Gateshead Agree Sale to Flacks Group: $7bn American Investor Set to Take Over After Wage-Crisis Fortnight

Gateshead have agreed an agreement in principle to sell the National League club to Flacks Group, an American private investment company whose stated assets exceed $7 billion, with the deal subject to approval by the Independent Football Regulator. The takeover, announced by the club on Friday, comes ten days after principal backer Mark Nellist withdrew his funding — a collapse that left September's wages unpaid and forced manager Lee Cattermole to walk away.

A rescue deal struck mid-crisis

The agreement, set out in a club statement published on Gateshead's official website, commits Flacks Group to arranging immediate payment of all outstanding player and staff wages. Minority shareholder Stephen Paylor, who led the negotiations after Nellist resigned as a director and sought to relinquish his majority shareholding, said he was "thrilled to be able to announce an agreement in principle with the American based and globally active Flacks Group".

We are delighted to welcome Gateshead Football Club as the latest acquisition at Flacks Group. Gateshead FC has a tremendous history and we look forward to moving the club forward and to see it realise its true potential.— Phil Forster, spokesperson, Flacks Group — club statement, 9 October 2026

The buyer is chaired by Michael Flacks, a Manchester-born billionaire whose firm specialises in purchasing distressed companies and assets, according to BBC Sport. Flacks Group, founded in 1983 and operating out of the United States with offices in France and Japan, has grown its portfolio from roughly $3 billion in 2024 to more than $7 billion today, as reported by Chronicle Live.

Players await September wages

Gateshead's squad, who issued their own statement during the crisis, said they hoped the September salaries would now be paid quickly and insisted their commitment to the club, its supporters and the local community had not changed. Caretaker manager Ben Clark, a former Gateshead defender who guided the club through a similar existential threat in 2019, has taken charge on the pitch while the sale is completed.

Representing Gateshead FC is something we are proud of, and our commitment to the club, its supporters and the local community has not changed.— Gateshead players' statement, carried by BBC Sport, 9 October 2026

Interim chairman Graham Wood welcomed the proposed takeover and thanked Flacks Group for its confidence in the club's future. No purchase price has been disclosed, and the club has not detailed what the deal means for existing creditors — questions the Independent Football Regulator will weigh alongside its owner's test before the transfer of shares can complete.

What happens next

Regulatory sign-off is the only remaining hurdle, and no issues are expected, per the Sunderland Echo. Until it arrives, Gateshead operate with a caretaker manager, an unpaid-but-reassured squad and a fanbase that has watched the club lurch from wage default to a nine-figure American buyer inside a fortnight. The fixture at the International Stadium — the council-owned ground Gateshead have used since 1973 — continues.

Reported by Ines Kovač for OneLightScore with reference to Gateshead FC's official club statement, BBC Sport, the Non-League Football Paper, Chronicle Live and the Sunderland Echo. Cover image: Gateshead International Stadium, via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 3.0.