Pearson hints at possibility of move to buy Whites
YEP 8/2/13
By Phil Hay
Former Leeds United director Adam Pearson has raised the possibility of another approach to buy the club by revealing he hopes to “get back into football” and sees the Elland Road outfit as a prime investment opportunity.
The ex-Hull City chairman currently runs Hull FC rugby league club and has been out of the game since leaving his role as head of football operations at the KC Stadium in May of last year. But Pearson, who was involved in an unsuccessful bid to take control of Leeds while United were in administration in 2007, said he would “definitely get back into football” having also served time as chairman of Derby County and commercial director at Elland Road.
In an interview with Yorkshire Business Insider, Pearson said: “I will definitely get back into football.
“I would like to go in with a consortium with a club that has huge potential. The one that stands out is Leeds.
“Everybody in Leeds needs that club back in the Premier League. A city of this size should have a Premier League club. Having 30 Premier League footballers in a city, buying dinner and gifts, is like having 30 small businesses.”
The ownership of United changed hands as recently as December 21 when Dubai-based GFH Capital purchased a 100 per cent stake in the club from previous owner and chairman Ken Bates.
But GFH Capital are known to be seeking financial support having revealed that “strategic investors” would be brought to Elland Road as part of their business model for the Championship side.
Speaking on the day of GFH Capital’s buy-out, board member Salem Patel told the YEP: “The way our business model works, it’s not about flipping or long-term, short-term. The way we typically work would be to identify a project then bring strategic investors with us.
“If people want to call that flipping then it is flipping. But to us it’s not flipping. It’s identifying an asset and then bringing the right people on board – whether that is management or shareholders or investors – to help try and build that asset to take it to the next level.
“We’ll not be selling 100 per cent, we’ll be maintaining a shareholding in this club.”
By Phil Hay
Former Leeds United director Adam Pearson has raised the possibility of another approach to buy the club by revealing he hopes to “get back into football” and sees the Elland Road outfit as a prime investment opportunity.
The ex-Hull City chairman currently runs Hull FC rugby league club and has been out of the game since leaving his role as head of football operations at the KC Stadium in May of last year. But Pearson, who was involved in an unsuccessful bid to take control of Leeds while United were in administration in 2007, said he would “definitely get back into football” having also served time as chairman of Derby County and commercial director at Elland Road.
In an interview with Yorkshire Business Insider, Pearson said: “I will definitely get back into football.
“I would like to go in with a consortium with a club that has huge potential. The one that stands out is Leeds.
“Everybody in Leeds needs that club back in the Premier League. A city of this size should have a Premier League club. Having 30 Premier League footballers in a city, buying dinner and gifts, is like having 30 small businesses.”
The ownership of United changed hands as recently as December 21 when Dubai-based GFH Capital purchased a 100 per cent stake in the club from previous owner and chairman Ken Bates.
But GFH Capital are known to be seeking financial support having revealed that “strategic investors” would be brought to Elland Road as part of their business model for the Championship side.
Speaking on the day of GFH Capital’s buy-out, board member Salem Patel told the YEP: “The way our business model works, it’s not about flipping or long-term, short-term. The way we typically work would be to identify a project then bring strategic investors with us.
“If people want to call that flipping then it is flipping. But to us it’s not flipping. It’s identifying an asset and then bringing the right people on board – whether that is management or shareholders or investors – to help try and build that asset to take it to the next level.
“We’ll not be selling 100 per cent, we’ll be maintaining a shareholding in this club.”
