International News Agency Reuters are reporting tonight that GFH are already preparing to sell the club. We can but hope that if this is true the new owners will have somewhat deeper pockets than Haigh and co.

Could it be that takeovers of Leeds United are like buses, you wait eight months for one and then two come along at once? If tonight’s report is true, GFH could end up owning the club for less time than they were in negotiations to buy it.

Reuters have picked up on a statement in GFH Capital’s accounts which were published on February 21st. "The Group has an active plan to sell its stake in LUFC Holdings Limited, and accordingly, the asset and liabilities acquired were classified as held-for-sale and presented in the consolidated statement of financial position."

The accounts also show that they bought the cub for $33.226 million (about £22 million) rather than the £52 million that was reported at the time. The financial statement says "the bargain purchase was due to pressure on the sellers to exit their holdings due to change in their business plans”. In other words Bates was facing a cashflow problem as some of his schemes went pear shaped, and it is of course a great pity that he had to take a hit on the sale price he was hoping for.

But for some months there has been speculation that GFH may be facing financial problems of their own, not least because the group’s auditors in Bahrain cast doubt on their ability to keep operating as a going concern. It could be that they were hoping to make a fast buck as Leeds went straight up to the Premiership, but an underwhelming couple of signings in the transfer window indicated that they don’t have the financial clout to get us there.

The team’s stuttering form since January has all but confirmed that we won’t be back in the Premiership for another 14 months at least, but tonight David Haigh declined to comment when he was contacted by Reuters, and referred them to the club. For their part, the club merely quoted an article in the Guardian last month which said the new owner was seeking investors and would prefer to sell a 30 percent stake, but would consider selling a majority if the buyer had the funds to bring success.

Ironically the author of that piece was investigative reporter David Conn, who was banned from the stadium by Bates for his efforts in trying to get to the truth of the bearded one’s web of companies he used to control the club. Yet now Conn appears to be some sort of spokesman for GHF. Strange days indeed.

GFH’s latest statement admitted that it had begun negotiations related to the sale of its stake as early as the end of last year, and last month it was reported that they had drawn up a Share Purchase Agreement with a consortium fronted by the former Hull City chairman Adam Pearson. We can but hope that Pearson is still in the frame, especially as it has been suggested that he is backed by some very wealthy backers from Saudi Arabia.

I won’t begrudge GFH a small profit for the time and effort they put in to rid us of Bates, but now is the time for them to hand over to someone with a rather larger pot to piss in. If we can get some owners in for the start of the new season with some proper clout and a talented new manager, we might finally be able to look forward to a brighter future for Leeds United.

Photo: Action Images

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