Elland RoadGFH Capital have begun negotiations to sell their stake in Leeds United according to the year end financial statement from Gulf Financial House, the parent company of GFH Capital.

A report from the Reuters New Agency says GFH paid a lump sum of $33m (£21m) to acquire the club, a deal which is believed to include add-ons at a later date.

In the financial statement, GFH explain that negotiations to sell Leeds United began almost immediately after the club was purchased, adding;

“The Group has an active plan to sell its stake in LUFC Holdings Limited, and accordingly, the asset and liabilities acquired were classified as held-for-sale and presented in the consolidated statement of financial position,”

Both David Haigh and Leeds United refused to comment when contacted by Reuters, pointing towards an interview with David Conn earlier this year in which Haigh and Patel say the plan is to sell a minority stake only.

Nothing particularly ground-breaking in this, the interview David Haigh points towards in The Guardian told us that GFH were already looking for investment of sorts. What’s interesting is how long this has been going on and the term “active plan” which, to me at least, suggests they already have people lined up to sell their stake (or part of it) to.

Reduced to clear

Elsewhere in the statement, GFH say they acquired Leeds United for a “bargain price” adding;

The bargain purchase was due to pressure on the sellers to exit their holdings due to change in their business plans.

On completing the purchase of Leeds United, GFH said;

GFH, through its 100% owned subsidiary, GFH Capital Limited completed the 100% acquisition of Leeds United City Holdings Limited and Leeds United Football Club (LUFC); a fully integrated and one of the best supported clubs in English Football with a large fan base. LUFC promises to be a high yielding investment opportunity, which GFH is successfully placing with its investors.

GFH’s full year-end financial report is available here.