Guardian 11/7/07
Bates buys back Leeds
Inland Revenue had challenged Bates's right to regain control of club
Ken Bates's cunning and deeply unpopular plan to regain control of Leeds United came together today when administrators KPMG approved the sale of the club to a consortium headed by him.
Other bidders had been in the running to buy the troubled League One side but KPMG decided that Bates' unconditional offer "represents the best result for creditors".
Bates first bought Leeds in January 2005 but as soon as the team slipped to the brink of relegation last May he put the club into administration, incurring a 10-point penalty but, more importantly, effectively writing off debts of over £30m. Then he formed a new company named Leeds United Football Club Limited and immediately mounted a bid to buy the club back.
Bates originally proposed paying creditors a paltry one penny for every one pound owed; an increased offer of eight pence per pound was then narrowly accepted by creditors in a vote last month. However, Inland Revenue, who were owed around £7m by the club, launched a legal challenge to Bates's takeover, prompting administrators KPMG to put the club back up for sale last Friday.
Today, after much deliberation, the administrators finally agreed to sell to Bates for an undisclosed sum. "We received several offers for the business which we considered carefully," said joint administrator Richard Fleming. "The approved deal represents the best result for creditors in the circumstances and we believe provides the club with the best chance of survival."
The winning bid will not be disclosed until the creditors' report is published in several months.
"We understand this has been a difficult time for all those concerned about the future of Leeds United. This deal is a necessary step if the club is to have a chance of playing in League One in the 2007/08 season."
Unsuccesful bidder Simon Franks, who had teamed up with property developer Simon Morris, admitted he was "gobsmacked" to miss out.
"Obviously I'm very disappointed," he said. "It's been a torturous process and we put together what we thought was a very brave bid. I'm gobsmacked that we appear to have not won the club.
"We have to remember that in the last bidding, almost a month ago now, that our bid was significantly more than Mr Bates'. I think we provided proof of funds of £10million against his £350,000 - and we still lost by the vagaries of the process that we're in." "I cannot believe that anybody outbid us but, in administration, the process is very vague and obviously we're looking forward to seeing the documentation to what we lost to. I dare say that many people will cry foul, but I don't want to do that until I've seen what has gone on."
Bates, meanwhile, said he was pleased to regain control of the club despite being "disappointed that this has dragged on for so long".
"We're in a good position and we have serious investors who want to come in with us for the right reasons - not the wrong reasons," said Bates. "Now we'll continue building the team, which is looking pretty good at the moment, albeit in very slimmed-down form".
Sky 11/7/07
Franks admits Leeds defeat
By James Pearson
Redbus chairman Simon Franks has admitted defeat in his attempts to buy Leeds United.
Franks teamed up with property developer Simon Morris for the second round of bidding for The Whites only to lose out to Ken Bates' consortium.
Entrepreneur Franks has conceded fighting for Leeds further could harm the club's immediate future and believes the end of the road may have come for his consortium.
"Obviously I'm very disappointed," he told Sky Sports News. "It's been a torturous process and we've put together what we thought was a very brave bid.
"I'm gob smacked that we've not appeared to have won the club.
"In the last round of bidding our bid was worth significantly more than Mr Bates.
"I think we proved proof of funds of £10million against his £350,000 yet we still lost.
"I can't believe anyone outbid us. We were confident we were the best bid.
"It may be time for us to pack up and move on. We're a turnaround business and we can't spend forever fighting for Leeds.
"I think this may be as far as the road goes for Redbus."
Daily Mail 11/7/07
Bates wins control but Leeds' future remains in doubt
Ken Bates has insisted that Leeds have been given "a clean start" after his consortium bought the troubled League One club - but doubts remain over the club's Football League future.
The Elland Road club were put up for sale on Friday by administrators KPMG after the Inland Revenue launched a legal challenge to Bates' original plans to buy back the club from administration.
And former Chelsea chairman Bates is looking forward to taking the club forward as they prepare for their first ever season outside of the top two divisions after KPMG agreed to sell United to Bates today.
