Leeds make appeal for investors to stave off meltdown

Leeds United yesterday made a public appeal for would-be investors to contact the club in a move viewed as a last-gasp chance to stave off administration. If fresh investment is found before this weekend, Leeds, with debts of about £20m and few assets, might yet avoid financial meltdown.

Rumours abound about various groups who would be interested in taking over the club, and one City of London source said yesterday that an unnamed billionaire, "a serious player", could be among them.

But time is running out, and if no new money materialises before Saturday, and the club's owner, Ken Bates, cannot envisage how to make ends meet next season, it would make more sense for Leeds to enter administration before this weekend. In that scenario, the Football League would deduct the 10-point penalty for entering administration from this season's meagre tally of points. With Leeds all but mathematically relegated at the weekend and facing a bleak future already in League One, that would be preferable to an enforced administration later, and a 10-point penalty in League One.

Leeds' chief executive, Shaun Harvey, confirmed yesterday: "Anyone interested in becoming financially involved should contact us with full details of who they are and proof of funds to show they are able to assist us."

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