Post by QPR Report on Oct 7, 2009 6:35:51 GMT
The Times - Takeover at Birmingham bolsters Premier League of Nations
Nick Szczepanik
The takeover of Birmingham City yesterday by Carson Yeung, the Hong Kong businessman, means that half of the 20 Barclays Premier League clubs are now foreign-owned.
Yeung’s company, Grandtop Holdings, took its shareholding at St Andrew’s beyond 90 per cent in the week that Ali al-Faraj bought a similar stake in Portsmouth to become the club’s third overseas owner in little more than five weeks.
Aston Villa, Chelsea, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Sunderland and West Ham United are also in foreign ownership.
“The Barclays Premier League attracts a significant global audience and part of that interest manifests itself as overseas investment,” a Premier League spokesman said.
“All investors in Premier League clubs, regardless of where they come from, are buying into something they view as a success. Our role is to ensure they comply with the League’s regulations, not check their passports.”
Portsmouth’s previous experiments with foreign ownership left the club close to insolvency, but the new regime has promised “substantial investment” in order to keep the club — bottom of the table after losing their first seven games — in the top flight this season. The final bill may not be far short of £50 million.
Al-Faraj will therefore have to match the amount pledged by Sulaiman al-Fahim, the previous owner, who was bought out late on Monday. In addition to investment in new players during the January transfer window, al-Faraj will have to pay off or refinance loans, settle a mountain of debt and begin work on upgrading the club’s infrastructure, including a mothballed training-ground site and Fratton Park itself.
The first target, paying the players and members of the executive board their September wages, was achieved at lunchtime yesterday.
“We have got our payslips,” Hermann Hreidarsson, the Portsmouth defender and the club’s PFA representative, said. “That’s a good start, so we know we could have been paid. It’s not been a major factor, really. We know they’ve been working hard behind the scenes to get it right. They’ve done a deal which has gone through and we’re all happy.”
Paul Hart, who remains manager, will face the new experience of having money to spend. “In January we are looking to target the transfer window to ensure come April or May we are not in the danger zone, so to speak,” Mark Jacob, al-Faraj’s lawyer, who will join the club’s board, said.
“Then you have the redevelopment of Fratton Park and there is the issue of the training ground as well. There is a myriad of aspects of the club that we have to get our teeth into and get working on. The foundations put in place before were rocky and shaky, so we need to stabilise that first.
“We were ready to get in there six weeks ago and those six weeks have been wasted, but we’re now up and running and we need to press on, to give the supporters confidence that the future is very bright for the club.”
Little is known about al-Faraj. Jacob said that the low-profile Saudi businessman is an intensely private man but a keen fan of Premier League football who had first made inquiries about Portsmouth before al-Fahim finalised his takeover in August.
Peter Storrie, the chief executive — whose consortium, backed by al-Faraj, had attempted to buy the club — does not expect the new owner to adopt as high a profile as al-Fahim, who claimed yesterday that he had given the club away for nothing. However, al-Fahim retains the title of nonexecutive chairman and a 10 per cent shareholding in the club in return for his initial investment of £5 million.
“He [al-Faraj] is very similar to Alexandre Gaydamak in many ways in that he owns the club but he wants to sit in the background and let the officials of the club run it,” Storrie said.
“Naturally I am delighted personally as I had backed Mr al-Faraj’s bid initially. However, all along the most important factor has been to make sure the club is financially secure and can move forward to ensure our Premier League survival.
“I have been very impressed with Mr al-Faraj, his people and their commitment. They are very professional in their approach to the business and I believe that we will have some exciting plans ahead once again for this club.”
At St Andrew’s, Grandtop can now complete a compulsory purchase of the remaining shares with a view to taking the club off the Alternative Investment Market and into private ownership. Yeung is expected to travel to England next week and Alex McLeish, the Birmingham manager, insisted yesterday that he was looking forward to working with him.
“There is a buzz about the place and the fans are anticipating another step forward,” McLeish said. “I am ambitious and they \ are ambitious. Of course, if there is money to spend, we would welcome it.”
While the completion of the £81 million takeover represents the formal end of an era at St Andrew’s, with David Sullivan, Ralph Gold and Karren Brady departing the board, David Gold believes that his experience over 16 years at the club — 12 as chairman — can offer some crucial continuity.
“Now the deal has gone unconditional, the situation can be resolved,” Gold said last night. “It has been understandably difficult to sit down with the new owners and determine precise roles within the new structure. My understanding is that they want me to stay on in some capacity.”