He claimed on Sky Sports News: "It's a sense of achievement and a challenge.
"Leeds were in a mess when we took over - the Peter Ridsdale era and the last board were incompetent.
"But now we've got a clean start and a clean sheet of paper.
"It's a big club - it's not at the moment but it will be - and we can take it forward.
"And part of the reason why we're going to succeed is because these Leeds fans are absolutely magnificent.
"99% of the letters and e-mails are supporting us and that's not bad. That's as good as Saddam Hussein did and he was fiddling the figures."
Bates admitted the chaos surrounding the club's future had prevented manager Dennis Wise signing players as he prepares for an assault on League One.
Wise's side have been prevented from signing players due to the terms of the club's administration and Bates believes potential targets have signed for rival clubs as a result.
He explained: "Dennis had a shopping list and one of the results of the delay - so thank you everyone who has given us grief - is that a number of players Dennis had lined up have now signed for other clubs because they didn't have a job.
"They had mortgages to pay but they joined other clubs even though they wanted to come to Leeds.
"But there are still plenty there and we're satisfied and confident that we'll build a strong enough team to be at the top of the league rather than mid-table."
Bates refused to put a timescale on returning to the Premier League while Football League chiefs prepared for a meeting to decide whether they will even be allowed to kick-off against Tranmere on August 11.
Bates said: "You can't have plans in football.
"I remember someone at Chelsea saying that we couldn't go up because we weren't ready for it.
"You go up when you can - not when you want to. Our plan is to win every match next season, which we won't - but that's the target.
"Get into the Championship and then the target is to win every game in the Championship, which we won't, and hopefully we'll get back into the Premiership sooner rather than later."
However the Football League had warned KPMG that they would not allow Leeds to start life in League One if they were sold without a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in place - and that uncertainty hangs over Elland Road.
Football League spokesman John Nagle tonight told PA Sport: "The Football League meet tomorrow and will discuss all matters relating to Leeds United's administration."
Bates buys back Leeds
Inland Revenue had challenged Bates's right to regain control of club
Ken Bates's cunning and deeply unpopular plan to regain control of Leeds United came together today when administrators KPMG approved the sale of the club to a consortium headed by him.
Other bidders had been in the running to buy the troubled League One side but KPMG decided that Bates' unconditional offer "represents the best result for creditors".
Bates first bought Leeds in January 2005 but as soon as the team slipped to the brink of relegation last May he put the club into administration, incurring a 10-point penalty but, more importantly, effectively writing off debts of over £30m. Then he formed a new company named Leeds United Football Club Limited and immediately mounted a bid to buy the club back.
Bates originally proposed paying creditors a paltry one penny for every one pound owed; an increased offer of eight pence per pound was then narrowly accepted by creditors in a vote last month. However, Inland Revenue, who were owed around £7m by the club, launched a legal challenge to Bates's takeover, prompting administrators KPMG to put the club back up for sale last Friday.
Today, after much deliberation, the administrators finally agreed to sell to Bates for an undisclosed sum. "We received several offers for the business which we considered carefully," said joint administrator Richard Fleming. "The approved deal represents the best result for creditors in the circumstances and we believe provides the club with the best chance of survival."
The winning bid will not be disclosed until the creditors' report is published in several months.
"We understand this has been a difficult time for all those concerned about the future of Leeds United. This deal is a necessary step if the club is to have a chance of playing in League One in the 2007/08 season."
Unsuccesful bidder Simon Franks, who had teamed up with property developer Simon Morris, admitted he was "gobsmacked" to miss out.
"Obviously I'm very disappointed," he said. "It's been a torturous process and we put together what we thought was a very brave bid. I'm gobsmacked that we appear to have not won the club.
"We have to remember that in the last bidding, almost a month ago now, that our bid was significantly more than Mr Bates'. I think we provided proof of funds of £10million against his £350,000 - and we still lost by the vagaries of the process that we're in." "I cannot believe that anybody outbid us but, in administration, the process is very vague and obviously we're looking forward to seeing the documentation to what we lost to. I dare say that many people will cry foul, but I don't want to do that until I've seen what has gone on."
