'Mr Fix-it' sues Yeung for pounds 2m; FOOTBALL: Former League boss claims cash for takeover role.Byline: Jon Griffin FOOTBALL'S Mr Fix-It - former League chairman Keith Harris For the Australian rugby league player, see . Keith Harris (born 21 September 1947 in Lyndhurst, Hampshire) is an English ventriloquist who is known for his television show (which ran from 1982 till 1990), audio recordings and club appearances with his puppets Orville the - is suing new Blues owner Carson Yeung over claims of pounds 2.2 million of unpaid legal fees, it was revealed today. Seymour Pierce, an investment bank run by Mr Harris, has filed a High Court claim against Grandtop International, the Hong Kong-based investment company controlled by Mr Yeung. The legal battle was revealed 48 hours after Mr Yeung took control at St Andrew's after taking his shareholding beyond the 90 per cent mark. The claim from Seymour Pierce says that Grandtop agreed to pay a pounds 2.2 million success fee to the London investment bank when it was appointed to advise the Far East company on the acquisition of Birmingham City in 2007. Grandtop subsequently acquired a 29 per cent stake and the bank claims that the contract entitles it to the multi-million pound success fee. A spokesman for Seymour Pierce said the High Court hearing was likely to be heard in Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. , where Grandtop is based. "Keith Harris acted for Grandtop when they took their initial stake and gave them an opening into the business. They took a very straightforward contract on a relatively modest six-figure retainer with a success fee of pounds 2.2 million. "They terminated the contract earlier this year but the success fee was still payable under the contract." A spokesman for Grandtop said the Hong Kong company would contest the claim "vigorously". Over the last two decades, Mr Harris has advised a string of football clubs and billionaire owners, with involvement in a number of flotations and takeovers. A former Chief Executive of HSBC HSBC Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation HSBC Humane Society of Broward County (Florida) HSBC Humane Society of Bay County (Bay County, Michigan) Investment Bank and ex-chairman of the Football League, he has been dubbed football's Mr Fix-It. He was involved in the Aston Villa takeover, the purchase of Chelsea by Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (IPA: [rʌˈmɑn ərˈkadʲievɨtɕ əbrʌˈmovɨtɕ]) (Russian: and is currently advising Mike Ashley on his attempts to sell Newcastle United. The writ has been filed by City law firm Rosenblatt. YEUNG LOOKS FORWARD: BACK PAGE |
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