Bahrain-based private equity firm Gulf Finance House has agreed to buy Leeds United Football Club from owner Ken Bates.

No financial details were disclosed but reports indicate that the bid is worth some £50m (€62.7m). Ken Bates, who has had financial involvement in the club since 2005, has been in talks with investors since last June. 

If the deal goes through, the new owners will hope to reverse the club's fortunes. After reaching the semi-finals of the Champion's League in 2001, Leeds was relegated from the Premier League in 2004 and dropped to England's third league. The club fell into administration in 2007. It was promoted to the Championship two years ago. 

A statement from Gulf Finance House said the club was “one of the best-supported clubs in English football with a higher than average match day attendance than most Premier League teams", although another source suggests the club's current average attendance only betters three of the Premier League's 20 clubs.

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