 Wednesday, 22nd Jan 2014 15:09 by Tim Whelan There is still no sign of the latest takeover coming to a conclusion, and today there are some reports that the deal is close to collapse and that other bidders are waiting in the wings. It was only yesterday that the present owners Gulf Finance House (GFH) issued a statement saying they had agreed to sell the consortium 75 per cent stake in the club, while retaining a 10 per cent shareholding themselves. They expected the amount they would get from the sale to have a "positive impact on its financials", and the news caused a rise in GFH’s share price. But perhaps the sting was in the tail, as the statement finished by saying the deal depended not only on Football League approval, but on Sport Capital fulfilling “certain obligations to complete the transaction.” These have not been specified, but the longer the negotiations drag on with no apparent end in sight, the greater the speculation that there is some detail over which the two sides cannot come to an agreement. Brian McDermott has already said that he thinks it crucial that the situation is resolved sooner rather than later, and that he is looking forward to working with the new consortium. He told the Yorkshire Post “This ownership situation is so important. That’s the key for me, going forward. I would say that the number one priority for the football club now is to get that over the line. I think the people who are coming in to take charge of this club are spot on for it, I really do. They’ll be really good people moving forward.” But there have already been reports that the GFH put the block on his attempts to sign Ashley Barnes, and after Saturday’s defeat the manager admitted that his rebuilding plan was likely to have to be put back to the summer, as it will now be too late to sign the players he needs in this transfer window. GFH’s latest annual accounts showed they were unlikely to have the funds to take the club forward and their funding has largely dried up this season, while Sport Capital have already put £6 million into the club. So if the turnover doesn’t go through we are likely to be in a difficult position, as the club is still losing money, and it would be likely that Sport Capital would demand the repayment of their £6 million, at least part of which was in the form of a loan from a Dubai-based company for which Haigh acts as a director. At present Sport Capital still have exclusive rights to negotiate with GFH, but what of the alternative bidders on the horizon? A bid was made in mid-November by a group including former Leeds commercial director Adam Pearson and Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive Gary Verity, with Lucas Radebe on board in their attempt to win over the fans. It was worth a reported £7million but was rejected out of hand by GFH, not surprisingly when he Bahrain group are estimated to have spent £30million in buying and running the club. This group are still interested, but presumably they would need to increase their offer by a considerable amount. And as we reported on Monday, the Italian Massimo Cellino has also shown interest in the club, with the ever-reliable Daily Mail going as far as claiming he is “on the verge” of buying the club. The 57 year-old bid unsuccessfully to buy West Ham in 2010, and has sacked no fewer than 36 managers.in 20 years at as chairman of Cagliari. That would make Brian McDermott very nervous after recent results, but it doesn’t sound like he’d bring any sort of stability to the club. So we can but sit back and wait for the fog to clear, in the absence of any statement from either party to clarify the situation. The last we heard from Sport Capital was last Thursday when they admitted that the buy-out had taken “longer than we anticipated” but vowed to work towards a “successful conclusion sooner rather than later.” The long-suffering fans of Leeds United will just have to hope that it all works out in the end. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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