Leeds United confirm Dubai-based GFH Capital is new club owner
Guardian 21/12/12
Cash for players promised after £52m takeover is finalised
Ken Bates, who stands to receive £32m, misses 'massive day'
Andy Hunter
Ken Bates was in short supply as Gulf Finance House Capital announced its takeover of Leeds United on Friday. There was no confirmation of the amount paid for the club and no word on the source of the wealth behind the Dubai-based private equity firm. On the possible plus side for supporters adept at treating takeovers with caution, there was no Bates, though he stands to receive around £32m from the sale of the club.
Any potential relief in Leeds at the end of Bates's almost eight-year tenure is tempered by the fact the 81-year-old will remain chairman until the end of the season. He then becomes honorary president of the football board under the terms of the deal with GFH which, after a seven-month exclusivity period, purchased 100% of the club's parent company, Leeds City Holdings Limited, on Thursday.
The deal, one that does not include the purchase of the Elland Road Stadium or Thorpe Arch training complex, is understood to be £44m, plus £8m of investment. "It was a lot of money," was all that was said on the subject by Salem Patel, one of three GFH directors to have joined the club's board along with David Haigh and Hisham Alrayes.
All three have passed the Football League's Owners and Directors' Test. Haigh, a lawyer, Leeds fan and GFH's deputy chief executive, said: "We have had some fantastic confidentiality agreements in place over the last few months so we cannot discuss that right now."
If £44m is accurate then Bates, who owned 73% of a club he placed into administration in 2007, clearing its debts, stands to receive close on £32m. As he is resident in Monaco and he owned Leeds via a company, Outro Limited, that is registered in the tax haven of Nevis, he is exempt from paying capital gains tax as an exile. His non-appearance at the Billy Bremner Suite was the most tangible sign of the fresh start promised by GFH at Elland Road.
Asked why Bates was not present on what manager Neil Warnock described as "a massive day in the history of Leeds United", the club's chief executive, Shaun Harvey, said: "This press conference is about Leeds United going forward. He will remain chairman of the club during a very important transitional period. We wanted the focus on the future and GFH rather than anything else."
GFH is owned by the Bahrain investment bank Gulf Finance House, supported, according to Bates, by "a very rich individual who is very close to the government of Bahrain". Though no name has been forthcoming. "I am glad that question has been asked," Haigh said. "We are very transparent. We are a Dubai-based, regulated bank owned by a Bahrain-based, regulated bank that is listed on four stock exchanges [Bahrain, Kuwait, Dubai and London]. So when it comes to transparency over where the money comes from, who are our investors, who are our shareholders and directors, it is very clear and it is incredibly transparent."
Haigh admitted that re-connecting with fans who have turned away from Elland Road was a key requirement for the club under GFH. He also stated: "We have bought the club with cash. There is no debt."
GFH has bought the holding company that owns Leeds United Football Club but not the stadium and training ground that were sold off following the club's financial collapse and relegation from the Premier League. Patel, however, said: "Any club would love to own its own stadium. Currently Leeds United do not own their stadium or training facilities but it is part of our plan to buy them both. I am not at liberty to put a timescale on it."
Haigh revealed it was a condition of GFH's takeover that Warnock remained in charge and the owners intend to offer their manager an extension to his contract that is due to expire at the end of this season. Warnock wants the club to extend the loan deals of Alan Tate, Michael Tonge, Jerome Thomas and Ryan Hall, plus two new players, to give Leeds a chance of making the play-offs. Patel said: "Neil has stated what he wants and we will try our best to help him achieve that. We are not putting a figure on it.
"Leeds is a great club with history, pedigree and a fantastic base on which we can build. We looked at a number of clubs but Leeds was the most attractive for these reasons. It is obviously going to take investment [to return to the Premier League] and we would not have bought a club like this if we were not prepared to make that kind of investment. We are not going to be spending crazy money like others have done. It is going to be sustainable."
Cash for players promised after £52m takeover is finalised
Ken Bates, who stands to receive £32m, misses 'massive day'
Andy Hunter
Ken Bates was in short supply as Gulf Finance House Capital announced its takeover of Leeds United on Friday. There was no confirmation of the amount paid for the club and no word on the source of the wealth behind the Dubai-based private equity firm. On the possible plus side for supporters adept at treating takeovers with caution, there was no Bates, though he stands to receive around £32m from the sale of the club.
Any potential relief in Leeds at the end of Bates's almost eight-year tenure is tempered by the fact the 81-year-old will remain chairman until the end of the season. He then becomes honorary president of the football board under the terms of the deal with GFH which, after a seven-month exclusivity period, purchased 100% of the club's parent company, Leeds City Holdings Limited, on Thursday.
The deal, one that does not include the purchase of the Elland Road Stadium or Thorpe Arch training complex, is understood to be £44m, plus £8m of investment. "It was a lot of money," was all that was said on the subject by Salem Patel, one of three GFH directors to have joined the club's board along with David Haigh and Hisham Alrayes.
All three have passed the Football League's Owners and Directors' Test. Haigh, a lawyer, Leeds fan and GFH's deputy chief executive, said: "We have had some fantastic confidentiality agreements in place over the last few months so we cannot discuss that right now."
If £44m is accurate then Bates, who owned 73% of a club he placed into administration in 2007, clearing its debts, stands to receive close on £32m. As he is resident in Monaco and he owned Leeds via a company, Outro Limited, that is registered in the tax haven of Nevis, he is exempt from paying capital gains tax as an exile. His non-appearance at the Billy Bremner Suite was the most tangible sign of the fresh start promised by GFH at Elland Road.
Asked why Bates was not present on what manager Neil Warnock described as "a massive day in the history of Leeds United", the club's chief executive, Shaun Harvey, said: "This press conference is about Leeds United going forward. He will remain chairman of the club during a very important transitional period. We wanted the focus on the future and GFH rather than anything else."
GFH is owned by the Bahrain investment bank Gulf Finance House, supported, according to Bates, by "a very rich individual who is very close to the government of Bahrain". Though no name has been forthcoming. "I am glad that question has been asked," Haigh said. "We are very transparent. We are a Dubai-based, regulated bank owned by a Bahrain-based, regulated bank that is listed on four stock exchanges [Bahrain, Kuwait, Dubai and London]. So when it comes to transparency over where the money comes from, who are our investors, who are our shareholders and directors, it is very clear and it is incredibly transparent."
Haigh admitted that re-connecting with fans who have turned away from Elland Road was a key requirement for the club under GFH. He also stated: "We have bought the club with cash. There is no debt."
GFH has bought the holding company that owns Leeds United Football Club but not the stadium and training ground that were sold off following the club's financial collapse and relegation from the Premier League. Patel, however, said: "Any club would love to own its own stadium. Currently Leeds United do not own their stadium or training facilities but it is part of our plan to buy them both. I am not at liberty to put a timescale on it."
Haigh revealed it was a condition of GFH's takeover that Warnock remained in charge and the owners intend to offer their manager an extension to his contract that is due to expire at the end of this season. Warnock wants the club to extend the loan deals of Alan Tate, Michael Tonge, Jerome Thomas and Ryan Hall, plus two new players, to give Leeds a chance of making the play-offs. Patel said: "Neil has stated what he wants and we will try our best to help him achieve that. We are not putting a figure on it.
"Leeds is a great club with history, pedigree and a fantastic base on which we can build. We looked at a number of clubs but Leeds was the most attractive for these reasons. It is obviously going to take investment [to return to the Premier League] and we would not have bought a club like this if we were not prepared to make that kind of investment. We are not going to be spending crazy money like others have done. It is going to be sustainable."
