Bradford Bulls: Omar Khan consortium buys club

Last updated on .From the section Rugby Leaguecomments59

Bradford Bulls' Odsal Stadium

Bradford Bulls' future has been secured after the administrators confirmed the Super League club has been sold to Omar Khan's consortium.

The Bulls had been in administration since June and were facing liquidation.

But administrator Brendan Guilfoyle said in a statement that he had sold Bradford Bulls Holdings Limited to OK Bulls Limited for an undisclosed sum.

The Rugby Football League will not ratify the takeover until next week, but that is expected to be a formality.

The Bradford restaurant owner's consortium, which included Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe, and Bradford Park Avenue were confirmed as front runners to buy the Bulls by the Rugby Football League.

And a total of four bids were placed for the Bulls, including one from Super League (Europe) Ltd which was considered a last resort.

"This is a great achievement for Bradford Bulls, the players, fans and the city of Bradford," said Guilfoyle.

"My main duty as administrator is to get the best return for creditors - and this was the best deal on the table.

"Omar Khan has also passed the Rugby Football League's test as being a 'fit and proper person' to run a rugby club as well as being a passionate fan of the Bulls."

Despite being deducted six points for entering administration, the Bulls remain in the Super League play-off places with two matches remaining after a run of three straight wins.

Guilfoyle added: "I am really pleased that we were able to retain the playing squad without selling off young stars - which in the end was a crucial decision to achieve the sale.

"There are many people to thank in making this deal possible, not least employees, coaches and the interim chief executive who have all been working without pay.

"But I'm sure they would join me in saying the fans' support has been outstanding and they have played a major part in this rescue.

"And through all this the players have won an extraordinary string of matches."

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  • Another interesting point.
    To my knowledge, Odsal is STILL owned by the council. If it isn't then something stinks big time in Bradford Council and as a council tax payer I, along with 1000's of others, will not be happy. The RFL only aqquired the lease from the Bulls like they did with the Cougars. The RFL pay the Co-op, who own Cougar Park, the Cougars rent.Th Bulls were in a similar position.

  • To Bullsfan. Read my post, I said it was good news that the Bulls had been saved. In fact I'm going to the Bulls v Hull Fc match tonight as I support Hull FC. however my point is not about Bradford as such, it's the fact that a rugby league club has gone into administration through debt, even after going through supposed financial scrutiny for their franchise award.

  • This is good news for all RL fans if not all sports fans. It is to be hoped that Bradford Bull's experience and that of Rangers will have a good side in that a sense of financial reality and responsibility will enter the world of professional sport. However I fear it will require the demise of a big soccer club for that to really happen.

  • Doublef7: ignorant and stupid! I believe it is u who choose to forget how much money and help the bulls have been given and subsidised from day 1 by RFL or like many of the so called fans who have jumped on the band wagon were you not around before super league started. It's only because RFL have ploughed so much in to the club they are still around.

  • The Bulls will go head to head with all the other Championship clubs interested in a 'franchise' place in Super League and will no doubt keep their place as they offer far more than any other team, and rightly so.

  • I'm told the financial problems go back to way before "the signing of Harris" So what that means is Bradford used money they didn't have to get players they couldn't really afford to build a team that got them to 5 Grand Finals in a row. If they are not put out the SL (not what I want), they have to at least be stripped of those titles, otherwise what message does that send to other chairmen?

  • Some of you seem to be missing the point here. The Bulls (unlike rangers fc) have not gone into liquidation. They are still the Bradford Bulls just with new owners. Yes the period of admin was RIDICULOUS but this doesn't mean they should be booted out of SL. I for one would rather see the Bulls in SL than a championship team who will just get a whipping every week.

  • Oh Dear Mark Blow! What a bundle of joy you are! I guess you are not a Bulls fan and you are not a typical RL fan either. The Bulls have had amazing support from all the other teams and the vast majority of their fans. This has been very much appreciated by the players and the fans. Why should the players and the rest of the staff suffer because the finance people at Odsal messed things up?

  • Think the Bulls have bright future if the RFL do the decent thing. They've averaged over 12000 supporters this season, taken big away followings to all other clubs. The administration fiasco would appear to have been orchestrated behind the scenes by former directors who have now gone(Good riddance) The new owners & the fans have earned & deserve the chance to compete in SL next season.

  • The question is was it necessary to put the bulls into admin.Who got the previous chairman to step down after promising to bring new investors in .Who appointed an administrator that just happened to work for the same company as himself. Was there a plan to buy the club back cheaply. Did the plan fall apart when the RFL got involved & starting asking who was the 'C' in the ABC deal???

  • The Bulls went into admin & have now been taken out of it. Rangers went into Liquidation, completely different matter. Having new owners shouldn't mean the loss of SL status it didnt when the new guy took over at Wakey or Wigan or Leeds, London, Saints, warrington, Hull in fact prob every other team! The game cant afford to lose 10000 supporters. SL needs the Bulls

  • Bradford are not particularly competitive and haven't been for several seasons, as shown by last night's abject humiliation at home to Hull. They have occasionally put in a decent performance but do not have the resources to support a squad capable of being competitive week in week out. Halifax, Barrow or Leigh wouldn't do much worse in the long term.

  • Add your comment...Doubled7; as I said earlier a typical blinkered bulls supporter, any derby would attract that many fans and if you had supported them long enough you would know that half of your fans are Halifax fans anyway!! I speak to many bandwagon bulls fans all the time, what a waste of time!!

  • 48.

    Leaguefan - Omar Khan's consortium has bought a company which was in administration. There's nothing in this article to suggest the Bulls have been liquidated and a newco formed.

    You're either a little confused, or maybe you're getting your news from a different source.

  • And where does that money come from Wagster? Sky predominantly. And why do Sky pay the money they do? Because they want to see scenes like the Leeds-Bradford derby with 20k fans cheering on their team in a high quality game of rugby. No doubt you'd prefer to see a championship club with a poorer setup replace them who offers no real value to the competition and let standards slip

  • It disappoints me how many ignorant, stupid rugby league fans there are, not understanding the full situation and bigger picture. No wonder our game is being held back when there are so many insular views.

    Wagster - they paid £150k for the club and will take on all outstanding debt.

  • £150k for a £1.5million debt, how does that work???!
    Writing is still on the wall.

  • 41

    Now which business are we talking about?

    Bradford Bulls Holdings Ltd or OK Bulls Ltd?

    One went into administration and one is a new business?

    I'll leave it up to you to decide!

  • Worried about teams getting tonked hey? Is it correct that the players are also working for free after the takeover? Looked like it last night.

  • Good luck to Bradford and its loyal fans, they deserve a crack in super league. As a rhinos fan a season without the Bulls derby is one I don't want see. The fans and the players haven't broken any rules, lets hope Bradford can become a real force again .

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