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Liverpool receive bids from Peter Lim and Mill Financial

Liverpool have three offers for ownership of the club © PA Photos

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Singaporean stockbroker Peter Lim has made a £320 million bid for Liverpool, and news of a further bid has emerged in the High Court.

New England Sports Ventures had a £300 million bid for the club accepted last week, with chairman Martin Broughton, managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre outvoting co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

The sale has been contested and the case was being heard in the High Court on Tuesday, with Hicks and Gillett having attempted to make changes to the board to block the NESV sale, which would leave them without profit. It is claimed they had previously agreed that they would not be able to change the constitution of the board upon Broughton's appointment earlier this year.

The saga took a surprise turn when Lim, a billionaire, announced that he had made an improved bid for the club on the morning of the case and offered to make an additional £40 million available for the acquisition of new players.

In a statement, Lim said: "I believe that if its massive debt burden can be removed, the club would be able to focus on improving its performance on the pitch. My offer pays off the existing owners' bank acquisition debt and also frees the club of its own bank debt. If the board accepts this offer, the monies are available immediately thereby removing the threat of administration.

"The club needs to strengthen its existing squad. As part of this offer, I will be injecting £40 million in cash into the club for Roy Hodgson to bring in new players during the upcoming transfer window. Liverpool needs to start winning again. I respect and admire Liverpool Football Club, which is steeped in tradition and history. I am committed to rebuild the club so that it can soon regain its position at the pinnacle of English and European football, where it truly belongs.

"This is why I have stepped forward with this offer."

Paul Girolami QC, representing Hicks and Gillett, told the High Court that the duo's attempts to block the NESV sale were a means of assessing other offers, such as Lim's, rather than "trying to throw a spanner in the works".

"What has happened is that the English directors have gone forward with the NESV bid without properly considering alternatives when those alternatives at least appear to give better prospects," he said.

Seemingly supporting that case, the duo's representative also revealed in court that there was a third bid from American hedge fund Mill Financial to pay off all the club's debt and commit £100 million to a new stadium.

Mill Financial helped support a previous refinancing of the loan used by Gillett to buy the club in 2007. The hedge fund now technically controls Mr Gillett's 50% stake. Following Lim's announcement, representatives of NESV told ESPNsoccernet there is "a signed and binding agreement between Liverpool's board and NESV" and that it remains firmly in place.

Lim had his opportunity to raise his bid last Tuesday when the bidding process reached its final stage but chose not to, leaving the owners of the Boston Red Sox as the outright winners of the auction. NESV were left wondering whether Lim has teamed up with Hicks in some way, by announcing he is ready with an improved bid and one that will look good to the Liverpool fans with the impressive January transfer budget.

Only if Royal Bank of Scotland's legal action fails could new parties move in with a genuine bid.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.