Who Owns Leeds United?

Leeds United is owned by 49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers, which completed its buyout in 2023. Companies House records the handover exactly: Andrea Radrizzani ceased as controller on 25 September 2023, and two Americans — John Edward York and Paraag Vijay Marathe — were notified the same day. Neither is recorded with a shareholding: both hold under the significant influence or control condition. Ownership verified 6 September 2026.

Who owns Leeds United?

The club is LEEDS UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB LIMITED (06233875), incorporated 1 May 2007 and registered at Elland Road.

A club founded in 1919 with a company registered in 2007 is not an error. Its previous name on the register is Leeds United 2007 Limited — the company formed when the club emerged from administration that year. The old company did not survive; a new one took over the football club, and the register preserves the year in the name.

Two active controllers are recorded, both resident in the United States, both notified 25 September 2023.

Current owners and shareholding structure

The active PSC entries:

• Mr John Edward York — has significant influence or control, United States, since 25 September 2023
• Mr Paraag Vijay Marathe — has significant influence or control, United States, since 25 September 2023

Note what is absent: no shareholding band on either entry. Neither man is recorded as owning shares or votes. The “significant influence or control” condition is used where someone can direct a company without holding the shares directly — typically because the shares sit in structures above, here in the American ownership of 49ers Enterprises.

That is the same shape as Manchester United’s register, covered elsewhere on this site, where the Glazers and Sir Jim Ratcliffe all appear under influence rather than ownership. It is common at clubs owned through foreign corporate structures, and it means the register identifies who is in charge without establishing what anyone owns.

Key controlling people and entities

49ers Enterprises is the investment business of the San Francisco 49ers NFL franchise, itself controlled by the York family. John York is co-chairman of the 49ers; Paraag Marathe runs the enterprises arm and chairs Leeds.

The takeover was gradual rather than sudden. 49ers Enterprises first took a minority stake in 2018 and increased it over five years before buying out Radrizzani entirely in 2023, following the club’s relegation from the Premier League.

Red Bull has since taken a minority investment in Leeds and become its shirt sponsor. It does not appear on the club’s PSC register, which is consistent with a holding below the 25% threshold — a minority investment and a sponsorship, not a change of owner. Red Bull’s fully owned clubs elsewhere are a different arrangement entirely.

Ownership history

Leeds United’s ownership is among the most turbulent in English football, and much of it is legible on the register.

• 2007 — the club enters administration; Leeds United 2007 Limited is incorporated on 1 May to take it over, and later takes the club’s name.
• 6 April 2016 — Eleonora Sport Limited, the vehicle associated with Massimo Cellino, recorded at more than 25% but not more than 50%.
• 24 May 2017 — Eleonora Sport ceases.
• 30 December 2016 — Andrea Radrizzani notified at more than 50% but less than 75%, resident in Italy.
• 25 September 2023 — Radrizzani ceases; York and Marathe are notified. The 49ers buyout completes.

The overlap between December 2016 and May 2017 is the handover itself: Radrizzani bought half the club first and the remainder afterwards, and for five months both parties were registered controllers. PSC dates capture staged acquisitions in a way that single-date reporting does not.

Radrizzani is the only owner in this sequence recorded with an actual shareholding band. Both his predecessor’s vehicle and his successors are recorded differently — one as a company, two as individuals with influence.

Related clubs or investment group

49ers Enterprises holds interests across sport beyond Leeds, and the San Francisco 49ers remain its principal asset. Common ownership across clubs is constrained by competition rules restricting clubs under the same control from meeting in the same European tournament — a consideration for any multi-club group, and one covered on this site’s Manchester United and Chelsea profiles.

The register also holds a curiosity worth knowing. CROSSLAND GROUP LIMITED (15589366), a Harrogate company incorporated in 2024, was previously named Leeds United Limited — and a dissolved company now called One Pound Limited also once bore the name. Neither is the football club. Company names move between entities freely, and only the number, 06233875, identifies the club.

Sources and verification

Every entry, band, date and cessation above comes from the Companies House PSC register for 06233875, along with the club’s previous name and the 2007 incorporation.

Two limits. The register records the nature of control, not percentages, and neither current controller has a shareholding band at all — so 49ers Enterprises’ precise interest is not established by any UK filing. And the identification of 49ers Enterprises, the Red Bull investment and the staged 2018–2023 acquisition come from the parties’ announcements and press reporting rather than from Companies House, which does not verify most filed information.