Latest Rumours SUFC up for sale

[sammy666]

And so for those at the back as we were told previously he will sell the club and lease the stadium but if someone with deep enough packets wanted both that was on the table. This should keep many happy given how many rich buyers we expect to be lining up.

Give it a rest

 

[JD]

Really true. It's almost a fashion accessory for a wealthy American with any British conections.
But as you rightly point out there are many investors that are simply fronts for huge money laundering operations who are more than happy to buy out debts of millions and pay £1 and continue making an operating loss while plowing millions of dirty money in and extracting far less but cleaner money. They have no interest in the club's wellbeing or fans.

You’ve been watching too much Ozark

 

[Sparte]

So if a buyer comes forward for SUFC, what are they actually getting for their buck? Ron will build and own FF and the training ground until he decides to sell or lease. What happens to Roots Hall, will that be included in the sale? There certainly is a complex, tangled web to sort out!

 

[JD]

There’s never been a better time to sell a National League club, thanks to Wrexham.

If he’s willing to write off the debt there will be plenty of buyers. Now, whether they are chancers or philanthropists is another matter.

He has gone on record previously to say that the debt would be written off once FF was built - yesterdays comments seem to suggest this is now not the case?
I can’t see what has changed - SUFC is still the sole enabler for huge pot of gold for RM.
Any buyer of the football club would have to sign a deal to either buy FF or lease it - no other option would be allowed right?
So surely writing off the debt is still essential and possible?

 

[fbm]

A bit late to the party today due to work commitments, but I've just watched the video. Here's my take.

Admittedly, I've never seen RM do a press conference before, but he picks up the statement and reads it for a few seconds before speaking. It's like he's seeing it for the first time and so he clearly didn't write it himself; these aren't his words. The only personal input from him in that part I suspect was the opener; "Interesting day." Otherwise, his delivery is slightly stilted, he stumbles over some pronunciation and punctuation and there is some incorrect inflection.

This feels like it's all been done in a bit of a rush.

There could be two reasons for that -

1) He's run out of money, there's no more in the pot and we're up the creek in the short term, or
2) The agency he's just appointed have got one or two buyers in mind and it will now progress quite quickly.

Having been involved in the sale and purchase of two or three companies, none of which are anywhere near the size of a football club, I can advise that the process takes a hell of a lot longer than the three or four month timeline Ron hopes for. Blimey, it's hard enough to sell a house in that time.

So, this could be because of the need to sell quickly, which would correlate with option 1, or there has been something going on in the background and there is a buyer/are buyers waiting. A lot of our issues are in the public domain, it won't come as a surprise to anyone that we are late in filing accounts as all that can be found out instantly via Companies House. This fits with option 2.

Now onto his post statement delivery, which was a different Ron, the more usual one. No more stilted phrases and just talking, obviously from his perspective but has reached the time of his life where he wants to spend his time doing something else and I guess any of us in our sixties/seventies can relate to that unless we are the lucky ones who have already got to that place.

The whole thing seemed to be quite sad for him, as he says it's not often you see the press lost for words and despite the wording of the statement the overall impression I got was that this is a good thing for the club. There was no rush to leave, he invited them to continue as there would be nothing further until there was something positive.

I wasn't overly positive initially when I heard this but now I do think it will be the start of a new era, probably with US owners and this should generally lift the mood around the club. I'm leaning toward option 2 being the reason.

 

[JD]

So if a buyer comes forward for SUFC, what are they actually getting for their buck? Ron will build and own FF and the training ground until he decides to sell or lease. What happens to Roots Hall, will that be included in the sale? There certainly is a complex, tangled web to sort out!

They get the club, nothing else.
Any buyer will also be signing a deal to lease roots hall and then either buying FF or leasing it.

 

[fbm]

Sorry, how much a month do you think the flats are going to generate in rent for Ron?

How many units times the rent. The money will more than easily be recouped.

I didn't comment on that; I'm well aware. All I did was offer an interpretation of a sentence in the statement.

 

[JD]

A bit late to the party today due to work commitments, but I've just watched the video. Here's my take.

Admittedly, I've never seen RM do a press conference before, but he picks up the statement and reads it for a few seconds before speaking. It's like he's seeing it for the first time and so he clearly didn't write it himself; these aren't his words. The only personal input from him in that part I suspect was the opener; "Interesting day." Otherwise, his delivery is slightly stilted, he stumbles over some pronunciation and punctuation and there is some incorrect inflection.

This feels like it's all been done in a bit of a rush.

There could be two reasons for that -

1) He's run out of money, there's no more in the pot and we're up the creek in the short term, or
2) The agency he's just appointed have got one or two buyers in mind and it will now progress quite quickly.

