Hi Rick, I started reading the email but found it too long. Sorry, my bad. Is this suggesting that everyone can enter a business relationship with Bates? If so, who in their right mind would want to deal with that guy? His way of thinking is stale and outdated and too risk adverse. I d rather buy some stocks.. heeeyyy.. that market has picked up a bit again ey!
Eric On Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 6:46 PM, Rick Duniec <[email protected]> wrote: > http://lufctrust.squarespace.com/blog/2012/2/6/lust-statement-on-leeds-united-investment.html > > L.U.S.T Statement on Leeds United investment > Monday, February 6, 2012 at 4:40PM > Last week on Yorkshire Radio, Ken Bates invited the Leeds United Supporters' > Trust to, "put their money where their mouth is." With this in mind, the > Trust is today asking for any parties who may be considering an investment > in, or outright purchase of, Leeds United, and who share the aims and > ambitions of our fans, to contact the Trust with a view to working together > to take Mr Bates up on his offer. > In recent weeks Ken Bates has made numerous comments about the difficulty of > attracting investment in to Leeds United. In his programme notes on 2nd > January 2012, Bates wrote that: "On average, I am contacted every two weeks > by some new would be overseas saviour or a middleman who claims to represent > some Sheik Rub-A-Dub." Last week on Yorkshire Radio, he claimed that offers > of investment: ".come through the door every week of the month." The Trust > does not find this level of interest surprising given Leeds United's massive > potential, and our current status on the fringes of promotion to the Premier > League. We are surprised, however, that with an average of at least twenty > offers of investment a year, none have proved credible enough to move > forward. > While Ken Bates' public comments suggest investment would be welcomed at > Leeds United, his reaction to the interest of high profile Australian > billionaire Frank Lowy in April 2010 suggested otherwise. Mr Bates claimed > on Yorkshire Radio that: "I had never heard of [Lowy]. This Lowy, I think he > runs Westfield, the property company. Aren't they the one that has > completely buggered up the town centre of Bradford? ... It is no secret we > would welcome further investment. But we are quite blunt - name and money." > Despite Mr Lowy being a well-known and credible businessman, Ken Bates' > widely reported comments appeared to bring his interest to an end, and we > wonder if other credible investors have been similarly dismissed in recent > years. > A further barrier to investment is that the size of the investment looked > for has not been made clear. It is not known how much Mr Bates paid to buy > Leeds United from its anonymous owners in May 2011, and so it is not known > how much he might be willing to sell for now. The investment that might be > required for a stake in the club is also unknown. The latest available club > accounts show that Forward Sports Fund invested £500,000 to acquire the club > from administration in 2007 but, subsequently loaned £441,000 of this to > another company in the Leeds City Holdings Group. We presume Mr Bates would > be looking for greater investment than this from interested third parties, > but would invite Mr Bates to outline exactly what level of investment would > be welcomed at Leeds United, so that informed expressions of interest can be > made that are more likely to satisfy the club's requirements. > Given the lack of clarity about the level of investment required and > following Mr Bates' comments last week, the Leeds United Supporters' Trust > would like to hear from any parties who may be considering investing in > Leeds United, with a view to working together. LUST has outlined its > ambitions for the club in its Campaign for Change Vision Statement, and > would welcome the chance to work with potential investors who share our > vision. Two key aims of the Trust are for investment to be focussed on the > playing side at Leeds, with a view to promotion to the Premier League; and > for those in charge of the club to develop strong links with the club's > fans. Establishing a dialogue from the outset with LUST would give fans the > chance to ensure that any new investment is for the good of the Leeds United > and will meet the ambitions of the supporters, and would give suitable > investors the support of a formal supporters' trust, with a growing > membership of around 2,500 Leeds fans, when dealing with the current owners > of the club. > Supporters' trusts have brought in well over £30 million of new finance into > football and rugby league, and Leeds United Supporters' Trust would welcome > the opportunity to bring new finance into Leeds United, to help bring about > change for the better at our club. If you would like to talk to us, please > email: [email protected] > We would also encourage Leeds United fans who share in our vision to join > the Trust and lend their support to our existing membership of around 2,500 > Leeds United fans. The Trust is free to join, and it only takes a few > moments to fill in the membership form at http://lufctrust.org/ > _______________________________________________ > Leedslist mailing list > Info and options: http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist > To unsubscribe, email [email protected] > > PETE CASS (1962 - 2011) Rest In Peace Mate _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] PETE CASS (1962 - 2011) Rest In Peace Mate
