Guardian 30/5/07 Leeds leave creditors clinging to wreckage Ken Bates' dealings - including the non-payment of St John Ambulance, and a proposed penny to pound rescue plan - have angered creditors. Amid the wreckage of Leeds United, in the appalling, familiar list of those left unpaid by another bust football club, sits an organisation which does not even charge for its services, just asks clubs to contribute towards expenses. Nevertheless, there it is again, in the £35m mountain of debts which Ken Bates's Leeds is not paying: St John Ambulance, owed £165. At what is expected to be an angry creditors' meeting on Friday, the administrator, Richard Fleming of accountants KPMG, is proposing that Leeds be sold to a new company headed by Bates, in return for a payment of only 1p for every pound of debt. That proposal is backed by the three anonymously-owned, offshore companies who claim collectively to be owed £17.78m. If it is passed, St John Ambulance will be given £1.65 and w...
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BBC 29/5/07 Bates warning over Leeds future Leeds chairman Ken Bates believes the club will find it hard to survive if creditors vote against his bid to buy back the Yorkshire side on Friday. The former Chelsea chief took the debt-ridden club into administration ahead of the final weekend of season. "If they want a football club in Leeds they should make sure they vote the right way," he told Yorkshire Radio. Administrators KPMG agreed to sell the club back to Bates, but the deal has yet to be approved by creditors. The creditors, and the Football League, will consider a Company Voluntary Agreement under which they would forego some of Leeds' £35m debt. Bates added: "If the CVA fails, I can assure the fans it's unlikely there will be a Leeds United Football Club. Remember Accrington took 45 years to get back to league status from when they went out of the league. "Hopefully we can move forward and put the tribulations of the last five to six years behind us ...
New pages uploaded at mightyleeds.co.uk Matches – 9 December 1967 – Liverpool 2 Leeds United 0 Careless Hands - one of the most immortal of all footballing gaffes - after a bad day at the office life would never again be the same for United keeper Gary Sprake Read the full story at http://www.mightyleeds.co.uk/matches/19671209.htm
Daily Mail 26/5/07 Healy to leave Leeds and join up with Sanchez at Fulham Northern Ireland striker David Healy will sign for his former international manager Lawrie Sanchez at Fulham as soon as Leeds United are taken out of administration. Healy is keen to link up again with Sanchez despite interest from Middlesbrough and Sunderland but Fulham have to wait until Leeds’ financial situation is resolved before they can complete a £1 million deal. The 27-year-old is Northern Ireland’s record scorer and famously netted the winner in a World Cup qualifier against England in 2005.
Daily mail 24/5/07 Revie rejoins takeover race for Leeds Duncan Revie has stepped up his interest in taking control of Leeds United by proving to the club's administrators he has the money in place to buy them. Revie, son of legendary former Leeds manager Don, has completed a dramatic U-turn by formally submitting proof of funds with administrators KPMG before a crucial creditors meeting on June 1. The 52-year-old, who heads the highly-successful football conventions and forums company Soccerex, had said he was not yet ready to join the takeover race. But he has now confirmed he will decide by the end of next week whether to make a formal bid for the club. Revie told PA Sport: "The creditors meeting has never been a deadline for me. "We have a much longer-term view of taking on the whole thing and will not be rushing into our judgment. "We have lodged proof of funds with the administrators. We have not lodged a bid. "We need to see the figures first and you don...
United: Where the money is owed By Phil Hay Exclusive THE Company Voluntary Arrangement put forward to Leeds United's creditors by Ken Bates is a transparent depiction of the intricate business that professional football has become. From the debt of £12,839,309 owed to Astor Investment Holdings Limited to a three-pound payment due to a property firm in Ferrybridge who have entered into liquidation, the CVA document constructed by Bates explains every penny which forced United into the hands of administrators KPMG a fortnight ago. The list of creditors is long and varied, encompassing a wide spectrum of business and society. Alongside the names of solicitors, accountants and local authorities are those of delicatessens, locksmiths, travel agents. Even a mobile disco is listed. A total of around 1,350 creditors are involved. Most, if not all, have spent the latter half of this week contemplating the implications of a deal which offers them next to nothing.The terms of the CVA drawn u...
