I take it that everyone has read this too. LUST are probably already
preparing for The March On Rome. "Our program is simple: we want to rule
Beeston."
https://theathletic.com/4568028/2023/06/01/leeds-elland-road-sampdoria-radrizzani
Leeds United’s chairman Andrea Radrizzani offered to use the club’s
Elland Road stadium as security for a £26million bank loan which his
company, Aser, and a bidding partner, Gestio Capital, intended to use to
complete a takeover of the Italian club Sampdoria. Under a heads of
terms agreement co-signed by Radrizzani — essentially an agreement in
principle — Elland Road would act as collateral as part of a deal by
Radrizzani’s Aser and his bidding partner Gestio Capital to borrow €30m
(£25.8m; $32.1m) from Italian bank Banca Sistema, helping to fund their
Sampdoria buy-out.
The proposed bridging loan would be due for repayment within two years,
and also contains clauses showing that the bank would charge interest of
provisionally between six and nine per cent per year during this period.
However, the agreement would also enable the loan to be extended for up
to a decade, which throws open the possibility that Leeds United’s home
could act as security for Radrizzani’s Italian venture on Sampdoria for
10 years. The current status of the proposed loan and the extent to
which it has progressed beyond a heads of terms agreement is unclear,
but no charge has been registered, at the time of publication, on
Companies House, the executive agency of the British government that
maintains the register of companies.
The Leeds stadium is not owned by Leeds themselves but was bought by
Radrizzani in 2017, shortly after he became owner of the Yorkshire club.
In a further twist, however, sources close to the takeover process
insisted on Thursday morning that Leeds board members, including the
49ers and the club’s chief executive Kinnear, had not been informed of
the proposal to use Elland Road as security against the loan. The
sources added that Marinelli, a Leeds board member, an officer of Elland
Road Ltd and the CEO of Aser, who are part of the group attempting to
take over Sampdoria, had also not been informed. Radrizzani did not
respond to a request for comment on this point. It is understood the
49ers were only informed about Radrizzani’s proposal on Wednesday
evening after The Athletic’s initial approach. It remains unclear
whether the agreement in principle has progressed further, or if
Radrizzani ultimately opted for a different approach to secure funding,
but it is remarkable in itself that the Leeds chairman was prepared to
put his name to securing the stadium of his current club against a loan
to buy a different club. It is also likely to strain relations between
Radrizzani and the 49ers just at the point supporters may be hoping they
will thrash out a final agreement for a takeover. In an email to The
Athletic on Wednesday evening, Radrizzani said: “You are not well
informed as the deal has been done by Gestio Capital.” Gestio Capital
did not respond to a request for comment.
A bit more from the article…
Leeds United’s chairman Andrea Radrizzani offered to use the club’s
Elland Road stadium as security for a £26million bank loan which his
company, Aser, and a bidding partner, Gestio Capital, intended to use to
complete a takeover of the Italian club Sampdoria. Under a heads of
terms agreement co-signed by Radrizzani — essentially an agreement in
principle — Elland Road would act as collateral as part of a deal by
Radrizzani’s Aser and his bidding partner Gestio Capital to borrow €30m
(£25.8m; $32.1m) from Italian bank Banca Sistema, helping to fund their
Sampdoria buy-out. Leeds were only relegated from the Premier League to
the Championship on Sunday afternoon but their majority owner Radrizzani
was not present at the final match of the campaign as he instead sought
to finalise an agreement for Sampdoria.
Leeds are majority-owned by Radrizzani but the club’s minority
shareholder, 49ers Enterprises, has been in discussions to acquire
control of the club. No agreement has yet been reached, however, and
sources close to the takeover process, who like others in this article
wished not to be named to protect business relationships, told The
Athletic that the 49ers had not been informed about the stadium being
put forward as the security for a potential loan. Less than 24 hours
after Radrizzani announced that an agreement had been reached in
principle for his group to purchase Sampdoria, The Athletic learned that
a proposal had earlier been drawn up which meant that in order for the
bank to approve the loan, it would be secured against Leeds’ Elland Road
ground, which is controlled by Elland Road Ltd, the UK company which
controls the stadium.
The proposed bridging loan would be due for repayment within two years,
and also contains clauses showing that the bank would charge interest of
provisionally between six and nine per cent per year during this period.
However, the agreement would also enable the loan to be extended for up
to a decade, which throws open the possibility that Leeds United’s home
could act as security for Radrizzani’s Italian venture on Sampdoria for
10 years. The current status of the proposed loan and the extent to
which it has progressed beyond a heads of terms agreement is unclear,
but no charge has been registered, at the time of publication, on
Companies House, the executive agency of the British government that
maintains the register of companies.
The Leeds stadium is not owned by Leeds themselves but was bought by
Radrizzani in 2017, shortly after he became owner of the Yorkshire club.
