In advance of our AGM at New Farnley Cricket Club this Thursday, the LUST board have been working to establish the current situation with regard to the proposed takeover of Leeds United, and to gain an understanding of the future of the club.
In our first comments on the takeover back in May, we stated that we had spoken to at least two separate groups interested in taking over Leeds United. One of these groups was later granted a period of exclusivity to negotiate with the club. We know that this group had the financial resources and ambition to take the club forward, and understand that members of this consortium wish to comment about the negotiation process in the future.
A number of parties have expressed interest in the negotiations over the last five months and longer, but current bidders GFH Capital have only emerged as potential buyers in the last six weeks.
Our guiding principle at LUST is our
Vision Statement, which was written by our members and sets out what we want to see at Leeds United, no matter who is in charge. With this in mind, we have made contact with representatives of GFH Capital, to ascertain whether their plans for the club accord with the hopes of our 8,300 members.
From our discussions, we can say that:
- GFH Capital are very confident that a deal will be concluded in the near future. They have no major issues left to negotiate, and do not consider their lawyers to be delaying the deal unduly. The details of the deal are being concluded by the respective legal teams,
- They intend this deal to be a full takeover of Leeds United. Ken Bates will leave the club and David Haigh will take control,
- They view Leeds United as a long term project, and denied any intention to 'flip' the club. They could not answer questions about funding due to confidentiality agreements, but insist they have a strategy for success and the funds to achieve it,
- They confirmed that investment and success on the pitch are at the top of their agenda. Regaining ownership of Elland Road will also be a key aim. They agreed with us that dwindling attendances at Elland Road are a sign of supporter dissatisfaction, and that bringing the crowds back should be a priority,
- In line with our Vision Statement, they understand the importance of working with all supporters and supporters' groups, the local council, police, businesses and the local community, and building positive relations with all.
For our part, given their status as current bidders and their confidence that they will soon conclude a takeover, we welcome GFH Capital's assurances regarding the aims and ambitions of our Vision Statement. However, while we acknowledge the need for confidentiality, we retain some concerns over the lack of information about their sources of funding, and will seek clarification of this as a priority should their bid be successful.
We would also stress that, should GFH Capital successfully conclude their takeover, they will be judged by Leeds fans on actions, not words. LUST are guided by our
Vision Statement, which has the support of over 8,300 Leeds fans who have joined the Trust as members and shareholders. Our role will always be to work towards a club that is ambitious on the pitch, and open and inclusive off it, whoever is in charge.
Our AGM will be held at New Farnley Cricket Club on Thursday 11th October. Our members and shareholders are welcome from 7pm-8pm, and all Leeds fans are invited to attend our public meeting from 8pm onwards. You can find directions
here and an agenda for the meeting
here.
Keep in touch with us at www.lufctrust.org by emailing us at chairman@lufctrust.org and via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Monday, October 8, 2012 at 8:29PM
Reader Comments (11)
Nice
Once again guys, good work and a good detailed update.
Encouraging to hear GHF go on record with commitments to strengthening the team and making a concerted push for promotion.
You're right though, we'll judge them on their actions NOT their words!
Good post but what are ghf paying £52 million on its not the squad.elland road.or ta.I feel its such a large sum and for what.Just to say ghf are the owners of the name of leeds united football club.
This is the big statement you had planned? Not wanting to sound too harsh but LUST have been very dissapointing through this whole takeover fiasco. This statement is pretty much just a tot up of the last 3 weeks news headlines. Even the Yorkshire evening post is ahead of you guys. Please try retain some credibility and stop trying to big yourself up in this way. Talks of secret contacts, insider news and the like has really dropped my trust in you guys when you could have just held comment on what was in the open and put together a fans view on what is known instead of jumping on the heresay bandwagon. MOT
I agree with swalesly
All this tin pot so called supportes trust is doing is causing upset between other s
Even get the so called mr con to write crap about what ludo and the trust had agree which was all untrue and Mr cooper took you 3 weeks to contact ludo about the matter even after a number of emails sent to you . You only came running when it got published in the match day program .. Then used excuse you not had any emails .....
londonwhite
- Please read our response to the inaccurate and potentially libelous remarks here http://lufctrust.squarespace.com/blog/2012/9/26/ludo-and-lust-a-joint-statement.html
May I remind you that this was a JOINT statement with the Chairman of LUDO clearly stating that the remarks were incorrect. If that is not good enough for you then we can only assume you have an alternative agenda, which is a shame as are we not all Leeds fans who want the best future for LUFC?
-- Moderated --
Unjustified comments.
Freedom of speech is welcomed and criticism is tolerated whether it is accurate or not but personal attacks will not be tolerated.
A log has been made of your IP address and further unjustified personal attacks will result in a ban.
-- Moderated --
Unjustified comments.
Freedom of speech is welcomed and criticism is tolerated whether it is accurate or not but personal attacks will not be tolerated.
A log has been made of your IP address and further unjustified personal attacks will result in a ban.
only ban because it ture and Mr cooper knows it is
Ture?
We have more than enough evidence to refute this.
Our comments stand that you are entitled to your opinion but the personal attacks will not be tolerated and we will act. It is our policy and that of 99,9% of like message boards so you abide by the rules or we reserve right to edit/delete posts or threads and suspend/ban users for breach as a result.
Moderated what you did was delete the truth, highlights further the actions that this "democractic group" does to silence critics
EDIT - Leeds United Supporters Trust Moderator 13.29 12/10/12
There is considerable proof on our message boards to disprove your comments, some of which you have provided yourself. If the rules of the Message Board are broken then we will act appropriately.