would like to thank Thomas Sandgaard, Peter Storrie and the club staff for their cooperation during the acquisition process," Methven told the club's official website.

"As an ownership group, my fellow shareholders and I are excited to begin this new chapter at Charlton whilst being respectful of the scale of the task that faces our management team in restoring the fortunes of this great club.

"Getting to this point has been a long road that has left Charlton’s loyal fans uncertain about the future direction of their club.

We intend to bring that uncertainty to an end through actions rather than words or grand promises. "However, we do want to place on record at this point that GFP’s ambition is to build a football club noted for its professionalism, integrity and intense focus on success.

"To that end, we are appointing and empowering a Senior Management Team (SMT) that we believe has the relevant experiences and energy to drive the club forward."

SE7 Partners made the first big decision of their tenure when they opted to sack manager Dean Holden in August following the club's poor start to the season which saw them lose four of their first five league games.

Former Lincoln City and Blackpool manager Michael Appleton was appointed as Holden's replacement and with the 47-year-old making a strong start to life at The Valley, he looks to be a shrewd choice.

How wealthy are SE7 Partners?

It is unknown exactly how wealthy SE7 Partners are overall, but a number of wealthy individuals are part of the company.

American businessman Joshua Friedman is a member of the consortium, and he is the co-founder of Los Angeles-based hedge fund Canyon Partners.

In 2019, their Assets Under Management was estimated to be worth $17.8 billion, and Friedman himself is said to be a billionaire.

Gabriel Brener, who owned MLS franchise Houston Dynamo between 2015 and 2021, is also involved with SE7 Partners and he reportedly has a net worth of around $350 million.

Methven's net worth has not been revealed, but it is likely he has considerable wealth having worked as a reporter for Sporting Life, The Daily Telegraph, The Spectator and the Evening Standard, as well as having "a communications firm which had Tottenham and the Kingdom of Bahrain on its clientele list".

It is clear that SE7 Partners have the funds to take Charlton forward, but Methven insists they will adopt a sensible approach.

"I understand why people will say that because it was our model at Sunderland – but that was a very different ownership group," Methven told The Sun in July.

"The situation here is very different because the rest of my ownership group is very wealthy – at least the larger shareholders are – and really the increase in capital value from moving from League One to the Championship wouldn’t really be of any financial interest to them.

"Really this project is more about passion.

"They are successful people and successful investors and they want to be successful. "But if we were to get promoted this season, do I then envisage we would sell the club the next season? Absolutely not.