Leeds shares soar after Gulf royal says he might buy club

SHARES in debt-ridden Leeds United have soared after a member of Bahrain’s royal family said he might bid for the club whose fortunes have slumped both on and off the pitch.

Leeds United shares rose as much as 34% to 5.375 pence yesterday morning after Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Khalifa, widely reported to be a supporter of the club, said he was exploring ways to help Leeds and might make an offer.

A Leeds United spokesman told said yesterday that the company had not received any bid approach, and the stock later lost some of its earlier gains to trade up 18.75% at 4.75 pence.

Leeds has debts of around stg£80m and the club, which is currently at the bottom of the premier league, has warned it might to have call in administrators.

Some investors had expected a possible takeover wave for England’s football clubs after Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea, but the high debts of many teams have made similar deals tricky.

League champions Manchester United are currently the subject of intense takeover speculation but United is far more attractive than its rivals because it is one of a few soccer clubs that is actually making a profit.

In October, Leeds reported a pre-tax loss of stg£49.5m for the 2002-2003 financial year. Like many clubs, its debts and losses have risen due to the rising wages of players.

Leeds’ problems date back to a spending spree under former chairman Peter Ridsdale and ex-coach David O’Leary, who invested heavily in players on expensive wages in a bid for European glory.