Having been involved in the sale and purchase of two or three companies, none of which are anywhere near the size of a football club, I can advise that the process takes a hell of a lot longer than the three or four month timeline Ron hopes for. Blimey, it's hard enough to sell a house in that time.

So, this could be because of the need to sell quickly, which would correlate with option 1, or there has been something going on in the background and there is a buyer/are buyers waiting. A lot of our issues are in the public domain, it won't come as a surprise to anyone that we are late in filing accounts as all that can be found out instantly via Companies House. This fits with option 2.

Now onto his post statement delivery, which was a different Ron, the more usual one. It's No more stilted phrases and just talking, obviously from his perspective but has reached the time of his life where he wants to spend his time doing something else and I guess any of us in our sixties/seventies can relate to that unless we are the lucky ones who have already got to that place.

The whole thing seemed to be quite sad for him, as he says it's not often you see the press lost for words and despite the wording of the statement the overall impression I got was that this is a good thing for the club. There was no rush to leave, he invited them to continue as there would be nothing further until there was something positive.

I wasn't overly positive initially when I heard this but now I do thing it will be the start of a new era, probably with US owners and this should generally lift the mood around the club. I'm leaning toward option 2 being the reason.

I think you’re right. Without doubt there’s way more to yesterday than we could see.
What was frustrating was that the questioning from media was poor.
So many simple questions could of been asked that weren’t - it was a huge opportunity to get some clarity around recent events.

£2m injected recently…. So why are some staff still waiting for wages then Ron?
Have we now paid the debts owed to creditors generally?
When will the trust be repaid?
When will PG Site be repaid?
Are you going to write off the £20m+ debt (to your group co’s) as part of any sale as previously promised?
If a sale isn’t achieved quickly, and the stadium build is delayed, are you able to inject funds if needed?

the list goes on and on and on….

 

[Chris Powell's mate]

I think you’re right. Without doubt there’s way more to yesterday than we could see.
What was frustrating was that the questioning from media was poor.
So many simple questions could of been asked that weren’t - it was a huge opportunity to get some clarity around recent events.

£2m injected recently…. So why are some staff still waiting for wages then Ron?
Have we now paid the debts owed to creditors generally?
When will the trust be repaid?
When will PG Site be repaid?
Are you going to write off the £20m+ debt (to your group co’s) as part of any sale as previously promised?
If a sale isn’t achieved quickly, and the stadium build is delayed, are you able to inject funds if needed?

the list goes on and on and on….

...and if you're being canny, what would you have done differently in hindsight?
In a moment like that, maybe, he would let guard slip and reveal mistakes that's led us to this?
Financial decisions apart, the manager appointments over 20 plus years have been by and large, poor.
Tilly, Luggy and Maher out of 16?
I'm not even sure my mate was right for the club at the time.
He told me when he walked into the mess: 'there is a lot of work to do'. Yeah, and then some.

 

[blues exile]

How many members of 'the press' actually turned up despite all the hype beforehand? The lack of rigorous questioning gave him an easy ride and in view of his Trappist monk silence previously this was an opportunity missed to put him on the spot about all the issues currently weighing the club down. His hesitant, unconvincing reading of the statement carried little conviction but he was allowed to get away with it once again with a load of vague intentions and the usual throwing in of big names like the agency to bolster his credibility. He must have walked away relieved that once again he has wriggled out of genuine accountability and specific details.

 

[southendkid]

Have you read or watched the statements?

He actually says he won't get his investment back.

On film.

In this thread.



Please people, open your eyes.

Just because he knows he won't get all his money back doesn't mean he won't want as much of it back as possible.

At around the 11 minute mark he was asked about the clubs debts and Ron said the new owner would have to deal with them, the club is in debt to his other companies to the tune of several million. Is that all getting wiped? If not then even if he sells the club for nothing he'd be able to chase the new owners up for millions, the sale needs to include an agreement to wipe most of the debts to his other companies. He's already said whilst he'd like to sell both the club and the stadium buyers might not have the money to purchase both, which suggests he is expecting at least some money out of this, otherwise there wouldn't be any issue.

 

[fbm]

I think you’re right. Without doubt there’s way more to yesterday than we could see.
What was frustrating was that the questioning from media was poor.
So many simple questions could of been asked that weren’t - it was a huge opportunity to get some clarity around recent events.

£2m injected recently…. So why are some staff still waiting for wages then Ron?
Have we now paid the debts owed to creditors generally?
When will the trust be repaid?
When will PG Site be repaid?
Are you going to write off the £20m+ debt (to your group co’s) as part of any sale as previously promised?
If a sale isn’t achieved quickly, and the stadium build is delayed, are you able to inject funds if needed?

the list goes on and on and on….

