I suspect that the new potential owner's solicitors and financial advisers are finding little nooks and crannies that Bates and Co may have tried to hide.

Let's not forget Bates and Co divided ER into several different companies, it's possible Bates and Co want to hold on to one or two so they can continue ripping money off from LUFC.

They will be aware of Bates reputation and will want to control the proceedings rather than Bates dictating the process and rules.

Patience my friend, we're all in same boat and just as frustrated.

I have done due diligence and it can take 2 - 3 weeks in routine situations.

While this is far from routine, I suspect the due diligence is finished or close.

The delay is more likely due to tough negotiations, the devil being in the details, with Bates & Mates possibly trying desperately to hold onto positions and perks.

Just my educated guess.

I've been involved in it twice now (As a selling company) and it's very complex or can be. The 1st time seemed to take an age, but was sorted within 6-weeks in reality. The 2nd time we paid a 3rd party to do it on our behalf because we had experience of what would be looked into. So we had a huge document already done ready and waiting. This document was produced by one of the big 4 so was 100% as it had to be. The process was speeded up in a huge way, and the buyer then read through and decided which areas required a bit of extra DD etc so the time taken to do it was a couple of weeks.

The reality of this thing is slightly different:

1) Bates has previous with Abramovitch and stiched him up, so everything needs looking at so that you don't get shafted.

2) There are a number of companies involved all linked to the club.

3) Everything is done through shell companies and offshore.

4) The club solicitor is known to tell porkies in court, and is a signatory to everything, so double checks need to be done.

5) The cash side of this will be cumbersome, because it won't be a case of funds being transferred from one bank into another, as Bates & Co will want cash moving all over the place, so they pay as little tax as possible, if any at all.

6) The other companies involved like Yorkshire radio etc will need stripping out if they don't want them, so a lot of unravelling needs to be done.

Got to see the wood instead of the trees

This timeline is nothing unusual for DD. I've only ever worked on one project where i was actively involved in the due diligence - it took 18 months to complete!! It was on a much bigger scale than the sale of LUFC, but the general principles will be very similar.

As JLA has put, it'll be the haggling over the finer details which will be causing the time delays at the moment. I'd have thought we'd hear something pretty definitive in the next 10 days.

If the buyers are decent and are checking the DD with as much scrutiny as I'd hope they are, then this delay is a good sign. It means they're sifting through the fog that Bates willl have knitted for the last few years.

It is amazing how other clubs do it do fast tho isint it?

Watford and forest was done o so fast.

Good point meme, though I'd imagine Watford in particular being a lot less complex than our situation as well as being a much smaller entity £-wise.

As we don't own either ground ot training ground, you'd have thought our assets would be well easy to count and value

It's not the assets YW it's the things Bates has hidden that will be causing the delay.

There will be liabilities that we don't know about and DD should flush them out so that the buyer doesn't end up with Bates shafting him. Don't forget there is also the clause about paying back creditors should we get promoted before a certain date.

I would imagine it's a bit of a nightmare unavailing Bates intricate web of deceit.

Agreed with stoopo, bates has made ownership structure complex and that takes a lot of unravelling, plus there are other parties that own parts of Leeds (supposedly) to deal with.

Plus you have to remember hat even when it is in our own interest we seem to deliberately delay things - paperwork for coming out of admin for FL, paperwork for player registration missing deadlines, late submission of accounts to companies house incurring fines.

All of these are completely within Leeds control, if Leeds really have an appetitive for his it can effectively go through as quickly as Leeds want it to.

Agree Jonty - But thats Harvey's doing

How has Bates not sacked him for being a complete incompitent baboon - or does Harvey hold more sway than any of us know?

Harvey knows where a lot of bodies are burried

Shame his isn't one of them!

Yw, it's the fact it's a Leeds doing that is the problem.