SO when will the takeover go through?

[Tribal Chief]

Well that statement sends shivers down my spine I'm afraid. Especially the final para.

Yep. This ain't good.

 

[Tinks]

Consortium trying to buy Southend United becoming "increasingly concerned"

THE consortium trying to take control of Southend United are becoming "increasingly concerned" about the time it is taking for the council…

www.echo-news.co.uk

THE consortium trying to take control of Southend United are becoming "increasingly concerned" about the time it is taking for the council to complete their due diligence.

The consortium have already pumped £3.5 million into the Shrimpers despite not officially owning the club.

And a statement issued to the Echo has now confirmed their concerns at how slowly things are moving.

The statement said: "The consortium are getting increasingly concerned that the council's due diligence processes will not finish prior to the 26th of June winding up hearing in the high court.

"While acknowledging the importance of the council’s processes, the consortium was initially told that due diligence would start in January and complete within six to eight weeks and has been funding the club on that basis."

They have been duped like the rest of us by a rat and an off spring

 

[meerkat54]

Good the consortium have issued another statement. Although I didn’t notice really anything new information wise.
But it should sharpen the focus of the council & to complete ASAP.

 

[hlane17]

Consortium to sue the Council?

To be honest the only worth in doing this would be to terminate any contracts.

But considering they've only been exchanged and not completed, they could just not sign and walk away.

 

[SuperRonnieP]

This is what Daniel Cowan has just put up on the council website

Update on Fossetts Farm development​

The angst and frustration felt by fans of the football club is understandable.

I also fully understand that people want regular, open, and honest dialogue about this vital issue, and we have promised to give this. This update is part of that promise.
The first thing to say is that the council is committed and supportive of the football club. It has been for many years.
The council is trying to help as much as it can. That is why the council has been working with Citizen Housing since the consortium took over to take the previously proposed new stadium out of the equation and focus on a housing-led development at Fossetts Farm.
There is a perception that the council should be getting on with its part of this quicker. We understand this perception, but the council has been getting on with it.
However, carefully working out whether this deal is right for the city, the council and residents is not a simple thing. Many of us will know that even buying and selling a house can take many months. This is a half a billion-pound project with huge opportunities and risks for the council and therefore the taxpayers of the city. It is not something we can just jump into lightly or without very detailed consideration.

As a public body, the council has a legal duty to ensure the part of the deal we are involved in represents value for money over the long-term and is something that the council can financially sustain into the future.
The transaction that the council is working on for the large-scale development of land at Fossetts Farm is complex and relatively specialist in nature. It requires extensive ‘due diligence.’
As the April cabinet report made clear, there are four elements to the due diligence. These cover market/property, financial, legal, and external audit. These areas all require specialist and external advice. This is being funded by the developer, not the council.
As the April cabinet report also stated, although headline terms were agreed in principle (subject to the due diligence) on 1 January 2024, the council did not have visibility of the proposed housing development until 21 March. Outstanding information is still required from the developer including specification and gross area of properties for example. This means some work so far has been based on assumptions and all parties need to be comfortable with any risks around this. It may be that the due diligence process will also pose further questions which will need to be addressed. This is not yet known.
The council wants to make this work, but it also has a duty to ensure this is done properly and that the council protects itself and its taxpayers from any undue financial risk. It is a significant and complex transaction, and the background work unfortunately takes time.
The new cabinet and officers met on Tuesday night to discuss several matters, including this. I know that officers are working as hard as they can with our advisors to complete the due diligence work that will enable a decision to be taken by the council. This work is not all in the council’s hands, but we are pushing this as much as we can, and whilst we cannot pre-empt the findings of this process, we will report back as soon as possible.
The council’s position has been consistent throughout and as raised during scrutiny, once the various elements of outstanding due diligence are completed, these will need to be carefully read and understood so that the relevant councillors can be briefed. There are, at this stage three possible outcomes:

