Last week we were confused by contradictory statements coming from different parts of the GFH empire, but today the future ownership of the club looks a little clearer, with the announcement that they have sold 10% of the club to Bahrain-based International Investment Bank.
GFH Capital have been insisting that although they have been looking for further investment in the club they had no plans to sell Leeds United outright, yet a statement in their parent company’s annual accounts suggested that they were indeed looking for a buyer to solve the cashflow problems being faced across the group.
The Bahrain stock exchange have asked GFH to clarify whether they intend to sell the club or not, and a full statement of their intentions will be given to that institution by the end of the day, but they have already announced the sale of 10% to IIB. And the good news is that it’s not going to stop there, as GHF are still looking to bring further investors on board to provide additional funding.
A statement on the official site said “IIB is the first strategic investor to come into the club in line with GFH's long-stated plans to strengthen the club's overall shareholder base. Others are expected to join as GFH Capital creates the ownership structure which will provide the club with sound long term finance as the basis for its return to the top tier of English football.”
IIB's chief executive Aabed Al-Zeera will join the board of Leeds City Holdings Limited (the club’s parent company) and sounds very pleased about it. "We are delighted to become investors in Leeds United and would like to thank GFH Capital for facilitating this for us."
So maybe we should be keeping faith with GFH after all. We’ve all had our doubts about them since the transfer window showed that their takeover was rather underfunded, but we can live in hope that IIB and the future investors will have the resources to take the club forward. It’s too late to achieve anything this season, but let’s hope that it comes together over the next few months, in time to attract an ambitious manager and put together a squad that can challenge for promotion next season.