National League club Eastleigh have announced that ‘an agreement has been reached’ with former chairman Stewart Donald to return to the club as majority shareholder according to the club’s official website.
Donald, who was reported to have an estimated net worth of £8.4m in 2018, first purchased the Spitfires back in 2010 when they were playing in the Conference South and invested substantial amounts of money into the club. This tenure saw the club reach the fifth tier for the first time in the club’s history in 2014 after winning the Conference South title as well as two consecutive appearances in the 3rd round of the FA Cup (in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons).
The British businessman, who made his fortune in the insurance industry, also oversaw an extensive redevelopment of the club’s Ten Acres ground in order to cater for increased attendances, with a new 2290-seater stand amongst a number of major alterations. However, in 2018 he sold his stake in Eastleigh to Mark Jewell in order to complete a takeover of Sunderland, who had at that point just been relegated to League One.
Donald’s time in charge of Sunderland proved not to be a success though as they failed to win promotion from the third tier, and in 2021 he sold his controlling stake in the club to French businessman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus.
https://twitter.com/EastleighFC/status/1651635347292405760?s=20
Eastleigh, currently managed by former Bournemouth, Havant & Waterlooville and Eastbourne Borough boss Lee Bradbury, are currently 9th in the National League going into the last round of fixtures this weekend, 3 points off the playoff positions. However, a much worse goal difference than 7th-placed Boreham Wood means they are effectively out of contention.
Writer’s View:
It is clear that Donald is a much more popular figure amongst Eastleigh fans than he is at Sunderland due to the success the club enjoyed throughout his initial spell as owner, arguably the most successful period in the club’s history. However, in an increasingly competitive National League it is important that Donald is able to invest money wisely and sustainably into the club if he is to be able to achieve his initial dream of taking the Hampshire side into the EFL for the first time