One of his first acts as majority shareholder was to activate a buy-back
clause negotiated when Elland Road was first sold into private ownership
by a previous Leeds regime in 2004. The 2017 purchase was completed by a
different Radrizzani company, Greenfield Investment Pte Ltd. Elland Road
has since passed to Elland Road Limited, established in late 2020.
Radrizzani is a director of Elland Road Limited along with Leeds United
chief executive Angus Kinnear, Massimo Marinelli — a prominent figure in
Radrizzani’s investment firm, Aser — and Collin Meador, an official with
minority Leeds shareholder 49ers Enterprises. 49ers Enterprises is
currently attempting to take control of Leeds from Radrizzani and is
locked in talks over a buy-out following the club’s relegation of the
Premier League last weekend. The parties had an agreement to close a
takeover in the event Leeds remained in the Premier League but no price
had been set in the event of relegation, which leaves Radrizzani and the
49ers to haggle over any potential takeover.
In a further twist, however, sources close to the takeover process
insisted on Thursday morning that Leeds board members, including the
49ers and the club’s chief executive Kinnear, had not been informed of
the proposal to use Elland Road as security against the loan. The
sources added that Marinelli, a Leeds board member, an officer of Elland
Road Ltd and the CEO of Aser, who are part of the group attempting to
take over Sampdoria, had also not been informed. Radrizzani did not
respond to a request for comment on this point.
It is understood the 49ers were only informed about Radrizzani’s
proposal on Wednesday evening after The Athletic’s initial approach. It
remains unclear whether the agreement in principle has progressed
further, or if Radrizzani ultimately opted for a different approach to
secure funding, but it is remarkable in itself that the Leeds chairman
was prepared to put his name to securing the stadium of his current club
against a loan to buy a different club. It is also likely to strain
relations between Radrizzani and the 49ers just at the point supporters
may be hoping they will thrash out a final agreement for a takeover. In
an email to The Athletic on Wednesday evening, Radrizzani said: “You are
not well informed as the deal has been done by Gestio Capital.” Gestio
Capital did not respond to a request for comment.
Radrizzani has been lining up a purchase of debt-ridden Sampdoria as
part of a bidding group which includes Aser and Matteo Manfredi, the
founder of Gestio Capital. Qatar Sports Investments, the owners of Paris
Saint-Germain, are also in discussions over assisting the takeover but
sources familiar with the discussions insisted they have no involvement
or knowledge of an agreement to use Elland Road as collateral.
But the potential of Elland Road as security against a loan risks
angering Leeds supporters, raising serious questions about why the
ground could be used to assist the purchase of a different club. It
would be a remarkable development in any event, but even more so in the
days following relegation. Elland Road has been the home of Leeds United
ever since the club’s formation in 1919, which makes this a matter of
significant public interest to both the local community and the club’s
global fan base.
In his email, Radrizzani told The Athletic that “what Aser Ventures does
with its assets which includes several companies including Leeds United,
Greenfield and Elland Road.. it’s none of your business.”
He added: “You can do what you want but you are just trying to put Leeds
United fans against myself. It is not nice.”
When asked directly whether he had offered Elland Road as security for a
loan to buy a different club, which it was pointed out is a matter of
great public interest to the club’s supporters, Radrizzani did not, at
the point of publication, respond. The prospect of the loan poses the
risk of another financial implosion at Sampdoria leaving Elland Road
exposed to an attempt by the bank to claw back any money it had loaned
to the Radrizzani group.
Radrizzani’s purchase of Elland Road six years ago was viewed as a major
step towards stability for Leeds, despite it not returning to the hands
of the club directly. The indication was that any future takeover was
likely to include the stadium as part of the deal, but that may now be
in doubt. Previously, Leeds had been paying rent of around £1.7m a year
to use it. Those payments stopped temporarily after Radrizzani bought
the ground, although the club’s promotion to the Premier League saw
annual rent payments begin again. Radrizzani hadn’t spoken publicly
since the club’s relegation was confirmed by the 4-1 defeat by Tottenham
on Sunday before releasing a statement on Wednesday evening apologising
to supporters.
“I find it very hard to find the right words to say,” he said before
insisting that “change is needed” at the club.
The statement continued: “We need a clear strategy to continue our
vision for the club and work is underway to produce this which we hope
will be reflected in some key appointments in different areas of the club.”
A club statement on Sunday read: “Everyone connected with Leeds United
is deeply disappointed by the club’s relegation back to the Sky Bet
Championship, after three seasons in the Premier League.
“Relegation is painful, and we apologise to our fanbase that the
performances this season have not seen the club consolidate our status
as we had all hoped.
“However, Leeds United remains in a strong position to build a team that
can challenge for promotion from the Championship next season.
“We know things have not been good enough, we know we have to improve,
but please be assured that behind the scenes we have worked hard to
ensure that the past will not be repeated. Our focus is now on how we
get straight back to the Premier League.”
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Dave Dowden, a legend, a Totty Twin, a pie man! R.I.P.
