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Their QC said that they accepted it was time to “sell up and go” but that the only issue was price

Today’s judgment would appear to leave Tom Hicks and George Gillett with nowhere left to turn, But close observers of their actions long ago learned not to write the Americans off. One thing seems certain, though: the duo have finally resigned themselves to having to sell the club they bought together for £220m in February 2007 amid such misplaced optimism.

It will bring the curtain down on three and a half years of fractious and debilitating infighting that led to their falling out with the fans, with the manager, with each other, with their lenders and finally with the board of the club. Their QC, Paul Girolami, said today that they accepted it was time to “sell up and go” but that the only issue was the price.

Hicks contended in his witness statement that the “English owners”, who he claimed to have discovered by accident called themselves “the home team”, were conducting negotiations in secret and behind the backs of himself and Gillett. The judge effectively dismissed his version of events but Hicks still feels himself to have been a victim in the whole affair.

Assuming the NESV deal goes through, the purchase price will clear the debts but leave nothing for Hicks and Gillett. They will lose the £101m in loans extended via the club’s holding company. Gillett is already believed to have in effect relinquished his shares to Mill Financial, the private equity group that helped support an earlier refinancing of the loan he used to buy Liverpool.

In 2007, Hicks was widely reported to be a billionaire but in the wake of the enforced sale of baseball’s Texas Rangers, which was ordered by a court after 40 lenders were left with an estimated $600m (£378m) in unpaid loans, interest and fees, there are questions about his finances. That history may well have influenced RBS when it drew up April’s refinancing agreement, which empowered Broughton to sell the club and, presciently, included the clauses that led to victory at the high court.

Hicks is also trying to unload the Dallas Stars ice hockey team but has rebuffed several offers. Gillett was the majority owner of the Montreal Canadiens and their home the Bell Centre. After repeatedly insisting they were not for sale, he sold them for $550m in June. In court this week, several references were made to the liquidity of the pair and, given that their wealth is all held offshore and privately held, it is impossible to ascertain just how damaged they have been by the recession. But today’s judgment will add further to the liabilities they have already racked up – solicitors on the high court steps estimated that their costs would be anywhere between £250,000 and £500,000.

All eyes are now on whether they attempt to lodge an appeal in a final throw of the dice. That would likely take the form of a claim for damages against the club on the basis that they ignored higher offers. But for an appeal to be granted, their lawyers will have to persuade the court that there is a reasonable chance of winning. Experts think it unlikely they would succeed.

“Hicks and Gillett are money men and can be expected to fight to the last to increase their chances of some return, so we have not heard the last of this,” Daniel Hall, a partner at Eversheds, said. “It appears that the club’s constitutional documents enable the board to accept a reasonable offer. I think it unlikely that the courts would intervene to review a considered decision of the board provided it was not malicious.”

LiverpoolBusinessOwen Gibsonguardian.co.uk

• Singapore businessman makes £320m takeover offer
• Board to discuss sale tonight following High Court victory

The Singapore billionaire businessman Peter Lim has urged the Liverpool board to consider his bid to buy the club.

A fresh takeover of the club can take place following the High Court ruling this morning which prevented the current owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, from further attempts to bloke a sale.

The newly reconstituted Liverpool board, led by the chairman Martin Broughton, is expected to meet tonight to ratify a sale to New England Sports Ventures but Lim is hoping his improved offer of £320m for the club will also be considered.

“I welcome the decision of the court. The way is now clear for the board to sell the club. I have delivered my offer to the board and believe that my ownership represents the best option for the future of the club and its supporters,” said Lim in a statement. “I hope that when the board is reconstituted tonight that it will not simply ratify a sale to NESV but will consider all the offers before them. I am asking the board to run a full and fair process that enables all of the offers to be considered on their merits before the future of the club is decided.”

Liverpoolguardian.co.uk

• High court injunctions could pave way for prompt sale of club
• ‘I am not prepared to grant any relief’ says judge

The high court today granted injunctions that could open the way for the prompt sale of Liverpool.

The club’s owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, asked a judge to delay the hearing of an application by creditors Royal Bank of Scotland for mandatory orders paving the way for a possible sale this week. But the plea was rejected by Mr Justice Christopher Floyd.

At RBS’s request, the judge imposed injunctions on the two men requiring them to restore the original constitutions of the companies and managing directors.

This removes the final stumbling block to a £300m takeover by New England Sports Ventures which will see the RBS recoup its original £237m loan to Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett when they bought the club in March 2007.

Mr Justice Floyd rejected applications by the owners for an injunction to halt the sale negotiations until they had attended a board meeting and there be further discussions over any sale agreement.

“I am not prepared to grant any relief,” he said. “If I did it would risk stopping the sale and purchase agreement going ahead.”

He said this would result in potential serious damage to the club and RBS.

Yesterday the judge heard Hicks had tried to block the NESV deal last week by removing managing director Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre from the board of the Liverpool Football Club companies.

He had then installed his son, Mack, and business associate Lori McCutcheon so that he had control of voting on the board before a meeting to decide on which bid to accept for the sale of the club.

But this was in breach of agreements the Americans signed with the bank when RBS extended it credit facilities.

The RBS loan facility ends on Friday and the bank had applied to the court for the injunction to allow the sale to go ahead and recoup its money.

The owners were refused permission to appeal. The judge said it would be “inappropriate in the circumstances” for him to grant leave, and they would have to apply to the appeal court for permission.

Liverpoolguardian.co.uk