Leeds fans must stump up £30m to buy club from owner Massimo Cellino
A Leeds United supporters' group has been told to stump up £30m for a majority stake in the club from owner Massimo Cellino.
Last week Leeds Fans United (LFU) reached an agreement in principle with their team's Italian owner to purchase around 75 per cent of the club.
Cellino has since set his price at £30m – a figure LFU says it can raise from fans' contributions within the next three months.
LFU was originally set up to buy a minority stake in the club on behalf of the fans but says it is "comfortable" and "ready" to go for a majority stake.
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The group says an audit of accounts registered with Companies House reveals Cellino has indeed put £30m of equity into the club.
However, further costs and liabilities could be uncovered when it conducts due diligence on the business.
"We are ready to go to due diligence tomorrow", LFU chief executive Dylan Thwaites told the BBC. "There might be other agreements and investments that will be found in due diligence and that is all auditable.
"We'll be left with a figure that is a maximum amount we will be paying for Leeds United and that is not a negotiable figure, it is an audited one."
The erratic Cellino has become increasingly unpopular at Elland Road having sacked five managers in just over 18 months.
He is currently appealing a second Football League ban for failing the Football League's owners and directors rules after he was found guilty of tax evasion in Italy.
Following mounting pressure from unhappy fans, Cellino has agreed to sell to LFU who aim to raise money on behalf of fans from various tiers of investment.
The first tier includes fans who can invest any sum between £100 and £10,000 while the next includes wealthy Leeds fans who may want to invest even more.
Should there still be a shortfall on the required figure for a majority stake, LFU says it could conduct a great debt scheme in which repayments would be deferred until the club secured promotion to the Premier League.
If that fails, Thwaites said today the club is talking to potential institutional investors who could help them get over the line.