Apparently Leeds are attempting to persuade Leeds City Council to help them buy back Elland Road and the Thorp Arch training ground. They are currently paying £1.5m a year in rent to some British Virgin Islands company called Teak Commercial. Ownership of this company is not known.
There is a buy back option for £13m on the stadium and £5m on Thorp Arch. The club have approached the city council asking them to provide a mortgage so that both properties can be repurchased. The Council would then take a charge over the properties and the club would then be able to proceed with some further redevelopment activities at the Elland Road site.
Initial indications are that the council has rebuffed this initial approach although the door may be open for further discussion particularly as some of the rumours suggest that the sum asked for was in the region of £25m some £7m more than the cost of the buy back.
The council may also come under pressure as a similar deal was done in December 2005 when councillors agreed a £9m loan to Yorkshire County Cricket Club to enable it to purchase its Headingley stadium!
No comments:
Post a Comment