London High Court clears way for Liverpool sale

Liverpool owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks lost a legal bid to block the sale of the club yesterday, clearing the way for a takeover of the English football giants.

London’s High Court granted injunctions brought by the club’s major creditors, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which had been attempting to remove the final obstacles to the deal.

Lawyers for Gillett and Hicks had on Tuesday argued for more time to find a better offer than the 300-million-pound bid tabled by US-based New England Sports Ventures (NESV), the owners of baseball’s Boston Red Sox.

However, Justice Christopher Floyd rejected Hicks and Gillett’s request to halt sale negotiations.

“I am not prepared to grant any relief. If I did it would risk stopping the sale and purchase agreement going ahead,” he said.

Hicks and Gillett, who took over the club in 2007, claimed that the English members of Liverpool’s board – chairman Martin Broughton, Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre – had not acted in the best interests of the club.

“It was an excellent outcome,” Broughton said outside court after the ruling.

“I just want to thank the fans for the support they’ve given through a very difficult time. We’re almost there. The club’s going to have a great future.”

The ruling allows RBS to recover their £237 million loan, which Hicks and Gillett had been required to pay back by October 15. However, the NESV sale will leave Hicks and Gillett an estimated £144 million out of pocket.

On Monday, Singapore businessman Peter Lim made an improved offer of £360 million in cash for troubled Liverpool.