Yorkshire Post 22/5/07 Players' wage deferral helps keep United going By Richard Sutcliffe ALL but four of Leeds United's players have agreed to defer their wages until after next month's creditors meeting. The Elland Road outfit were placed in administration on May 4 amid debts of £35m and a balance sheet indicating that an injection of £10m was needed to keep the club going.KPMG were immediately appointed as the administrators and within minutes they agreed to sell the business and its assets to a company called Leeds United Football Club Limited.Chairman Ken Bates is listed as one of three directors in the new company and the sale is subject to approval at a meeting of creditors on June 1.Three members of staff based at the club's Thorp Arch training complex – physio Alan Sutton, kit manager Sean Hardy and Dennis Wise's secretary, Vicky Walsh – were made redundant last week as the administrator implemented a round of cost-cutting. KPMG then approached the Profess...
Daily Mail 12/5/07 Revie’s son will ask Bates to name his price as fans back his Leeds takeover By JOE BERNSTEIN Duncan Revie will this week ask Leeds chairman Ken Bates to name his price after being backed by supporters who want him to take over the club. The son of legendary Leeds manager Don Revie announced his interest last week in heading a consortium to take control at Elland Road and has been discussing finance with a number of backers, including the wealthy Maktoum family, who rule Dubai. Revie now plans to see the Leeds chairman to discuss the next step. He said: "It is time to sit down with Ken Bates, to push this thing further and see what he wants. I intend to ring him on Monday and arrange a meeting to find out what the story is. I know Ken and I quite like him. It’s always best to deal with him face to face and be up front about it. "I’ve been staggered by the reaction of Leeds fans to my interest in taking the club back where we belong. I’ve always said they ar...
New pages uploaded at mightyleeds.co.uk Matches - 7 October 1967 Leeds United 7 Chelsea 0 Chelsea arrive at Elland Road without a manager, and then leave without their dignity after a Billy Bremner wonder show and Leeds get their revenge for two Cup defeats Read the full story at http://www.mightyleeds.co.uk/matches/19671007.htm
Guardian 9/5/07 Morris makes £10m bid for Leeds Former director plans to build new stadium Staff and agencies Wednesday May 9, 2007 Guardian Unlimited Former Leeds director Simon Morris today launched a £10m bid to buy the club and build a new 50,000-seater stadium as part of a £400m "world-class leisure venue". Morris, the 29-year-old property entrepreneur, was recently named among the top 10 richest people under 30 in Britain with a fortune estimated at £69m. He has tabled a £10m bid for the club and, if successful, says he will provide a further £25m to bring financial stability to Elland Road. Moreover, Morris's lavish plans involve developing the land around Elland Road and building a new stadium as part of a multi-million pound entertainment complex. SR Morris Group, who claim to be one of the fastest-growing property companies in the UK, say they plan to invest £400m in the scheme. "Our plans are fully costed and very well financed," said Morris. "Th...
Moore shocked as axe falls By Ian Appleyard LEEDS United striker Ian Moore is 'devastated' after being told that he will not be staying at Elland Road next season. With a battle for control of the club brewing behind the scenes, Leeds are locked in crucial talks with players as manager Dennis Wise attempts to rebuild from the rubble of relegation to League OneMoore is one of 10 out-of-contract players at Elland Road while another six are unlikely to be staying after reaching the end of loan deals.The former Nottingham Forest striker, who joined Leeds from Burnley two years ago, has scored only five goals in 65 appearances."I was devastated when I was told I wouldn't be here next season – I was hoping to play a part in helping the club get back up," he said. "I didn't have a good start when I first came to the club, but I think I've always had a good relationship with the fans"In my first full season I didn't really figure, but we got to the p...