Bates, meanwhile, said he was pleased to regain control of the club despite being "disappointed that this has dragged on for so long".
"We're in a good position and we have serious investors who want to come in with us for the right reasons - not the wrong reasons," said Bates. "Now we'll continue building the team, which is looking pretty good at the moment, albeit in very slimmed-down form".
Sky 11/7/07
Franks admits Leeds defeat
By James Pearson
Redbus chairman Simon Franks has admitted defeat in his attempts to buy Leeds United.
Franks teamed up with property developer Simon Morris for the second round of bidding for The Whites only to lose out to Ken Bates' consortium.
Entrepreneur Franks has conceded fighting for Leeds further could harm the club's immediate future and believes the end of the road may have come for his consortium.
"Obviously I'm very disappointed," he told Sky Sports News. "It's been a torturous process and we've put together what we thought was a very brave bid.
"I'm gob smacked that we've not appeared to have won the club.
"In the last round of bidding our bid was worth significantly more than Mr Bates.
"I think we proved proof of funds of £10million against his £350,000 yet we still lost.
"I can't believe anyone outbid us. We were confident we were the best bid.
"It may be time for us to pack up and move on. We're a turnaround business and we can't spend forever fighting for Leeds.
"I think this may be as far as the road goes for Redbus."
Daily Mail 11/7/07
Bates wins control but Leeds' future remains in doubt
Ken Bates has insisted that Leeds have been given "a clean start" after his consortium bought the troubled League One club - but doubts remain over the club's Football League future.
The Elland Road club were put up for sale on Friday by administrators KPMG after the Inland Revenue launched a legal challenge to Bates' original plans to buy back the club from administration.
And former Chelsea chairman Bates is looking forward to taking the club forward as they prepare for their first ever season outside of the top two divisions after KPMG agreed to sell United to Bates today.
He claimed on Sky Sports News: "It's a sense of achievement and a challenge.
"Leeds were in a mess when we took over - the Peter Ridsdale era and the last board were incompetent.
"But now we've got a clean start and a clean sheet of paper.
"It's a big club - it's not at the moment but it will be - and we can take it forward.
"And part of the reason why we're going to succeed is because these Leeds fans are absolutely magnificent.
"99% of the letters and e-mails are supporting us and that's not bad. That's as good as Saddam Hussein did and he was fiddling the figures."
Bates admitted the chaos surrounding the club's future had prevented manager Dennis Wise signing players as he prepares for an assault on League One.
Wise's side have been prevented from signing players due to the terms of the club's administration and Bates believes potential targets have signed for rival clubs as a result.
He explained: "Dennis had a shopping list and one of the results of the delay - so thank you everyone who has given us grief - is that a number of players Dennis had lined up have now signed for other clubs because they didn't have a job.
"They had mortgages to pay but they joined other clubs even though they wanted to come to Leeds.
"But there are still plenty there and we're satisfied and confident that we'll build a strong enough team to be at the top of the league rather than mid-table."
Bates refused to put a timescale on returning to the Premier League while Football League chiefs prepared for a meeting to decide whether they will even be allowed to kick-off against Tranmere on August 11.
Bates said: "You can't have plans in football.
"I remember someone at Chelsea saying that we couldn't go up because we weren't ready for it.
"You go up when you can - not when you want to. Our plan is to win every match next season, which we won't - but that's the target.
"Get into the Championship and then the target is to win every game in the Championship, which we won't, and hopefully we'll get back into the Premiership sooner rather than later."
However the Football League had warned KPMG that they would not allow Leeds to start life in League One if they were sold without a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in place - and that uncertainty hangs over Elland Road.
Football League spokesman John Nagle tonight told PA Sport: "The Football League meet tomorrow and will discuss all matters relating to Leeds United's administration."