Q&A with Carl Reader

[JD]

When you say acquire the development of FF, is this just the stadium, or is is the housing development as well?

If it is the housing development, do any plans change with planning permission? What happens with Roots Hall?

This!

Ron is in to fossetts for a profit on the property development sales.
You’ll need to front him some/most of that profit to get him to walk away before it’s done right?

 

[rigsby]

When you say acquire the development of FF, is this just the stadium, or is is the housing development as well?

If it is the housing development, do any plans change with planning permission? What happens with Roots Hall?

How would the new ownership work in line with Stan/TL? Do they want involvement in the day to day, or are they here purely for financial reasons?

There are really 5 projects all linked and relying on the others. Not sure now is the time to change the design or the funding for some areas.

This is how I see it for fans priority.

1) The running of all team matters, managers, player budgets etc.

2) The new stadium, capacity, facilities, 4th stand etc.

3) Training ground, academy domes etc.

4) The housing on the old B&L site

5) The re development of RH

1 and 2 are the areas any new owner can really make a difference.

3 has already started so unless it’s a huge improvement then what?

4 will be funded by other people so Ron is Surely already doing what Carl wants to do. Ron has also said some of the flats will fund the team.

5 There is a huge debt on RH some of it may only be on paper ( most debts are ) but I have never heard one person give a remotely reasonable answer as to why Ron should not have some sort of payday. Ron vas also stated quite clearly he will remove the debt of many millions when it happens…. Can anyone really beat that ?

 

[TJC]

Great question.

Seventy7 Ventures is similar to most other VC's etc in that it is effectively a brokerage for investment, and yes it is a new company.

The investment has been secured from a Monaco based pension fund - at this stage of the negotiations (or more accurately lack of) I'm not prepared to disclose exactly which one, but can assure you that they have had the tyres kicked by us insofar as the scope of investment, the split between club and development, and also the budget for sustaining the club going forwards.

As we've all seen, a project like this is beyond the reach of most individuals, and I'd be lying if I tried to pretend that I was fronting the money myself. But, we've got institutional funders who are in it for the long term.

Blimey, hope my pension isn't linked to the club in any way

 

[OldBlueLady]

I must echo some of the other posters who have asked the simple question, why now?

 

[TJC]

I must echo some of the other posters who have asked the simple question, why now?

I think we can shorten that to just 'Why?'
Fossetts Farm looks like its finally going ahead. Surely this is a final role of the dice while there is still something worth investing in? Once its built, there is no value in the club, is there? Without the Fossetts element we are about as desirable as a fart in a wind tunnel?

 

[Tribal Chief]

Why now? Why not now? We are about to begin our second season in Non-League and we have seen that we don't have the financial resources to measure up with the pacesetters in our division. Carl has been working to get the backing in place and has now succeeded. He contacted Ron privately and got no response. That's why this is now out in public.

 

[Napster]

Why now? Why not now? We are about to begin our second season in Non-League and we have seen that we don't have the financial resources to measure up with the pacesetters in our division. Carl has been working to get the backing in place and has now succeeded. He contacted Ron privately and got no response. That's why this is now out in public.

It’s vital we need a fresh start. Wouldn’t it be good to have an owner who is prepared to listen to the fans? I don’t remember a Q&A with Ron before he took over? In fact Ron treats fans with disdain. He’s complacent and arrogant.

 

[Blue43]

Can’t believe some fans are honestly asking why now?
We are in the worst position this club has ever been in. It’s clear the current owner can not afford to run the club with the consistent late payment of wages, transfer embargo’s and winding up orders. The club is desperate for new ownership as the current owner has run the club into the ground, and the worst part about is that a lot of fans have just sat back and watched him destroy it without so much as a fight!

 

[Napster]

Can’t believe some fans are honestly asking why now?
We are in the worst position this club has ever been in. It’s clear the current owner can not afford to run the club with the consistent late payment of wages, transfer embargo’s and winding up orders. The club is desperate for new ownership as the current owner has run the club into the ground, and the worst part about is that a lot of fans have just sat back and watched him destroy without so much as a fight!

Some of us are fighting!

 

[Holy Joe]

I'd still rather Carl answered the questions - otherwise we'll need to change the thread title.

 

[Blue43]

Some of us are fighting!

Same here and I wasn’t including all fans in that last paragraph but if more fans had stood up against Ron like other clubs fans have done then maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess now

 

[TJC]

From a club perspective 'Now' would be a great time. but "Why now" from an investment point of view? I think we need to understand the motives. Its not going to be simply because the club needs it. There has to be a reason that funding has been able to be secured in principle to 'invest'. It can only be to profit from FF development, no?

