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Michael's £500m goal

kevin feddy
18/11/2008

MANCHESTER accountant Michael Jayson is aiming to transform football through his involvement with a group looking to raise £500m from fans to buy Liverpool FC from its American owners.

Michael, 35, managing partner at Horwath Clark Whitehill, based in Parsonage Gardens, is the company secretary of ShareLiverpool FC.

The organisation, which has the backing of former Liverpool stars John Aldridge, John Barnes and Phil Thompson, has issued an open letter to co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, inviting them to meet and discuss the sale of the Anfield club.

Married father-of-three Michael, a lifelong Liverpool fan, said: "We want to run the club as a supporters' trust and I think it will change the face of football if a club the size of Liverpool does this."

The plan involves enlisting 100,000 Liverpool fans to pledge £5,000 each and the group has so far won support from more than 20,000 supporters, including people in Ireland and Scandinavia.

ShareLiverpool FC is led by Rogan Taylor and its steering group includes Cobbetts lawyer Kevin Jaquiss.

Michael said: "My role with ShareLiverpool FC is to work on compliance matters, and we have registered ourselves with the Financial Services Authority as an Industrial and Provident Society and our constitution has been approved, which means we can call for investment."

Michael, who leads a team of five partners and 40 staff at HCW, advises clients such as the Mines Advisory Group, Oldham council, charities and credit unions.

The firm recently boosted its tax team with the arrival of Steve Livingston from KPMG.