MAY 18, 2006

Ex-March F1 boss linked to Liverpool FC bid

Robin Herd, Max Mosley's partner in March Engineering, has been more involved in soccer since selling the team for the last time in 1990. He bought Oxford United in 1991 but eight years later sold the team when plans to build a new stadium ran into trouble.

Robin Herd, a former McLaren designer and Max Mosley's partner in March Engineering, has been more involved in soccer since selling the team for the last time in 1990. He bought Oxford United in 1991 but eight years later sold the team when plans to build a new stadium ran into trouble. Now it seems Herd wants to get back into the business of sport and is acting as an agent between a group of European investors and the owners of Liverpool Football Club. Herd's aim is to get Liverpool to increase the number of shares in the company to allow Liverpool to get more money. At the moment the club has 50,000 shares but more than 15,000 of them have not been issued. The club is currently controlled by David Moores, the nephew of John Moores who founded the Littlewoods empire. He bought Liverpool in 1991 and the club has enjoyed huge success on the field but has now reached a point at which it must redevelop its Anfield site if it is going to keep pace with the financial power of its rivals. The problem is that Liverpool needs a new 60,000-seat, $320m stadium to increase its income in the future. Issuing the new shares means that the club will get the money it needs but Moores would lose ultimate control.

One can only wonder if Herd's connections in racing are the sources of the new money.