 

[Carl]

I must echo some of the other posters who have asked the simple question, why now?

Why not now? We have been working on this for over a year, and couldn't move any quicker until funding was secured etc, we also wanted to make approaches directly before making noise about our approach - clearly, we'd be much happier with a 'friendly' acquisition, as I'm sure the club would be to as it minimises distraction for the team.

When you was a teenager Sainsburys we’re going to fund the project….. I’m sure they had the funds.

Thanks for the compliment but I'm sure that was around 2010ish, alongside the White Knights. That'd age me at about 23. I was referring to seeing the 'vision' back in the late 90s.

Hi Carl, why now? I appreciate buying a football club isn’t something that happens overnight but as you’ve alluded to already and as we all know, the troubles this club has faced with its current owner in charge has gone on for many years. Why suddenly act now? And by the way, for what it’s worth.. I as I’m sure everybody else would welcome change and from the little you’ve said so far, it sounds positive.

Hopefully answer above helps.

As a 25 year old, my whole supporting life has been overshadowed by finance woes, new stadium BS, relegations etc. Id love to just support a club that isnt so constantly drowning in problems and can thrive. Therefore Ill spare you the obvious scrutiny of “where are the funds?” My question is where do you see the club (should you take over) in 5, 10 and 20 years? That’s both on the pitch and commercially. How will you make the club something the city can be proud of (which by the way I think a lot of us are but find it hard to show sometimes with the current state it’s in).

Really important question. On the pitch, it's going to be a tougher and tougher environment but clearly we should be better placed than National League. I'm not going to promise any pipe dream of winning the Champions League, but the end aim long term is for the club to be financially sustainable by itself - and that only happens top half of the Championship / Premiership (even though you are potentially battling against parachute payments). You just need to look at the funding that teams like Salford. Macclesfield and Wrexham have achieved to see how tough it is at the bottom end. But for me, the real vision is around off the pitch, what can be done with the facilities, and how that can support the club (and vice versa).

When you say acquire the development of FF, is this just the stadium, or is is the housing development as well?

If it is the housing development, do any plans change with planning permission? What happens with Roots Hall?

How would the new ownership work in line with Stan/TL? Do they want involvement in the day to day, or are they here purely for financial reasons?

We'd be looking to acquire the whole lot, as it is. Can't comment on changes, simply as we aren't at the stage of detailed due diligence - we're not even sitting round a table having coffee yet.

And, we have no plans to disrupt the way the club is run in terms of personell.

What would you role be if successful?

Another good question, and it depends on what the club would want my role to be. Frankly I feel that there should be separation between ownership (which is an investment role), chairman (which is a non-exec / ceremonial role), leading the business (which is a C level role), and operating the business - but in many clubs, these 4 get blurred.

Hi Carl, this all sounds very positive, but at the end of the day of the day if it is not your money, it is not your risk. It sounds like you're going to be a 'front-man' if you like, for the real investors.

It is great that you are a Blues fan, but the investors are not. Outside investors are looking for a profit, and not much else, and anything concerning pension funds is always a controversial topic - we all remember Robert Maxwell...

Very few chairmen / ladies are the 'real investors'. I'm just one of those that's a bit more honest about it. We'll be putting the right checks and measures in place to protect the club. Maxwell isn't planned to be on the board :-)

To be fair that was completely different. Maxwell defrauded the Mirror Group pension fund - they were not at fault. Also, pension funds own much of the corporate world, and the profits on those investments (the dividends that some commentators love to hate) pay the pensions of most of us.

Having said that, you’re quite right that a pension fund is unlikely to become a ‘fan’ of the club and keep throwing good money after bad when poor signings / team management throw the skids under the club finances.

The funding is more around the property development, and whilst they might not be a fan of a club, they will be a fan of a residential development bringing in long term returns.

Q - How does he know he has sufficient committed cash to buy the club, develop stadium etc - has Ron named a price?

Q- have any discussions with Ron (or other club directors) happened?

Q - How long ago was he 41 when he wrote to Ron, twice. Did he get any response from Ron?

1. Ron hasn't named a price but we are satisfied that we have enough if all parties are reasonable. To add to this, although you didn't ask, we aren't looking to go down the administration route.

2. Only what you'll see in answer 3.

3. Over the last month, and I had a brief response today.

Q - Why go public now?