Yorkshire Post 6/5/07 Bates: I'll get Leeds back to the top By Richard Sutcliffe EXCLUSIVE:Ken Bates intends staying at Leeds United for the "long haul" after revealing the club are looking for investors and not buyers. A dramatic turn of events last Friday saw the Elland Road outfit placed in administration amid debts of £35m only to then emerge minutes later in the hands of a newly-formed company called Leeds United Football Club Limited.Bates is listed as a director of the new firm along with United chief executive Shaun Harvey and director Mark Taylor, so, providing a creditors meeting at the end of this month approves the sale, it means Leeds will emerge with the same management team at the helm. Dennis Wise's side finished bottom of the Championship after being deducted 10 points by the Football League for going into administration, but Bates remains in bullish mood about the club's prospects in 2007-08. He said: "The bookies have made us 6-4 favourites...
Times 4/5/07 Administration seals Leeds relegation Leeds United have been relegated to League One after going into administration today, triggering an instant ten points deduction, the Football League has confirmed. Their demotion from the Championship was all but certain already after their 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town left them trailing Hull City by three points with a goal difference deficit of nine. Shortly after KPMG's appointment as administrators they agreed to sell the club to a newly-formed company called Leeds United Football Club Limited, with Ken Bates, Shaun Harvey and Mark Taylor as its directors. The sale of the club is subject to approval by its creditors who will meet before the end of May to consider a Company Voluntary Agreement, whereby they would forgo some of their debt. The Football League would also need to approve the sale. However, the former Chelsea chairman could not resist criticising former club officials for incurring huge debts. "The action (going...
Just the worst feeling in the world... Is there anything in the world that hurts more than the dire realisation on a Saturday afternoon that all your hopes and dreams are crumbling to dust? Not at the time, I know, but in the one or two hours after the shock has hit and reality has sunk in, you know you were expecting this all along, and you know that the only way is up ... LUFC in the Third (League One ... what a joke, who thought up that little one?) Who's for the big climb up to the top starting now, this week, this month, this year? PS Three weeks ago I was sat in a car park in France ... Leeds had just gone 1-0 up at Colchester and the rest of the results were going the right way ... then Mrs D made me go off and get the duty free wine before setting off home ... when I get back to the car Leeds have lost 2-1 and nothing (MUCH) has gone right ever since ... OH FICKLE FINGER OF FATE...
Leedsunited.com 1/5/07 WHERE WE ARE United chairman Ken Bates has thanked the fans for their support since Saturday's draw with Ipswich all-but confirmed the club's relegation from the Championship. "We've received a tremendous amount of support from people who recognise what we have tried to do and what we are doing," said the chairman, speaking to LUTV. "The support has been beyond my wildest dreams. We've had letters, calls, and e-mails from fans from across the country who are all right behind us. "We've had one letter from a fan who last had a season ticket in 2002, but says he is coming back again next season. It's terrific to know that people are behind us. "Our commercial department are busy with calls from box holders and corporates, some wanting to sign up for as long as five years, and I was with a match sponsor who has already offered to do three games next season. "Our League One campaign starts now, and we will come ba...
Telegraph 1/5/07 Leeds pay devilishly heavy price for past sins By Sue Mott The fall of Leeds United has been so precipitate and catastrophic, like a runaway toboggan down the Cresta Run, it is tempting to believe in some kind of supernatural retribution. As though a Faustian pact was forged during the Don Revie era, now demanding repayment. 'Let us be the best, the most feared, the most ferocious team in England but come the 21st century, Oh Great One with the pitch fork, you can get your own back'. And here it is. The vengeance. The famous Yorkshire club, on the verge of administration, faces relegation into the third tier of English football for the first time in a once-proud history. Hard times: fans give the Leeds players a message after being condemned to near-certain relegation How did it come to this? It is almost bizarre that at a time when Premiership clubs, and even Southampton in the Championship, are causing a feeding frenzy among the piranhas of world finance, Le...