If the story in the T&A is to be believed then is would appear that Bradford City have submitted an unconditional offer to the Rugby Football League to buy the Bradford Bulls. The story doesn’t exacty confirm the bid but City’s joint-chairman Julian Rhodes is quoted as saying: “We just wanted to see how we could help to keep the club alive, whether that’s in the Super League or in the Championship. We don’t want to see the club die.”
The Bulls have been in administration since the 26th June but last week it was announced that Super League (Europe) Ltd had tabled an unconditional bid to save the Bulls. The offer to buy the Bulls was submitted to the administrator by Super League chief executive Nigel Wood on behalf of the other 13 Super League clubs. Then out of the blue yesterday administrator Brendan Guilfoyle said: “I put the offer to the RFL last Friday and they will make their decision later on this afternoon. I understand the frustration of fans, players and staff that we haven’t sold the club yet. The administrators have a duty to creditors to aim to get the best deal possible so we submit all offers where funds are proved. This new offer is for more than Super League (Europe) Ltd put forward so we felt obliged to submit to the RFL for consideration.”
So watch this space! It will be interesting to see how this pans out and to see what the implications are for all parties involved. If the deal does go through then you can guarantee that sharing “a ground” will be top of the agenda.
The Rugby Football League has set a deadline of 5PM on Friday for any further unconditional offers for the Bradford Bulls to be received.
Administrator Brendan Guilfoyle said there could be up to five interested parties, but has also confirmed the ABC consortium has “reluctantly withdrawn”. He has already received unconditional offers from Super League Europe and an as yet un-named bidder.