Birmingham could have new owners before new season


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The investment bank Seymour Pierce has effectively taken control of Birmingham City and could put it up for sale after Carson Yeung, the club owner, failed to pay a £2.2 million (Dh12.5m) fee to the bank. Last month, Seymour Pierce, the company chaired by Keith Harris, sued to recover the fee it said it was owed for laying the groundwork for Yeung's takeover of the club.

The company won a court order requiring Yeung to pay by Monday, but as the money was not received Seymour Pierce can now gain a charge of the shares held by Yeung's company, Birmingham International Holdings. "Seymour Pierce can take a charge over the shares of Birmingham City and do what they need to do with them to recover the money it is owed, so that means they could potentially sell them to another owner," Seymour Pierce spokesman Neil Bennett said on Sky Sports News.

Seymour Pierce had advised Yeung prior to the takeover of Birmingham, but Yeung then appointed a different company to complete the deal. However, Seymour Pierce successfully argued its contract remained valid and it was owed the money. Bennett explained: "They didn't pay it [the £2.2m]. Seymour Pierce has gone to court, and won the High Court case. The Hong Kong company was given 14 days to pay the money. They haven't paid so in effect they are in contempt of court and Seymour Pierce has taken the necessary steps to effectively take control of Birmingham City to recover the debt.

"It is very regrettable, very regrettable indeed, that Seymour Pierce has had to go to these lengths to get the fee." Birmingham are yet to comment, but a statement issued by Birmingham International Holdings said they intended to appeal. However, Bennett added: "They're on fairly thin ice." A hearing is now due on May 27 when Seymour Pierce could formally take control of the club. Bennett said there was still time for Yeung to solve the problem.

"This can be resolved very quickly by Carson Yeung and his company sending their cheque for two and a half million pounds to Seymour Pierce," he said. "Otherwise the process will proceed rather remorsefully, and during the summer break there could be a change of owner at Birmingham City which I don't think would be in anyone's interests." Elsewhere, Arsenal's 2-1 defeat to Tottenham practically ended their title hopes and also cost them the services of Thomas Vermaelen for the rest of the season with a calf injury. With William Gallas and Johan Djourou also out, Arsenal may have to rely on veterans Sol Campbell and Mikael Silvestre for their last four games.

Stiliyan Petrov, the Aston Villa captain, has urged Uefa to make a decision soon on whether Portsmouth will be allowed to compete in next season's Europa League. Pompey, who entertain Martin O'Neill's side on Sunday, would normally be able to participate even if they lose the FA Cup final to double-chasing Chelsea, but their financial situation could count against them - and then an extra Europa League spot could be available via the league, with seventh-placed Villa in contention.

Petrov said: "We hope that justice will be right in the end. I think if would be wrong for things to drag on until the end of season with teams not knowing if in they are in Europe or not." * PA

Specs

Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km

Naga
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Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Company Profile

Company name: Fine Diner

Started: March, 2020

Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka

Based: Dubai

Industry: Technology and food delivery

Initial investment: Dh75,000

Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp

Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000

Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months

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Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
if you go

Getting there

Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.

Staying there

On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.

More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr

THE BIO:

Sabri Razouk, 74

Athlete and fitness trainer 

Married, father of six

Favourite exercise: Bench press

Must-eat weekly meal: Steak with beans, carrots, broccoli, crust and corn

Power drink: A glass of yoghurt

Role model: Any good man

Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

Available: Now

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Profile box

Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)

How to help

Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200

INDIA SQUAD

Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami

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%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%203-litre%20V6%20turbo%20(standard%20model%2C%20E-hybrid)%3B%204-litre%20V8%20biturbo%20(S)%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20350hp%20(standard)%3B%20463hp%20(E-hybrid)%3B%20467hp%20(S)%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20500Nm%20(standard)%3B%20650Nm%20(E-hybrid)%3B%20600Nm%20(S)%0D%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh368%2C500%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A