Sheffield United: Legal action launched over prospective Newcastle United buyer Henry Mauriss’ takeover bid

In a fresh twist to the Mauriss takeover saga, which saw the American launch a £115m bid to take over the Blades earlier this summer, Guernsey-registered United World Holding Ltd. have begun a High Court action against leisure and tourism operator The Network SA over two unpaid deposit payments of £9m and £1m, according to court documents seen by The Star.

Having previously failed in a bid to buy Newcastle United from Mike Ashley, reclusive businessman Mauriss saw his offer for the Blades accepted by owner Prince Abdullah back in March 2022. But Mauriss was unable to pass checks by the EFL on prospective football club owners, with the deal seemingly dead in the water.

After being introduced to United through intermediaries, Mauriss struck a deal to take over at Bramall Lane and, according to the claim, a share purchase agreement was signed specifying that the prospective buyer should put up an agreed £10m deposit. The suit claims that Mauriss or his representatives did not respond to a request from the Football League for information within an agreed timeframe, and did not pay the deposit – which UWH claim constituted a breach of their share purchase agreement.

On April 18 this year Jones Day, lawyers for United World and the firm of United chairman Yusuf Giansiracusa, provided bank account details for the payment and followed up on May 9 to confirm it had not been received, according to the documents. The Network’s lawyers, JMW Solicitors LLP, then reportedly replied on May 23, saying: “Neither we nor our client disputed your previous notice because we chose to ignore it… We have never accepted your client’s view that the deposit is due to be paid to them.”

The claim has now reached the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. Mauriss’ bid to take control of United ultimately collapsed because of the complicated financial structure he had attempted to use, including the buying of bonds, rather than loans, to fund it. The claim document indicates United World Holdings are claiming the £10m figure, plus interest, damages and costs.