³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

Businessman Paul Elliott is the new owner and chairman of Charlton Athletic after his consortium completed their takeover of East Street Investments.

ESI bought the Addicks from previous owner Roland Duchatelet in January.

Tahnoon Nimer and Matt Southall, who were at the forefront of that deal, later fell out and they will no longer be involved with the Championship club.

Charlton say they are "in touch" with the EFL to "begin the process of finalising the change of control".

Elliott's purchase of ESI ends a tumultuous five-month period at The Valley, with a boardroom spat between Nimer and Southall causing off-field issues.

The two men fell out over proposed investment, with Nimer removing Southall from his position as executive chairman in March - but Southall then refused to leave the board of ESI.

The English Football League began an investigation into potential misconduct during ESI's purchase of the club from Duchatelet, who had been owner of the Addicks for six years.

ESI have an agreement to purchase The Valley and the club's training ground from Duchatelet in the future as part of the deal agreed in January.

Hammersmith-born Elliott began his career with a property management company, which he subsequently turned into a large portfolio of residential and commercial units.

Elliott said he was "delighted" to take ownership of Charlton, and that he will "take the responsibility very seriously".

"I will be looking to ensure the stability of the club so we can look to put behind us the recent boardroom events and concentrate on building a unified boardroom and a unified club,"

"This club has passionate fans and we will need every bit of that passion, together with determination and hard work of everyone at the club as we restart this season.

"Our immediate focus will be on getting behind the team and the manager and giving ourselves the best opportunity of staying in the Championship."

Charlton are 22nd in the table, two points from safety, and will face 21st-placed Hull when the 2019-20 season resumes on 20 June.

It is unclear whether Romanian pair Marian Mihail and Claudiu Florica, who were appointed to the board of directors by Nimer in March, will remain at the club.

Nimer said in a statement: "I have made the difficult decision, having received advice and listening to fans' wishes, to hand the club over to a consortium that will have sufficient time and be in a position to take the club forward and I would like to reassure you all that I have, at all times, sought to do all that is right for our club and its fans.

"I have made the decision to ensure the club is in the best position to move forward and re-establish itself into football's elite."