Peter de Savary has resigned as chairman of Millwall Holdings PLC.
Property tycoon De Savary had only become PLC chairman when Stewart Till replaced him as the football club’s chairman in the summer.
Heather Rabbatts, the present Executive Deputy Chairman, takes over from de Savary, who leaves after a bizarre 10-month stay at The Den.
De Savary arrived as Theo Paphitis’s replacement last December amid a blaze of publicity.
The highlight of his brief reign was undoubtedly his hilarious on-pitch address to the fans before the League Cup game against Birmingham last November.
With a Millwall shirt over his business attire De Savary managed to keep a straight face as he announced that we would be a top 15 club within five years.
The only way was down after that and his efforts to build up a bit of glamour around the club, like the fireworks that he laid on for the Reading match, were little more than a damp squib.
Ridiculous attempts to lure Roy Keane and Robbie Fowler amongst others were pure bluster.
But more seriously for the long-term future of the club he completely failed to realise the consequences of appointing David Tuttle as a replacement for Colin Lee.
While Lee may have lost the players at least he had half a clue how to run a football team. The less said about Tuttle’s incompetance the better but by the time de Savary worked out what we had known all along it was too late to avoid relegation.
When he stepped aside to allow Till to take over as chairman of the football club most people thought it was so he could concentrate on his plans for developing the area around The Den.
His decision to quit, albeit still with a large shareholding in the club, is hardly likely to be lamented by many around the club.
But it does open up the possibility that he could now legally invest in that redevelopment of south Bermondsey with a view to making a major profit. And with rumours of an Australian-backed takeover bid in the pipeline it seems there’s plenty more boardroom intrigue to come.
De Savary said: ‘Due to a change in circumstances, I shall be spending the majority of my working time overseas and cannot, therefore, continue with the responsibilities as a Director of Millwall Holdings PLC.
‘I am delighted to have recruited earlier this year Heather Rabbatts, who I am confident will effectively assume the leadership role as Executive Chairman of Millwall Holdings PLC.
‘I shall continue to hold my shares as a long term investor. I wish Millwall every success in both its football ambitions and in its unique opportunity of urban property regeneration which is progressing extremely well’
De Savary steps down
