Bates’ claims denied by GFH Capital
By Phil Hay
GFH Capital, the firm bidding to buy Leeds United, has rejected claims from club chairman Ken Bates that its lawyers are purposefully delaying a takeover, saying the deal is “in a good place.”
A source involved with the Dubai-based company responded to critical comments made by Bates ahead of Saturday game against Barnsley by insisting it was “in everyone’s interests to get the deal done as soon as possible.”
GFH Capital is bidding to complete a full buy-out of Leeds and its deputy chief executive, David Haigh, attended United’s 1-0 win over Barnsley, sitting with Bates in the directors box at Elland Road.
The two parties have been negotiating the terms of a takeover for almost five months and are bound by a confidentiality clause but, after a week of disclosure about GFH Capital’s plans for the club, Bates spoke out on Saturday to deny responsibility for the on-going delay in reaching an agreement.
GFH Capital – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gulf Finance House, the investment bank situated in Bahrain – responded by expressing confidence about its chances of completing a buy-out in the near future, with an associate of the firm telling the YEP: “From GFH Capital’s point of view, the deal is in a good place.”
Bates, who owns a 72.85 per cent stake in United, appeared to cast fresh doubt on the proposed takeover when he said: “The real problem is (GFH Capital’s) lawyers because this is a straightforward deal by anyone’s standards.
“They appear to be making complications when there’s no need to do so. They’re moving at a very slow rate.
“I know GFH want to complete a deal and we are happy to do a deal with them but when last-minute things are slipped in, it makes things difficult.
“By GFH’s standards this isn’t a very big deal and I don’t know what the delay is. All I can say to the fans is don’t blame me.”
But the source at GFH Capital said: “Delaying the deal would serve no purpose and it’s not in GFH Capital’s interests to take any longer than necessary.
“The lawyers on both sides have work to do because, needless to say, there’s a process involved in buying a football club. To claim otherwise would be crazy. “But GFH Capital wants this to happen and the money is there to make it happen. “It’s in everyone’s interests to get the deal done as soon as possible.”
GFH Capital’s offer for a controlling interest in United has been on the table since May but the fate of the deal has grown increasingly uncertain in the past month and a half.
The firm’s bid appeared to be on the point of collapse shortly before the start of the Championship season and the past fortnight has thrown up questions about how GFH Capital will raise the funds needed to buy United.
The club are thought to be valued at around £52million but GFH Capital has so far declined to comment on how it is sourcing the necessary cash.
There have been strong suggestions, meanwhile, of rival offers for Bates’ stake and claims of interest from another Middle Eastern party and an investor from the United States, but Haigh’s appearance at Elland Road – the fourth time he has attended a Leeds fixture this season – was another attempt to move GFH Capital’s approach forward following face-to-face discussions a fortnight earlier.