FOLLOWING the news that York City has been put up for sale, Flamingo Land boss Gordon Gibb said he would be willing to take over - but not at any price.

The 26-year-old owner of the theme park and zoo, near Malton, said that the offer he made to the club in August 2000 is still on the table. He is now considering a fresh approach to the club but having been turned down once before, he was not confident the board would be interested.

City chairman Douglas Craig dismissed reports at the time that there had been any formal talks of a takeover. But multi-millionaire Gibb maintained that offer had been serious and buying the club was still one of his targets.

Gibb, the former chairman of Hamilton Academicals, said: "The share price was the stumbling block." He had offered to buy 200,000 shares for £500,000 as well as investing around £1.5m in new players. But his valuation of the shares did not match up to that of City's directors.

Gibb said that he was unable to say what valuation the directors put on the shares as he had signed a confidentiality agreement. "I wish I could tell you, but I cannot. I won't break the agreement," he said.

At the time of his initial approach, City were losing around £12,000 a week, said Gibb. Now they are losing much more than that. He added: "I felt at the time that it was a fair offer and told them they would live to regret not taking it. I hate to say 'I told you so' but... I am not surprised it has happened."

The club was put up for sale last week at the AGM of Bootham Crescent Holdings PLC, the company which owns the ground. Chairman Douglas Craig revealed the club's current overdraft limit expires in February next year. He said though the board were prepared to provide additional security for funds until the end of the season, when they intend to resign, they would only do so providing certain guarantees were met and a suitable owner was found.

The board has set a deadline of noon on January 17 for potential buyers to come forward. The formation of a Supporters' Trust to take over the running of the club has been suggested.

Updated: 10:19 Thursday, December 27, 2001