Leeds’ shares rise 16% on club takeover talks

LEEDS UNITED, the Premier League soccer club struggling on and off the pitch, said yesterday it was in talks with a number of interested parties that could lead to a takeover.

Leeds, with debts of around £80 million (114 million), said the talks were at a very early stage, but the news confirmed the Yorkshire club could follow rivals Chelsea into new hands possibly an overseas tycoon.

By mid-morning shares in Leeds, which had warned it might have to call in administrators, were up 16%. "I'm more optimistic now than I have been for many months," said Bill Gerrard, professor of sports management and finance at Leeds University Business School.

Gerrard said Wednesday's statement did not offer any new insight on potential suitors, but a "standstill" agreement with creditors had been matched by improving fortunes on the pitch, to lift spirits before a crucial month for the club, that was among Europe's elite less than three years ago.

Leeds confirmed last week that it had been approached by a company associated with Bahraini Sheikh Abdulrahman Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, widely reported to be a supporter of the club.

The member of Bahrain's royal family said he was exploring ways to help Leeds and might make an offer.

Allan Leighton, the chairman of state postal service Royal Mail and online travel firm Lastminute.com, resigned last week from the Leeds board to avoid any conflict of interest should he decide to become involved in any funding or takeover.

There has also been speculation Al Khalifa and Leighton could team up for a bid, or that their stated interest would lure another bidder from the shadows.

The club moved off the bottom of the Premier League at the weekend but remains in danger of relegation from the lucrative top division.

It said last week it had struck a deal with its key creditors to give it until January 19 to find parties prepared to invest in it or buy it. Leeds' market value has shrunk to just stg£20 million (28.6 million).