Someone (Chris Phillips?) asked a question about the finances and Ron said that it was important that the transition between now and whenever the new owners took over was smooth. We are negotiating with HMRC over debt (and there's others, as he said they were the reason for the embargo "primarily").

I think the sort of direct questions you mention wouldn't (and maybe couldn't) have been met with direct yes/no answers, especially in relation to debts as he won't want to be accused of creating a preference as we still owe HMRC money. However, we can all get the flavour... he didn't look at all concerned about the future - short or long term - and looked somewhat relieved. He even confirmed that all the income streams available would be for the benefit of the club and Tom Lawrence will know all about what that can bring.

But for Ron, I do think it's over in his head and the final paragraph of the statement had very much a "Thank you and goodbye" feel.

The more I think about it, he's gone.

 

[kentblues]

Just a couple of points.

It has to be restated as reading some comments it seems somehow not fully appreciated. His expectation is that a buyer would want to buy both club AND stadium. The club only bit reflects the possibility a buyer might not have deep enough pockets. He does not want to be a landlord (so Club AND stadium for sale).

Regarding the debt - the club and ground is worth what someone will pay. They will pay more without debt than they would with-obviously. Because of the debt he does not expect to recover the investment in the stadium.

So say
Club worth 10m without debt
Debt 20m
Stadium worth 50m

Club 10-20 debt = -10
-10 + 50 = 40

Buyer pays 40 which, given club debt, is what it and the stadium are worth- so effectively discounted by the amount of the debt which is equivalent to writing it off (after all if he wrote the debt off he would sell for 50).

BTW numbers for illustration only

 

[defender05]

You can't seem to please some people, the fans protest because they want RM to leave saying there are loads of people who want to buy the club. Now you have what you want they are moaning about what is for sale.

It's now time for all of those interested parties to speak to the agency in charge of the sale but I believe most won't as its just the club for sale with the option of the training ground and stadium but not the whole package.

 

[kentblues]

You can't seem to please some people, the fans protest because they want RM to leave saying there are loads of people who want to buy the club. Now you have what you want they are moaning about what is for sale.

It's now time for all of those interested parties to speak to the agency in charge of the sale but I believe most won't as its just the club for sale with the option of the training ground and stadium but not the whole package.

At least by excluding those who wanted to by the development you are left with those who actually want to own a football club specifically

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

You can't seem to please some people, the fans protest because they want RM to leave saying there are loads of people who want to buy the club. Now you have what you want they are moaning about what is for sale.

It's now time for all of those interested parties to speak to the agency in charge of the sale but I believe most won't as its just the club for sale with the option of the training ground and stadium but not the whole package.

Alternatively just being able to purchase the club and stadium without the rest of the package might suit some potential investors down to the ground. That leaves Ron to deal with the complexities of the property developments and someone else (you’d hope, someone with good intentions) to fully concentrate on SUFC.

 

[* ORM *]

The way I’m reading this is that whoever buys the club will not be an investor, it will need to be someone with money to burn including, presumably, the cost of leasing FF unless there’s some kind of share grant offered in the non footballing revenue streams.

Part of me says I’m not overly confident the other says there is a path forwards.

 

[Kat_r]

Have you read or watched the statements?

He actually says he won't get his investment back.

On film.

In this thread.



Please people, open your eyes.

he can say what he wants. Doesn’t mean it’s reality.
The rent on the flats every month say at least 1000 units will happily accumulate to more than the investment plus building costs.
His family have a gigantic income every month for as long as they own the flats

 

[JD]

The way I’m reading this is that whoever buys the club will not be an investor, it will need to be someone with money to burn including, presumably, the cost of leasing FF unless there’s some kind of share grant offered in the non footballing revenue streams.

Part of me says I’m not overly confident the other says there is a path forwards.

Not sure I follow?

Leasing the stadium will include the right to operate the whole “building”, which would include the facilities that can be used to generate non match-day income?

The stadium is designed to offer multi use facilities, the whole point of which (if maximised) makes the club more sustainable.

any buyer of the club will need to be clear on how this can be used effectively as part of the lease

 

[fbm]

he can say what he wants. Doesn’t mean it’s reality.
The rent on the flats every month say at least 1000 units will happily accumulate to more than the investment plus building costs.
His family will have have a gigantic income every month for as long as they own the flats

Corrected for accuracy.

Firstly, their income is years away as the flats have got to be built. Ron may well die before he receives a penny.

Secondly, the flats won't be owned by him; it'll be by a company (or companies) and we have no idea as to how much of that he has already split or sold. We have no idea what his income will be (and it's not our business) but he has had to fund a club for 25 years in order to get that possibility of a return.

But his reward isn't relevant today; it may never actually be received for various reasons. But all things being equal, he and his family will do well eventually.