End of Delia's time as Norwich City director approved
The end of Delia Smith’s time as a director of Norwich City has been rubber-stamped by the football club’s shareholders.
For more than 25 years, the celebrity chef’s name has been synonymous with the Canaries as a joint majority shareholder alongside her husband, Michael Wynn Jones.
A general meeting was held at Carrow Road on Wednesday evening to allow shareholders to vote on a takeover by Norfolk Holdings, the group led by US businessman Mark Attanasio.
The principal owner of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team, who co-founded the California-based investment firm Crescent Capital Group, joined the club’s board two years ago after acquiring a minority shareholding.
City announced two months ago that an agreement had been reached for Norfolk Holdings to assume majority control of the club, if approved.
The result of the meeting is that Smith and Wynn Jones will step down as directors, although they will continue to attend games regularly as honorary life presidents. They will not make any profit from the deal.
The couple are both aged in their early 80s and live near Stowmarket in Suffolk. They joined the club’s board in November 1996 with an initial cash injection of £2m during a time of financial turmoil.
They became majority shareholders in 1998, and their eventful 26 years at the helm have featured six promotions, six relegations, two play-off finals and 15 managers.
Their nephew, Tom Smith, will remain a director alongside Zoe Webber and Attanasio, with the American’s business partner Richard Ressler joining the board. Norfolk Holdings will also be able to appoint another director.
The Canaries recently revealed a pre-tax loss of £14.4m for the 2023-24 financial year, but have made a bright start to the Championship season after a busy summer of change that brought Danish head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup to the club.
A rollercoaster reign
1996
Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones join Norwich City’s board of directors on November 28, a few months after the departure of previous owner Robert Chase amid financial turmoil at the club.
1998
The couple become joint majority shareholders having purchased the 42% shareholding of long-serving director Geoffrey Watling the previous year, who was in his 80s and struggling with his health.
2002
City narrowly miss out on a return to the top flight after reaching the Division One play-off final under manager Nigel Worthington, losing a penalty shootout 4-2 to Birmingham at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
2004
Inspired by the signing of Darren Huckerby, the Canaries sweep to a title triumph to take the club back to the Premier League for the first time since 1995. It only lasts one season though.
2009
Relegation to League One leaves City in the third tier for the first time in 50 years, and the club comes close to going into administration.
2010
A nightmare 7-1 defeat to Colchester on the opening day sees the Canaries poach the opposition’s manager, Paul Lambert. The Celtic legend inspires a remarkable turnaround and a romp to the League One title.
2011
Lambert continues to work his magic as the likes of Grant Holt and Wes Hoolahan lead the way to second place in the Championship and an unexpected promotion to the Premier League.
2014
After two seasons of mid-table stability in the top flight, City were relegated under Neil Adams, having sacked Chris Hughton with five games remaining.
2015
Norwich bounced back, inspired by young Scottish manager Alex Neil’s arrival halfway through the campaign, to beat Middlesbrough 2-0 in the play-off final at Wembley. Again, it only lasts one season in the top tier as City becomes known as a yo-yo club.
2019
German boss Daniel Farke leads a remarkable charge to the Championship title, but again, promotion is followed by immediate relegation from the Premier League during the pandemic-disrupted season.
2021
Farke masterminds another Championship title triumph in a campaign mostly played behind closed doors. Relegation follows as City’s self-funded financial model again struggles to compete in the top flight.
2022
The start of a new era begins as a group led by businessman Mark Attanasio acquires a minority shareholding in the club in September 2022. The American, the principal owner of US baseball team the Milwaukee Brewers, becomes a director.
2024
With the blessing of Smith and Wynn Jones, Attanasio’s group Norfolk Holdings agrees to take majority control of the club.
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