The new owner of Leeds United has bought back their Elland Road home. The ground was sold on a lease back deal in 2004 when the club was in financial difficulty.
The new owner of Leeds United has bought back their Elland Road home. The ground was sold on a lease back deal in 2004 when the club was in financial difficulty.
Leeds negotiated a 25-year lease agreement on Elland Road when the ground was sold for £8m to Manchester property developer Jacob Adler by the Gerald Krasner-led board. The ground was subsequently owned by a company in the British Virgin Islands, but remained under Adler’s control. He continues to own the club’s Thorp Arch training ground.
The deal included a buy-back clause giving Leeds the right to repurchase the ground at any time before 2029. The current cost of the buy-back stood at around £17m but Radrizzani is believed to have paid in the region of £20m to complete a rapid sale from Adler.
This is not just a matter of pride for the club, they did not want to see large sums of money being paid out in rent. The club added in a statement that the deal would allow them to ‘significantly reduce their expenditure’ and re-direct money to the academy, senior squad and improvements to the stadium which is in need of some updating. There are also plans to redevelop the land around the ground.