Liverpool hopeful of deal by end of month

LIVERPOOL Football Club could be sold by the end of this month, according to chairman Martin Broughton.

Chinese tycoon Kenneth Huang is just one of several parties talking to the club, which is valued at between £300m and £400m.

Speaking to The Guardian newspaper Mr Broughton, the business grandee appointed earlier this year to lead the sale process, said: “It still remains the objective to conclude a deal before the end of the transfer window (August 31).

“That remains the objective but there are no deadlines, and we will continue working to complete the process.”

Mr Broughton, who is also chairman of British Airways, insisted that it was the club’s board and its advisers, Barclays Capital (Barcap) which would decide on the future, not its lender, Royal Bank of Scotland.

He was speaking to clarify reports that Mr Huang would seek to acquire the debt from RBS, in a move to wrest financial control over the club.

He said: “Any bids that go straight to RBS – and there have been several – come to me and are directed to Barcap. RBS are not involved. The control remains with the board.”

RBS has lent Liverpool – currently owned by American businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks – £297m. It is reported that Mr Huang is willing to pay around £325m for the club and will also clear the debt, Gillett and Hicks are said to value the club much higher.

Mr Huang is seen by many as the most serious bidder. He is backed by a Far East sovereign wealth fund and has a track record in sporting investments.