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article6863863.ece
Nick Szczepanik
The takeover of Birmingham City yesterday by Carson Yeung, the Hong Kong businessman, means that half of the 20 Barclays Premier League clubs are now foreign-owned.
Yeung’s company, Grandtop Holdings, took its shareholding at St Andrew’s beyond 90 per cent in the week that Ali al-Faraj bought a similar stake in Portsmouth to become the club’s third overseas owner in little more than five weeks.
Aston Villa, Chelsea, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Sunderland and West Ham United are also in foreign ownership.
“The Barclays Premier League attracts a significant global audience and part of that interest manifests itself as overseas investment,” a Premier League spokesman said.
“All investors in Premier League clubs, regardless of where they come from, are buying into something they view as a success. Our role is to ensure they comply with the League’s regulations, not check their passports.”
Portsmouth’s previous experiments with foreign ownership left the club close to insolvency, but the new regime has promised “substantial investment” in order to keep the club — bottom of the table after losing their first seven games — in the top flight this season. The final bill may not be far short of £50 million.
Al-Faraj will therefore have to match the amount pledged by Sulaiman al-Fahim, the previous owner, who was bought out late on Monday. In addition to investment in new players during the January transfer window, al-Faraj will have to pay off or refinance loans, settle a mountain of debt and begin work on upgrading the club’s infrastructure, including a mothballed training-ground site and Fratton Park itself.
The first target, paying the players and members of the executive board their September wages, was achieved at lunchtime yesterday.
“We have got our payslips,” Hermann Hreidarsson, the Portsmouth defender and the club’s PFA representative, said. “That’s a good start, so we know we could have been paid. It’s not been a major factor, really. We know they’ve been working hard behind the scenes to get it right. They’ve done a deal which has gone through and we’re all happy.”
Paul Hart, who remains manager, will face the new experience of having money to spend. “In January we are looking to target the transfer window to ensure come April or May we are not in the danger zone, so to speak,” Mark Jacob, al-Faraj’s lawyer, who will join the club’s board, said.
“Then you have the redevelopment of Fratton Park and there is the issue of the training ground as well. There is a myriad of aspects of the club that we have to get our teeth into and get working on. The foundations put in place before were rocky and shaky, so we need to stabilise that first.
“We were ready to get in there six weeks ago and those six weeks have been wasted, but we’re now up and running and we need to press on, to give the supporters confidence that the future is very bright for the club.”
Little is known about al-Faraj. Jacob said that the low-profile Saudi businessman is an intensely private man but a keen fan of Premier League football who had first made inquiries about Portsmouth before al-Fahim finalised his takeover in August.
Peter Storrie, the chief executive — whose consortium, backed by al-Faraj, had attempted to buy the club — does not expect the new owner to adopt as high a profile as al-Fahim, who claimed yesterday that he had given the club away for nothing. However, al-Fahim retains the title of nonexecutive chairman and a 10 per cent shareholding in the club in return for his initial investment of £5 million.
“He [al-Faraj] is very similar to Alexandre Gaydamak in many ways in that he owns the club but he wants to sit in the background and let the officials of the club run it,” Storrie said.
“Naturally I am delighted personally as I had backed Mr al-Faraj’s bid initially. However, all along the most important factor has been to make sure the club is financially secure and can move forward to ensure our Premier League survival.
“I have been very impressed with Mr al-Faraj, his people and their commitment. They are very professional in their approach to the business and I believe that we will have some exciting plans ahead once again for this club.”
At St Andrew’s, Grandtop can now complete a compulsory purchase of the remaining shares with a view to taking the club off the Alternative Investment Market and into private ownership. Yeung is expected to travel to England next week and Alex McLeish, the Birmingham manager, insisted yesterday that he was looking forward to working with him.
“There is a buzz about the place and the fans are anticipating another step forward,” McLeish said. “I am ambitious and they \ are ambitious. Of course, if there is money to spend, we would welcome it.”
While the completion of the £81 million takeover represents the formal end of an era at St Andrew’s, with David Sullivan, Ralph Gold and Karren Brady departing the board, David Gold believes that his experience over 16 years at the club — 12 as chairman — can offer some crucial continuity.
“Now the deal has gone unconditional, the situation can be resolved,” Gold said last night. “It has been understandably difficult to sit down with the new owners and determine precise roles within the new structure. My understanding is that they want me to stay on in some capacity.”
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article6863863.ece
