Guardian Unlimited Football | News | Leeds to sell home to fund wage bill
Louise Taylor
Monday July 12, 2004
The Guardian
Leeds United will almost certainly have the highest wage bill in the Football League this season and their anticipated £18m outlay partly explains why they announced over the weekend that Elland Road is up for sale.
Since being relegated from the Premiership Leeds - who are adamant they will insist on leasing the ground back from any buyer - have sold an array of high-earning players including Mark Viduka, Alan Smith, Paul Robinson and Nick Barmby.
As Gerald Krasner, the club chairman who has reduced the debt from £103m to around £50m now, explained: "There were 18 players earning over £1m a year when we came in and the total wage bill was over £40m. It is down to an £18m maximum this season but, in order to ensure a viable future, we still have to get the financial model right."
Last season Sunderland's £17m bill - slashed this summer - was the highest in the First Division. West Ham were second with a £16m outlay, while promoted West Brom paid out just £8m on salaries.
Krasner claims that the wage bill, plus inherited debts and a determination to cling on to the training ground near Wetherby, left him with no alternative but to sell Elland Road. The latest repayment instalment on a loan from the property developer Jack Petchey is also due shortly.
Krasner stresses that Leeds will continue to play at Elland Road for the foreseeable future - a minimum 25-year lease would be a condition of sale.
"If fans look back to the statements made at the time we saved the club from liquidation, we had two options - to remortgage the ground or do a sale and lease back," said Krasner. "It's the difference between renting your house and paying a mortgage, and sometimes paying rent is cheaper."
Simon Jose of the Leeds United Independent Fans Association is not impressed. "The board are selling the club's assets and not generating any income," he said. "This simply shows the directors have no ambition in our future."
Louise Taylor
Monday July 12, 2004
The Guardian
Leeds United will almost certainly have the highest wage bill in the Football League this season and their anticipated £18m outlay partly explains why they announced over the weekend that Elland Road is up for sale.
Since being relegated from the Premiership Leeds - who are adamant they will insist on leasing the ground back from any buyer - have sold an array of high-earning players including Mark Viduka, Alan Smith, Paul Robinson and Nick Barmby.
As Gerald Krasner, the club chairman who has reduced the debt from £103m to around £50m now, explained: "There were 18 players earning over £1m a year when we came in and the total wage bill was over £40m. It is down to an £18m maximum this season but, in order to ensure a viable future, we still have to get the financial model right."
Last season Sunderland's £17m bill - slashed this summer - was the highest in the First Division. West Ham were second with a £16m outlay, while promoted West Brom paid out just £8m on salaries.
Krasner claims that the wage bill, plus inherited debts and a determination to cling on to the training ground near Wetherby, left him with no alternative but to sell Elland Road. The latest repayment instalment on a loan from the property developer Jack Petchey is also due shortly.
Krasner stresses that Leeds will continue to play at Elland Road for the foreseeable future - a minimum 25-year lease would be a condition of sale.
"If fans look back to the statements made at the time we saved the club from liquidation, we had two options - to remortgage the ground or do a sale and lease back," said Krasner. "It's the difference between renting your house and paying a mortgage, and sometimes paying rent is cheaper."
Simon Jose of the Leeds United Independent Fans Association is not impressed. "The board are selling the club's assets and not generating any income," he said. "This simply shows the directors have no ambition in our future."
