Liverpool off to high court as RBS obtains Tom Hicks injunction

Posted Tuesday, October 12, 2010 by The Independent

• RBS obtains injunction against attempt to sack chairman
• Singapore billionaire Peter Lim prepares rival offer for club

Liverpool off to high court as RBS obtains Tom Hicks injunction
The battle over who will own Liverpool is heading for court 18 of the high court in London.

The fate of Liverpool will be decided in room 16 of the high court from tomorrow, when the Royal Bank of Scotland seeks to force through the sale of the club to the owners of the Boston Red Sox in the face of opposition from the current owners.

With the club's future set to turn on Mr Justice Floyd's interpretation of agreements that RBS insists were signed by Tom Hicks and George Gillett, the picture was further complicated yesterday by the public emergence of the rival bid to that of New England Sports Ventures, whose offer was accepted last week.

Peter Lim, a Singapore billionaire, matched NESV's £300m offer and also agreed to clear the £200m acquisition debt sitting on the club's balance sheet and which has provoked anger from fans.

The former stockbroker turned investor, who has stakes in a fashion retailer and a chain of clinics and owns a chain of Manchester United-branded cafes in the Far East, claims to be prepared to return to the table if the NESV deal falls through or Liverpool go into administration.

"Peter has written a letter to the Liverpool board ... he is prepared to make an improved offer," his spokeswoman said.

NESV, however, would point to the fact it emerged as the winner in a competitive process and the binding agreement it has signed with the independent chairman Martin Broughton and the Liverpool board.

Although Lim's intervention will be immaterial if RBS wins the case, which could take several days to resolve, it may prove problematic for RBS and Liverpool if it aids the argument of Hicks and Gillett, that they could have achieved a higher price for the club they still own.

RBS, which is owed the majority of the £237m loans that fall due on Friday, will tomorrow argue that undertakings signed by Hicks and Gillett as a condition of a refinancing round in April give the chairman Martin Broughton the sole right to appoint or remove directors from the board.

Liverpool, meanwhile, are also seeking a definitive court judgment to confirm that the directors have the right to sell the club.

If RBS succeeds in upholding the agreements, which it believes are legally watertight, it would give Broughton the authority to push through the sale to NESV.

In an attempt to block the £300m deal, Hicks last week attempted to remove the commercial director Ian Ayre and chief executive Christian Purslow from the board and replace them with Mack Hicks, his son, and Lori Kay McCutcheon.

It emerged todaythat RBS was granted an interim injunction on Friday, preventing Hicks or Gillett from making any fresh moves to replace Broughton or any of the other directors.

"Among other things, that interim injunction prevents Mr Hicks or Mr Gillett taking any steps to remove or replace Mr Broughton from his position as chairman of the board of the Kop companies or from taking any other steps to appoint or remove any directors from the board of the Kop companies," RBS said in a statement.

"The proceedings represent the continuation of Friday's proceedings and relates to breach of contract only. These proceedings do not represent steps by RBS to enforce its security or to appoint an administrator."

The case is the seventh due to be heard by Justice Floyd tomorrow. RBS will not seek to go down the administration route, which would be likely to result in a nine-point penalty from the Premier League, if the case or any subsequent appeal goes beyond 15 October. Only if Hicks wins would that be an option.

NESV, concerned at the re-emergence of administration as an option after 10 weeks of negotiations, has indicated it would walk away from the deal or seek a significant reduction in the price if that happens.

It has also emerged that RBS could have placed the club into administration at any point since the refinancing in April, since the shareholders have technically been in breach of their loan agreements since then.

The suggestion from Lim, who recently donated S$10m (£4.8m) to the Singapore Olympic Foundation, that he would be prepared to buy the club out of administration, may yet prove significant. NESV is increasingly unsettled by the suggestion from RBS that administration remained an option and a concurrent indication from the Premier League that the club would be docked nine points if that happens.