Mighty Leeds Weblog

by Phil Hay The long-time parent company of Leeds United is fighting to reverse a winding-up order issued against it by the High Court this week. A judge in London ordered Leeds City Holdings Limited to be liquidated on Monday over a debt claimed by former club solicitor Mark Taylor. Taylor - a lawyer who acted on United’s behalf during much of Ken Bates’ time as chairman - sought payment of £45,000 for work carried out in December 2012, the same month that Bates sold Leeds to Gulf Finance House. A winding-up petition was served on Leeds City Holdings before Christmas and a receiver has been appointed to liquidate the firm following Monday’s court hearing, a hearing which officials from United failed to attend. Speaking today, however, club chairman Andrew Umbers said attempts would be made to overturn that ruling. Umbers said: “The debt is a solicitor’s bill which is incapable of founding a winding-up order. LCH is now taking the appropriate action.” Leeds City Holdings (LCH) w...

LEEDS UNITED could soon have ownership of their Elland Road stadium, new chairman Andrew Umbers has revealed. By JOE SHORT The club sold their Beeston ground back in 2004 for £8million as part of a desperate attempt to avoid administration and pay their spiraling debts. And over a decade later they are still paying rent on their historical home, where they have an option to buy back the ground at a set fee by 2029 when their 25-year lease ends. But Umbers revealed he is determined to bring Elland Road back under Leeds' ownership by this time next season. "We know that we have got to own our own assets," Umbers told BBC Radio Leeds. "It's wrong to be a guest in our own home. "It is our intention to buy the stadium. This is a club that belongs to its fans and to the community. "I don't want to give a date because I think it would be wrong to manage that expectation, but I think this time next year a lot will have changed around the stadium and L...