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« på: Mai 06, 2007, 07:09:33 »
The son of legendary Leeds United manager Don Revie is trying to form a consortium to take control at Elland Road.
Businessman Duncan Revie, 52, has already held preliminary talks with wealthy backers, including Dubai’s ruling Maktoum family, and wants to raise £40million to buy the club from Ken Bates and get Leeds back into the Premiership
The news that the family associated with Leeds’ golden age could be part of their rebirth will seem like light at the end of the tunnel for fans distraught at their demise.
‘What is happening to Leeds is a bloody disgrace,’ said Revie. ‘I cried when I watched the result against Ipswich last weekend.
‘I’ve tried to ignore my feelings for a long time as I know the aggravation needed to put things right. But when things get this bad, I can’t ignore it. My feelings run too deep.
‘I am interested in trying to get Leeds back where they belong, which is in the top six of the Premiership. I’ve held talks with some influential people and the feedback has been good. I will be holding more talks in the next few weeks.’
But Revie, who runs the highly successful company, Soccerex, which puts on big-hitting conferences in the football industry, faces competition from a number of other parties interested in buying the club and the prospects of a quick takeover will depend on creditors approving Bates’ extraordinary deal to buy back the club minutes after putting it into administration on Friday.
Gerald Krasner, the insolvency expert and former Leeds chairman who was part of the consortium originally bought out by Bates, said: "I don’t believe this is necessarily a done deal. It is subject to creditors’ approval at a meeting to be held in the next four to six weeks.
"I believe there were at least seven consortiums of various individuals, all of whom were waiting to speak to the administrator, rather than dealing directly with Mr Bates.
"If creditors vote against, the deal will not be done."
If the Company Voluntary Agreement required to bring the club out of administration is rejected by creditors, then the other parties, including the Revie consortium, could make their own proposals to administrators KPMG.
But the club’s biggest creditors, who are owed about £22m of the £35m debts, are the Forward Sports Fund, Astor Investment Holdings and the Krato Trust, offshore companies who backed Bates’ original takeover.
It seems unlikely they would approve proposals from anyone but Bates, since under his plans FSF would own the shares of the new company, Leeds United Football Club Limited, with Astor Investment Holdings in turn owning shares in FSF.
So hopes of a quick solution depend on the other creditors approving Bates’ plans. Chief among them is the taxman, who is owed £5m and who triggered administration by issuing a winding-up order with a deadline of June 25. They are still keen to discover the owners of FSF and Astor.
Assuming they and other creditors agree a deal, the CVA would then require approval from the Football League.
The League board will discuss the situation in the next fortnight.