• If the conclusion of this stage of due diligence (property/market and financial) is that the deal should be cleared to progress, then the council must get its external auditors to review everything and be satisfied that everything is in the council and taxpayers’ best interests.
• If the conclusion is that the transaction is very close to being cleared to progress subject to a small number of minor adjustments, then further negotiation will be needed to see if these matters can be resolved to enable matters to proceed. Citizen Housing might decide to engage with other parties at this point.
• If the conclusion of this stage of due diligence is that the transaction is not in the council and taxpayers’ interest, and it should not proceed, then we will share that position. Further stages of work will not be required, at which point an alternative partner to the council will certainly be required for the development to progress.

There will of course be different considerations for the football club and consortium itself associated with each of these potential outcomes.
The council will work to keep all stakeholders updated. We know that fans have been patient and are keen for a conclusion, and we appreciate the continued patience of fans as we work through everything.
Cllr Daniel Cowan, leader of the council
Published: 23rd May 2024

And they are right. The thing here is Justin is a professional senior project manager so he know a festival of complete and utterly incompetence when he sees one. I doub't he has ever been in charge of a project with no apparent effective deadline, or understanding of when it will be delivered.

Should have been a professional project manager appointed by SCC back in January when the deal was first struck. A proper project plan and timeline for each key deliverable, or even an end date, don't seem to exist.

 

[rayleigh dan]

I’m slowly losing the will to live, what a mess

I wonder who suggested the councils DD would take 6-8 weeks? I’m guessing the prior council administration led by Cox? This needs clarification and they should be held to account for false information.

Having said that it sounds like ratty delaying providing important information did delay the start of DD, again where’s the transparency, why can’t he be named and shamed by the council and/or consortium. If he’s still withholding anything we need to know, the consortiums statements haven’t mentioned him which I find bizarre assuming he’s up to his usual tricks. I feel for Justin and the others and whilst I hope they stick with us, I don’t think anyone could blame them if they decide enough’s enough

A protest on two fronts seems overdue then, what have we got to lose!?

 

[JB Shrimper]

Okay so I appreciate you don't like the protests... But is your solution to sit back and just watch the club did?

Look, and I am not trying to wind you up now, I honestly feel whatever you do or I do the result will be the same. You do you but the reason I got irate recently is all the insults thrown at us fans who have that view which is quite a big portion of the fan base, and protestors expect us to give them a medal, it is just unacceptable.

 

[GIBBO]

Public sector working in conjunction with an incompetent businessman. It was never going to happen, was it?

This!!

 

[Holy Joe]

For what it's worth, I've just received this from one of the Councillors I emailed:

Hi Geoff,

Thanks so much for that its really useful.

We had our first cabinet meeting this week with officers and SUFC isssues occupied a good amount of time on the agenda. We made it clear to officers that we felt the due dilligence was taking far too long and that supporters were losing patience. I'm told that it should come back imminently and assuming all is well we are looking to progress the deal as quick as possible.

I'll keep you posted with any updates.

Best Wishes,

Laurie

Cllr Laurie Burton
Blenheim Park Ward
Labour Party

On this tsunami of negative stuff - this sounds remarkably positive!!!!

 

[AlfaShrimper]

Look, and I am not trying to wind you up now, I honestly feel whatever you do or I do the result will be the same. You do you but the reason I got irate recently is all the insults thrown at us fans who have that view which is quite a big portion of the fan base, and protestors expect us to give them a medal, it is just unacceptable.

I don't want a medal.. I literally want my club to survive. No one that's marched the high street. Or been to Ron's house wants a medal

 

[MisterStubbs]

When the news first broke about the deal being agreed on with rat man and the consortium to buy the club.. I thought that was the end. I thought the nightmare that was last summer was just a one off and never to be repeated. How wrong was I? I’ve got to admit, at this point I have mentally checked out regarding everything involving the club right now.

