Council ‘has not been approached’ over City takeover
STADIUM MANAGEMENT COMPANY LEASES PROPERTY
CITY council leader Daren Hale says the authority has not been approached by anyone in connection with reported takeover talks at Hull City.
Speculation over a potential deal has increased after reports from Turkey indicated that businessman Acun Ilicali is poised to buy the club from the Allam family.
Any change of ownership would likely to have an impact on the running of the Superstadium Management Company (SMC), which operates the MKM Stadium under a 50-year lease with Hull City Council.
City’s owners Assem Allam and his son Ehab also currently own the SMC.
Councillor Hale said; “We would be open to talk to anyone because the council has always been keen to ensure there is a good partnership in place in terms of the stadium.
“We built it to secure the future of both Hull FC and Hull City, so clearly we are an interested party but, as yet, no one has had any contact with us over this. There has been nothing, no approach to the authority at all.
“I will always say that our door is always open. If the Allams wish to sell the club that is entirely up to them, but we do have an interest in the stadium as we own it.
“If it comes to selling the lease then I would expect there would be conversations with us for a deal to be done. It’s reasonable to expect someone would need to speak to us over the SMC element.”
Speaking on BBC Radio Humberside, Cllr Hale also revealed he had not held any face-to-face meetings with the Allams since before last year’s March lockdown.
Previous changes of ownership at Hull City have seen incoming new owners take over responsibility for the operation of the stadium as part of the long-term lease arrangement with the council.
The lease deal was originally agreed when the stadium first opened with the then Hull City chairman Adam Pearson setting up the SMC to operate the venue and the neighbouring indoor sports arena in what was initially a partnership with the council.
When Russell Bartlett started negotiations with Pearson to buy City, the council sought assurances over his finances before the takeover was completed.
The issue later resurfaced after the Allams took over the club when they claimed the council had failed to stop Bartlett taking out a mortgage on the SMC lease to help fund his 2007 takeover.
Since buying the club in December 2010 for a normal £1 fee, the Allams have been the sole directors of the SMC.
The stadium company last recorded a profit in 2011.
A 2014 council report which examined the Bartlett deal and the Allams’ subsequent criticisms of it concluded the granting of a mortgage was permitted within the terms of the lease and did not require the consent of the authority.
The report also revealed the lease only required council consent for its transfer to a third party or the disposal of shares in the SMC up to December 2012 under a clause in the original agreement.
As a result, the council cannot now raise any potential legal challenge to a potential takeover of the company.
However, it is likely the council would still seek financial reassurances from any new potential owner of the SMC over their ability to run the stadium and the indoor arena.