Billionaire Dozy Mmobuosi, the Nigerian founder of Tingo Inc., has seen his proposed £90 million takeover of Sheffield United hit a major snag. A County Court judgment in the UK orders him to pay £30,109 for unpaid rent on a property in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The debt, incurred between April and December 2020, remained unsettled despite repeated attempts by the landlord’s agents and bailiffs after the judgment was issued in April 2021. Although Mmobuosi has previously pledged to clear the arrears, he has yet to do so, even as he claims to have sufficient personal wealth to complete the football club acquisition.
The 43‑year‑old entrepreneur is currently undergoing the English Football League’s owners’ and directors’ tests, but no approvals have been granted so far. In a London interview with CNN, Mmobuosi asserted his commitment to the deal, saying, “It is my money. I have actually made a deposit… I would expect myself and the club to issue a joint statement with details concerning how much, but I have made a deposit and that shows my seriousness.” He did not disclose the amount of the deposit.
Meanwhile, the unpaid rent in St Albans remains outstanding. Paul Andrew, the property’s owner, suggested that Mmobuosi may have simply forgotten the County Court judgment, adding, “That seems very difficult to comprehend given that he was distressed about the impact on his family of these persistent attempts to resolve the judgment. At the very least he needs to explain his amazing philanthropic principles against this background of what appears to have been lies and deception… I concluded long ago that he never intended to settle this debt.”
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