 

[Sammy Shrimper]

I don’t think it would be realistic to put a timescale on due diligence.

In 10 years time, if there was another Grenfell, the council can’t use the excuse “We were looking into it but ran out of time for due diligence to check the cladding met the fire regs”.

So I think as fans we need to be realistic about that. As an example, Due diligence won’t be a list of questions that require yes / no answers. Some answers will need follow up questions to ensure the council are covered.

“Are the Entrance doors fire rated 60mins”
“Yes it is fire rates, but to FD30S”
“We require it to be FD60”
Period of Ron getting new costs from a supplier- creating a schedule, sending it. The supplier reviewing it, pricing it and sending it back
“There will be an uplift of cost to X as FD60 doors are more expensive”
“Review and Agreed/denied”

Ron is hardly the straightest arrow is he, so I can imagine him being extremely awkward in these exchanges, delaying things.
Whether that is his personality, or he’s just useless I honestly don’t know.

I expect the latter.

The latter. He’s a property developer that hasn’t developed in 25 years despite having two planning consents!

 

[kentblues]

I have had a long to and fro with Cllr Cowan sharing my frustrations. I think in short he can't say when DD will be delivered because it is dependent on receiving some outstanding information from the developer. They know what that information is, and in response to the suggestion SCC should be all over the delinquent party like an old suit he said they are.

TBH I am impressed by his level of engagement and he seems on the case (and frustrated which is a good thing).

Right at this moment my inclination would be to suggest the primary action would be to target at the developer to supply the outstanding detail to allow DD to complete. I think it comes back to unit dimensions and specification - but could be other things.

Who has any contact at the Echo/with CP or BBC Essex. We need them to be stalking Ron to get an explanation? It really need an interested journalist to on this one occasion to do something pro active- I know they are completely without the resources of old to do this more generally but this once..surely..

 

[JD]

Season cards either need to go on sale somehow, without rat paws gaining access. This can then be used to clear the immediate debt. Negotiations will then need to be made with any other creditors. Tough to manage.

This is a non starter for me.

Two issues:

A) Merchant service providers, even if they allowed sales via their machines, would hold monies back for an age given our current position, we wouldn’t see it for months.

B) So let’s say no credit card sales are allowed - and fans are asked to do bank transfers…..
Who in their right mind would send £400 for a season ticket given the position of the club right now?
I love the club but I can’t afford to lose £500 (me and my daughter are seasos)!

 

[Evening Echo]

THE consortium trying to take control of Southend United are becoming "increasingly concerned" about the time it is taking for the council to complete their due diligence

Read more on this story


Help with Echo links

 

[kentblues]

The latter. He’s a property developer that hasn’t developed in 25 years despite having two planning consents!

He isn't a developer- he buys land without planning, gets planning then sells it to someone else to develop. One development we know of (because of the VAT fraud case) he sold with planning to the developer for circa £25m (we know that because they were erroneously claming he owed £5m in VAT).

 

[kentblues]

Should have been a professional project manager appointed by SCC back in January when the deal was first struck. A proper project plan and timeline for each key deliverable, or even an end date, don't seem to exist.

Allegedly on of those companies signed up re the DD is fulfilling that task. How well is another matter..

 

[AlfaShrimper]

What is the likelihood of the DD coming back without issues?? That then takes even longer. There is 0 chance this is done before the court case and I highly doubt the national league are gonna be very patient with us

 

[Blue Yonder]

As has been pointed out Justin Rees is a Project Manager and he is Project Managing the takeover of the club on behalf of the consortium. He's now applying pressure to get a delay resolved weeks ahead of the crunch point and not the day before.

 

[Sammy Shrimper]

He isn't a developer- he buys land without planning, gets planning then sells it to someone else to develop. One development we know of (because of the VAT fraud case) he sold with planning to the developer for circa £25m (we know that because they were erroneously claming he owed £5m in VAT).

Ok. Actually a flipper!