Marcus Evans: Who is the businessman estimated to be worth £786m linked with Huddersfield Town takeover?

The club's majority shareholder Phil Hodgkinson currently holds a 75 per cent stake in Town but he has been absent from the club since November after several of his businesses entered administration.

The Terriers are legally unaffected by those companies entering administration as Hodgkinson's shares are held through PURE Sports Consultancy, which is a separate entity.

Now Evans is the man being linked with a takeover while former chairman Dean Hoyle - who retains a 25 per cent stake in the club - is involved in the day-to-day running of the club after he took over as chief executive on an interim basis following the departure of Mark Devlin.

Who is Marcus Evans?

The 58-year-old was born in London in 1963 and attended Cambridge University. He is originally from Walsham-le-Willows in Suffolk, but grew up near Wimbledon.

He made his fortune in the hospitality, conferencing and media industry through his company Marcus Evans Group, which he founded in 1983. According to the company's website, it employs over 3000 staff and has around 56 offices globally.

He is best known for being the former chairman and owner of Ipswich Town. He bought the club in December 2007 before selling it to a U.S. consortium in April 2021 while retaining a 5 per cent stake in the club.

How can he potentially afford to purchase shares in Huddersfield Town?

The businessman was in the 2021 Sunday Times Rich List, with it estimating his net worth to be £786m.

What happened during his time at Ipswich Town?

He took over the club in 2007, which including taking on £32m of debt which he purchased from Aviva and Barclays Bank. He put £12 million into the club and gained a controlling 87.5 per cent stake, with existing shareholders retaining the remaining share.

After 11 years of Evans's ownership, the club finished bottom of the Championship in 2019 and were relegated to League One for the first time since 1957.

In April 2021, Evans officially sold the club to US investment group Gamechanger 20 Limited. He also agreed to write off the majority of the club's debt which was owed to him.

Part of the deal saw the 58-year-old retain a 5 per cent stake in the club but he is not involved in the day-to-day running of the club.

Evans would need to divest his shares in Ipswich to buy a stake in another English club. He had previously been rumoured to show an interest in investing in Derby County.