How was Wycombe Wanderers selected?

When the Trustee sought a long-term lease of the golf course and playing fields, it invited expressions of interest from potential operators. The principal public document describing that process is the Designated Adviser's Report (DAR).

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This page examines what that report tells us about the basis on which Wycombe Wanderers was selected as the preferred bidder.

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Transparency and confidence

The Designated Adviser's Report was prepared by Carter Jonas in its role as Designated Adviser to the Trustee.

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During broadly the same period, Carter Jonas was also acting for Wycombe Wanderers on a retrospective planning application relating to the Club's existing training ground.

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This does not imply that the selection process was influenced or that the advice given to the Trustee was anything other than professional.

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However, where the same consultancy is advising both the Trustee and the preferred bidder on separate but related matters, heightened transparency and scrutiny are appropriate to maintain public confidence.

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The available information

The full Designated Adviser's Report has not been published.

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The document available to the public is a summary obtained through a Freedom of Information request. It has been shortened and contains redactions where information is commercially sensitive.

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Nevertheless, the summary contains valuable information about the Council's objectives, the marketing process and the reasons why Wycombe Wanderers was selected as the preferred bidder.

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The marketing process

The Designated Adviser's Report states that the Council wished to achieve an appropriate balance between the charitable objectives of the Trust and long-term financial sustainability (see: Is the Trust really financially unsustainable?).

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Importantly, it also records one of the Council's requirements for any lease:

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"Obligations would be built into lease(s) to ensure continuing community access to the facilities in line with the requirements of the ERDC Act..."

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The report then describes the competitive process:

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• 28 organisations registered an interest.

• 15 requested access to the data room.

• 9 attended site visits.

• 10 submitted proposals.

• 6 were shortlisted.

• 3 reached the final stage.

• One withdrew.

• Wycombe Wanderers was selected as the preferred bidder.

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The report also summarises WWFC's proposal, stating that it included:

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"...protecting the greenspace, woodland and high value habitats with public access being maintained."

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Taken together, the Council selected Wycombe Wanderers as the preferred bidder against a procurement framework in which continuing community access to the facilities was one of the Council's stated requirements, and in which the preferred bidder's proposal stated that public access would be maintained.

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The proposal today

The proposal presented to the public in 2026 includes a large fenced football academy occupying a substantial part of the charity land. The facilities within that area would be intended predominantly for the Club's own use rather than for general public use.

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Public rights of way may remain, and some community access may continue. Nevertheless, the proposal represents a significant change in how much of the land would be available for public sporting and recreational use.

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This raises an important question.​

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How are the public access commitments of both the Council and WWFC reflected in the proposal now being pursued?

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If the proposal no longer provides the level of community access upon which the procurement was based, there appear to be two obvious options:

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• The proposal could be amended so that it genuinely delivers continuing community access consistent with the Council's stated requirements and the preferred bidder's proposal; or

• The lease process could be restarted using revised conditions that accurately reflect the type of development now intended, allowing both the public and potential operators to consider that revised opportunity.