Leeds United: Bates revives hopes of takeover

But the terms of the proposal put forward by bidders from the Middle East – and the future facing Bates if a deal is reached – remain unclear despite a fresh statement issued by United’s chairman and owner.

Bates has revealed that advanced talks with senior figures at a “banking institution” based in the Gulf region took place on Friday, hours before Leeds played Nottingham Forest in a Championship fixture at Elland Road.

The bidders, who first opened serious negotiations with United four months ago, are believed to be looking to acquire a controlling interest in the Championship club. Bates currently holds a 72.85 per cent stake having bought Leeds from their previous owners – the secretive Forward Sports Fund (FSF) – in April of last year.

Representatives of the group attended United’s 2-1 win as guests of United’s chairman. Their number included Salem Patel, David Haigh and Hisham Alrayes– three senior members of senior management at GFH Capital Limited.

The Dubai-based private equity firm are widely believed to be brokering the deal to invest in Leeds, though a number of sources suggested at the beginning of last week that GFH Capital Limited had been sidelined from talks following a revised offer from members of the original consortium.

The appearance Patel, Haigh and Alrayes at Elland Road indicated that the company remain at the centre of discussions but Bates is still to reveal whether the proposed agreement constitutes a full buy-out or if he would remain at Elland Road in some capacity. He has been chairman of Leeds for almost eight years.

The 80-year-old did not disclose the name of the bank involved in discussions but revealed that “this is a company that has offices in Dubai as well as Bahrain. They have investments and interests throughout the Gulf, North Africa and Asia, including India.”

Bates said: “We are well advanced with our discussions but there are a number of technical points that need to be resolved. The potential investors are looking now to get this matter concluded as soon as possible.”

His attempt to provide greater disclosure about the future of Leeds came on the back of mounting criticism over the lack of clarity surrounding discussions and the time taken to conclude a deal.

Both Leeds and the Middle Eastern consortium agreed to a confidentiality clause when the prospective buyers began due diligence on the club’s accounts in June but the process is still to reach completion almost three months later.

The two sides’ failure to strike an agreement reduced the spending power of manager Neil Warnock in the summer transfer window, and Warnock’s plans to improve his squad in the emergency loan market remain dependent on the arrival of outside funding.

Bates said: “A football club isn’t the kind of business banks get involved in. Normally it’s outside the normal scope so they have to have a learning curve to understand how a football club works.

“When they come in they want to make it a success. To make it a success they have to do the ground work.

“Both parties regret that because of factors beyond their control we missed the August window. We’re already planning for the January window.”