Irish tycoon in takeover talks

Friday, February 15, 2008

Irish cinemas tycoon Tom Anderson has emerged as the latest potential buyer of Southampton FC, in a deal that could see plans hatched to lure the former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier to the South Coast.

Southampton FC Directors and its City brokers Seymour Pierce are in talks with a band of local businessmen, but the Evening Standard can reveal that Anderson is close to making an offer for the near-30% stake of the club's leading shareholder and former chairman Rupert Lowe.

The deal is understood to have been brokered by former Everton chairman Paul Gregg and his associate Tom McLoughlin.

It is believed Gregg may also take an equity stake.

While several top football clubs have fallen to foreign buyers in the past year, Saints have been up for sale for 18 months - leading to growing dissatisfaction among fans over the role of Seymour Pierce, headed by football's Mr Fixit, Keith Harris.

Anderson runs Ward Anderson, which took control of a dozen UK movie theatres in 2005 including the Leicester Square Empire in a deal with the UCI-Odeon chain.

The Anderson family is said to be worth £105m.