GFH confirms involvement in takeover of Leeds United Football Club (By IFN)

Friday 28^th September 2012

GLOBAL: Following intense speculation that GFH Capital, the Dubai-based private equity arm of Bahrain’s Gulf Finance House (GFH), was in talks to acquire UK football side Leeds United Football Club (LUFC), GFH finally broke its silence to confirm that its unit is involved in the deal. In a statement to the Bahrain Bourse on the 27th September 2012, GFH said that: “GFH would like to confirm that GFH Capital, a 100% subsidiary of GFH, has signed an exclusive agreement to lead and arrange the acquisition of Leeds City Holdings, the parent company of LUFC.” The Shariah compliant investment bank also cited a study by Deloitte, stating that as one of the best supported clubs in English football, LUFC sees a higher-than-average match day attendance than most Premier League teams. LUFC however currently plays in the English Football League Championship, the UK’s second-tier football championship that is a level below the Premier League. GFH also noted that UK football teams have received a significant revenue boost due to the renegotiation of broadcasting rights, with expectations that starting from the 2013-2014 season, each premiership side will receive at least GBP60 million (US$97.52 million) each season due to the higher broadcasting rights. “LUFC would also benefit from this if it can achieve promotion to the Premier League,” said GFH. A point to note in the potential GFH Capital-LUFC deal is that the transaction is not just driven by financial concerns but also by the personal interest of David Haigh, the deputy CEO and chief operating officer of GFH Capital. Haigh, whose parents are from Leeds, a city in the county of Yorkshire in the UK, is a loyal fan of the football club, often publicizing his support for the club via social networking site Twitter. Haigh did not respond to a request for comment from Islamic Finance news, but had once again taken to his Twitter account shortly after GFH announced the deal to thank LUFC fans for their messages of support. In its statement, GFH also said that it could not provide further details on the commercial terms of the transaction due to a confidentiality provision.