Notts County have revealed the identities of two key members of the independent trust which owns the club.

They are the Shafi Family and the Hyat Family, both highly respected and very successful members of the business world in the Middle East, Asia, North America and Europe. Like other shareholders in the QADBAK, they are based in the Middle East.

Mr Anwar Shafi said, "I can confirm that the families have a significant holding in QADBAK and are very pleased with the diversified range of assets we have invested in. But we are a private business and do not wish to comment any further."

QADBAK has a multi-billion dollar investment portfolio across Natural Resources, Heavy Industry, Logistics and Infrastructure.

A Notts County spokesman commented "Until now we have tried to respect the wish for privacy of our investors. But the confusion and misplaced allegations of the last few days have forced us to ask them to reveal themselves. Despite giving the Football League every possible answer and information well beyond any legal obligation they have yet to publically confirm their approval. We hope today's statement will speed that process considerably."

The families revealed today have built their businesses over the last 200 years. Family members include Sir Sikwander Hyat, a former Prime Minister of the Punjab and a personal friend of Sir Winston Churchill and Nawab Sir Liaquat Hyat (Prime Minister of Patiala state) .

The families have extensive business interests throughout the Middle East, Japan, Kazakhstan and Pakistan with real estate investments in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.