Telegraph:
Liverpool Football Club has lost out on an £11m European Union grant to assist in the construction of a new £160m stadium.
The offer of the grant is believed to have lapsed on Friday following protracted delays in the club's plans to move from its spiritual home of Anfield to a state-of-the-art 55,000-seater stadium. The loss of the European money will add to growing speculation that Liverpool will not be able to afford to move to the new ground.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Telegraph has learned that the Premier League club, which won the European Champions League last year, has dumped Hawkpoint as its financial adviser and appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers as it searches for new sources of investment.
On 29 March Liverpool was forced to announce to the stock market that it was in talks with a number of parties "regarding a potential investment of new funds into the club".
Putera Sampoerna, the Indonesian billionaire, and Mansion, the gambling company that was recently outbid in its attempt to become shirt sponsors to Manchester United by AIG, the US insurance giant, are seen as possible buyers of the club.
Other parties that have expressed an interest in investing in Liverpool in the past include the billionaire Kraft family of the US and Steve Morgan, the Merseyside housing tycoon.
It is understood that David Moores, the Liverpool chairman and 51 per cent shareholder in the club, has in the past been unwilling to cede control to an outside investor. However, it is now believed that he will step aside and pave the way for a takeover of Liverpool if a suitable bid is put on the table.
Juan Villalonga, the Spanish telecommunications tycoon, recently expressed his interest in turning Liverpool into a "global brand" but has so far failed to make an offer that impresses the club's board.
Liverpool has been searching for outside investment since June 2004, when it appointed Hawkpoint.
The club declined to comment yesterday on any aspect of the takeover talks. An offer for the entire share capital of Liverpool's parent company would cost in the region of £200m.