Sainsbury makes new offer for Leeds

Sebastien Sainsbury is back in the running to take over Leeds just over a fortnight after being told by chairman Gerald Krasner his bid was dead in the water.

On November 12 Krasner was forced to call time on Sainsbury’s £25m (€35m) offer to buy Leeds, and instead negotiated an £8m (€11m) sale-and-leaseback agreement of Elland Road to further ease existing debts.

Krasner became exasperated by the Sainsbury consortium’s failure to meet a number of self-imposed deadlines, with the last straw arriving when the promised monies were not deposited into a solicitor’s bank account.

But in the intervening period Sainsbury is understood to have ditched Nova Financial Partners, an American group who were due to provide the funds necessary for the deal.

It is believed Sainsbury has been able to attract European investment and, after a day involved in a series of meetings with lawyers, he claims he now has the proof of funds required.

Krasner made it plain earlier this month the only way Sainsbury would be allowed back to the negotiating table was if he walked into Elland Road armed with a £25m cheque.

That would appear to be on the cards as Sainsbury said: “I have today made a formal offer to the lawyers of Leeds United Football Club.

“The proof of funding will be supplied in a manner that I know will totally satisfy the board of LUFC, and this will follow imminently.”

Krasner and his board have been waiting on investment from Norman Stubbs, a Leeds-based property developer willing to inject £10m (€14.2m), with the offer more of a merger than takeover.

However, it is understood there is the prospect Stubbs may side with Sainsbury if the funding he claims to now have in place, proves genuine.