See above

What do the investors want in return for their investment?
What’s their end game?

See above (Spaceman Spiff Q)

This!

Ron is in to fossetts for a profit on the property development sales.
You’ll need to front him some/most of that profit to get him to walk away before it’s done right?

We will be approaching this reasonably, and despite the negative noise, some great steps have been taken towards making the dream a reality.

I must echo some of the other posters who have asked the simple question, why now?

See above

Same here and I wasn’t including all fans in that last paragraph but if more fans had stood up against Ron like other clubs fans have done then maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess now

Perhaps, although it's really important that we actually focus our attention on supporting the team and getting out of the National League, which is a tough place to be.

From a club perspective 'Now' would be a great time. but "Why now" from an investment point of view? I think we need to understand the motives. Its not going to be simply because the club needs it. There has to be a reason that funding has been able to be secured in principle to 'invest'. It can only be to profit from FF development, no?

See above

 

[Carl]

Think that answers them all, as Napster said, this isn't going to be a 'live' thread - believe it or not, I've been fairly busy over the last 24 hours :-)

 

[Holy Joe]

Thanks for the responses Carl. Food for thought. A couple of follow ups....

Long term aim to be sustainable - how long is long term?

Investors are in it for a return on investment on the housing side. What links the club to the housing in the long term? Why would the investors fund the club until its sustainable?

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

The funding is more around the property development, and whilst they might not be a fan of a club, they will be a fan of a residential development bringing in long term returns.

A fair point in general, but where does the Council fit in, in that scenario? As I understand it they are currently due to receive a significant proportion of the flats / income from them.

 

[MisterStubbs]

Can’t believe some fans are honestly asking why now?
We are in the worst position this club has ever been in. It’s clear the current owner can not afford to run the club with the consistent late payment of wages, transfer embargo’s and winding up orders. The club is desperate for new ownership as the current owner has run the club into the ground, and the worst part about is that a lot of fans have just sat back and watched him destroy it without so much as a fight!

I don’t disagree.. now is the time for change.. but so was last year and the year before that.. why come out and make your intentions public now? The cynic among us could point to the fact the club is finally moving forward with the stadium and redevelopment plans so there could be a pound or two to be made off the back of it.. I’m not personally suggesting that’s the case but it would be good to know the intentions of the other investors mentioned.

 

[Medway Blue]

I don’t disagree.. now is the time for change.. but so was last year and the year before that.. why come out and make your intentions public now? The cynic among us could point to the fact the club is finally moving forward with the stadium and redevelopment plans so there could be a pound or two to be made off the back of it.. I’m not personally suggesting that’s the case but it would be good to know the intentions of the other investors mentioned.

As Carl said, he's been working on getting the funding in place for over a year. It's been something he's wanted to do for years but why make any noise about it if you're not in a position to actually move forward with it? It's no bad thing to admit that he'd probably have struggled to get funds together if the stadium plans were not at an advanced stage, because there aren't too many people who will gladly throw money into a black hole without at least some future profit on the horizon. However, many investors have the funds and ability to run a football club competently whilst waiting for those profits to materialise. Ron Martin does not and never really has.

 

[Medway Blue]

Another response to "why now?" would be - because the club is at its lowest ever ebb. Even if Ron Martin manages to pull off his dream development, look what it has taken to get here. Neglect of the football side of things, a steing of horrendous owner decisions, a completely avoidable relegation out of the EFL for the first time in 100 years and the complete trashing of the club's reputation in football circles to the point where that reputation will never fully recover until Ron Martin is gone. That is unforgiveable, and I too cant believe that there aren't more of our fans frothing at the mouth because of it. Too many even sitting back and saying "I'm sure he'll go when the stadium is complete". No, not good enough, I'm afraid. There's no need to cling on for that long. Once the build begins in the autumn, there are plenty of ways to put assurances in place, such as a contract for the club to play at the new stadium should he sell and other agreements with the buyer. Perfectly reasonable for Carl or any other buyer to feel that they can make headway leading into the autumn and winter if the stadium build starts, and that is precisely when Ron Martin needs to walk away. The club badly needs a fresh start.

 

[Dave Smiths Love Child]

Why now? Why not now? We are about to begin our second season in Non-League and we have seen that we don't have the financial resources to measure up with the pacesetters in our division. Carl has been working to get the backing in place and has now succeeded. He contacted Ron privately and got no response. That's why this is now out in public.

If I recall, Wrexham spent huge and still playing in our league