Leeds United Football Club Limited
Leeds United Football Club Limited is a company formed on 4 May 2007 to own Leeds United A.F.C. after the club went into administration. Its directors were Ken Bates, Shaun Harvey and Mark Taylor. The club had built up heavy debts during Peter Ridsdale’s time as chairman, and after entering voluntary administration on 4 May 2007 it received a 10-point deduction and was relegated to League One.
Administrators KPMG sold the club to Leeds United Football Club Limited, while HM Revenue & Customs warned the club could be liquidated if a rescue deal wasn’t found. There were several bids, including from Duncan Revie and rivals Simon Morris and Simon Franks, with Bates emerging as the leading candidate.
On 1 June 2007, the creditors approved Bates’s bid in a CVA (creditors’ voluntary arrangement). A 28‑day window followed for appeals, during which HMRC challenged the CVA and the club went up for sale. Eventually Bates’s bid was accepted, and football authorities approved the sale under special circumstances. HMRC later decided not to pursue a legal challenge.
The club received a 15-point deduction for entering administration, a penalty upheld by the Football League and the FA after arbitration in 2008. Despite financial turmoil, Leeds United Limited reported profits in the period after administration, especially when excluding player trading, contrasting with the large losses seen before.
Ownership changes after that included GFH Capital taking 100% of the company in December 2012, and the San Francisco 49ers buying a minority stake in 2021.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 21:56 (CET).