Leeds Fans Utd CBS Ltd
An Update for LFU Shareholders
In the shareholders’ update email last week, we explained that the global pandemic means the project between the Club and LFU will not progress any further this season. The delay in starting the project, as well as the impact of COVID-19 on the finances of many of our shareholders, leads the Directors of LFU to the conclusion that shareholders should be given another opportunity to withdraw from LFU if they wish to do so. We said we would share further information for members who wish to leave the society, which is detailed below and available to view on www.leedsfansutd.com
We would like to stress that the Club remains fully committed to creating a unique and innovative structure for fan share ownership and involvement via the LFU structure, and that together we hope to be able to start moving ahead with the project in 2021.
As we have previously explained, the agreement we have with the Club is intended to be a share purchase in Leeds United and an investment that will provide significant financial returns to fans as well as achieving our shared objective of allowing supporters to hold an ownership stake in the club.
Our investment will secure a new special class of ‘Heritage’ shares, ensuring supporters who commit will have a voice in heritage decisions and give supporters a meaningful voice at board level, as well as long-term control over key pillars of the Leeds United identity.
The full terms of the investment will only be known when the offer to fans is announced but if, for whatever reason, you decide then that you do not wish to invest your money in it you will be able to request a return of 90% of your original investment. In other words, we are not asking you now to commit to investing in the scheme. You will have a chance to make up your mind when you see the full detail.
When deciding whether or not to withdraw your investment please be aware that LFU’s remaining shareholders will enjoy preferential terms in the next share offer as compared to ‘new’ shareholders such as:
If you withdraw your investment with us you will not be able to ‘re-join’ before the share offer as LFU is currently closed to new shareholders and the intention is that it should remain so until the new terms can be announced. At that time, you would be treated as a ‘new’ share applicant.
We certainly hope that you will decide to stick with us through this journey as you have over the last five years.
We still believe that the prize of share ownership is worth the wait as fan involvement in the club will give Leeds fans an unparalleled level of participation and influence in our club. However, should you wish or need to withdraw your investment the process for doing so is described below.
The Leave Process
Members may apply to have the extent of their original investment that is currently held in escrow to be returned to them. This will represent 90% of their original investment. So, anyone who subscribed for £100 of LFU shares will receive back £90. The other £10 has been used in LFU costs in the intervening years.
Members who wish to leave should download the form at the end of this page. The form should be downloaded, completed and returned to LFU before 8:00AM on 4th January 2021.
No applications will be considered after this date.
To prevent false, fraudulent or malicious claims for members’ money, forms received will trigger a two-stage verification process which will ensure the form is really from the person it claims to be from. Applicants will receive an email to the email address that is currently registered with LFU on the official Members’ Register; no other email address will be used for verification and this form cannot be used to change your registered details. Please contact as soon as possible for details to change registered details.
Applicants must complete the two-stage verification process before 8:00AM 8th January 2021 to be included in the subsequent process; any requests after this time cannot be considered. A confirmation email will be sent to confirm that the member has completed the verification process and has been included in the next stage.
After 8th January 2021 a single draw-down of money will be requested from the lawyers who hold your investments in LFU in their Escrow account on members’ behalf; this request may take some time to complete to allow the lawyers to verify that LFU has correctly followed due process. When this money is released to LFU the members leaving will be asked via their registered and verified email address to supply their bank details; payments will be made over the next few weeks. Please be aware that to protect your money this process may take a few weeks to allow checks to be made to ensure payments are being made correctly. LFU can accept no responsibility for errors by members who supply incorrect bank details and we urge you to ensure you supply the correct details with no typos.
Please bear in mind that LFU is an entirely volunteer organisation and the process of paying back money in escrow is complex and time consuming. We will work hard to get your money back to you as soon as possible but it may take several weeks or months to achieve this. Be assured however that any member who asks for their money back will receive it.
Marching on Together
The LFU Board
Download Leaving Form:
20th November 2020