Hongkong Buyer Leads Liverpool Takeover Race

A Hong Kong-based investor has emerged as the main contender aiming to win control of Liverpool.Sources close to Barclays Capital have indicated that the unnamed bidder is 'leading the race' to win control of the club with as many as five bidders understood to be at 'in-depth' stages of due dilligence.The Royal Bank of Scotland are threatening to call time on George Gillett and Tom Hicks' ill-fated Anfield reign after placing the club in their toxic assets division.Although BarCap are overseeing the bidding process, they do not appear willing to provide funding to the Americans' potential successors and have privately distanced themselves from allowing themselves to become involved with financing any takeovers.Gillett and Hicks' communication with the global banking giant has been described as 'unreachable' whilst their valuation of the club at between £600million and £800million has been branded unrealistic and disruptive to BarCap's involvement in the sale process.The news comes after Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson stated that the club will only be able to challenge for major honours, namely the Premier League, under new ownership and with a new stadium.Plans for a new 60,000-seater home for the Reds in Stanley Park have been temporarily shelved after Hicks and Gillett failed to provide significant funds to restart the building process during their three-year spell as owners.He said: “I don’t think that’s pessimistic. I think people are realistic."The problems with the ownership are well-documented and I can’t wave a magic wand and make them go away.“Everyone at Liverpool would like to see a solution to the ownership problem. That Martin Broughton finds an owner acceptable to the rest of the board, with the right intentions and who will first and foremost build a new stadium that increases the capacity.“I am very confident the boys here won’t let the fans and club down. Whether or not we will really get our act together as we’d like to take the next big step, that might depend on the ownership issue being settled and it will also depend on time.”