I don't think Higgs is for sale.
But surely, if they are free to sell to anybody, why not sell directly to SBS&L or Otium?
What the Trust have been told (by impeccable sources too) is that the Wasps deal with council is done and dusted, signed and sealed and Wasps now own 50% of ACL and CCC own noe of it but retain the freehold of the building. The two Council officers who were directors of ACL are no longer Directors of ACL. The remaining 50% belongs to the Charity and it is their to keep or to sell. The option to buy remains with CCFC Ltd but the often referred to formula no longer applies. The club can make an offer but if this is rejected by the charity they are then free to sell to whoever they like. It appears that the club has a chance to buy 50% of a stadium and I would have to assume 50% of all of its revenue for under £3m or spend 10 times that building a smaller stadium of its own. Seems like an opportunity we should be urging the club not to miss.
There is another wrinkle here isn't there. The assets and rights to assets of CCFC ltd were sold to Otium for 1.5m (that could include the rights under the option perhaps), and the accounts for SBS&L showed the option as an asset in that company. Could SISU claim beneficial ownership (where have we heard that before) by one or other of the companies. Hate to say it but the prospect of more legals could be looming...........
Well as effectively the debt is the council's debt I think all the council want is it settled so they can repay prudential borrowing.Not being funny, but where exactly does it say that?
Everything I've read regarding this deal has either been vague or as today's revelation turned out wrong.
What's been said that I can recall is that Wasps have taken on the mortgage (less £1m, possibly) - have they done that through ACL, or via another mechanism? I'm not saying I'm right, but there's not much evidence I've seen to back up your opinion either.
What the Trust have been told (by impeccable sources too) is that the Wasps deal with council is done and dusted, signed and sealed and Wasps now own 50% of ACL and CCC own noe of it but retain the freehold of the building. The two Council officers who were directors of ACL are no longer Directors of ACL. The remaining 50% belongs to the Charity and it is their to keep or to sell. The option to buy remains with CCFC Ltd but the often referred to formula no longer applies. The club can make an offer but if this is rejected by the charity they are then free to sell to whoever they like. It appears that the club has a chance to buy 50% of a stadium and I would have to assume 50% of all of its revenue for under £3m or spend 10 times that building a smaller stadium of its own. Seems like an opportunity we should be urging the club not to miss.
It's spin I'm afraid
To me it seems to be that there is a contractual obligation of the offer to Ltd for a set time perod (30 days). It has been mentioned taht as Ltd is under the control of the Liquidator, then it simly cannot happen as there is no funding available via them to make a pruchase. In other words, a formality before Wasps conlude the deal with Higgs - unless of course HIggs renege on this and offer their share to other parties than Wasps.
The only spin going on is from mischeouvous types on here
Edit: similar to Jan's post by the looks of it
There is another wrinkle here isn't there. The assets and rights to assets of CCFC ltd were sold to Otium for 1.5m (that could include the rights under the option perhaps), and the accounts for SBS&L showed the option as an asset in that company. Could SISU claim beneficial ownership (where have we heard that before) by one or other of the companies. Hate to say it but the prospect of more legals could be looming...........
Not being mischievous - if the choice is CCFC owning half of the Ricoh and playing in Coventry or building a small ground outside Coventry then its not spin or being mischievous then I personally would go for the former. If they make an offer for the charities shares either via CCFC Ltd or the transferred right to Otium or directly from Otium/SBS&L then surely that is good for the team isn't it? If Simon is correct then the price has been set and maybe I am being simplistic but even assuming they would have to pick up half the loan via ACL and buy the charity's shares that's still cheaper and preferable than the option being mooted by Tim Fisher.
Like I said not spin or anything just, in my opinion, seems what's best for CCFC.
There isn't a suggestion that Higgs would sell to Otium? It sounds like they HAVE to go through the motions.Even if buying through the option is not feasible just match the offer for 50%. On the old rental agreement it's a couple of years rent, plus probably picking up half the loan. Got to beat building a new stadium.
Not being mischievous - if the choice is CCFC owning half of the Ricoh and playing in Coventry or building a small ground outside Coventry then its not spin or being mischievous then I personally would go for the former. If they make an offer for the charities shares either via CCFC Ltd or the transferred right to Otium or directly from Otium/SBS&L then surely that is good for the team isn't it? If Simon is correct then the price has been set and maybe I am being simplistic but even assuming they would have to pick up half the loan via ACL and buy the charity's shares that's still cheaper and preferable than the option being mooted by Tim Fisher.
Like I said not spin or anything just, in my opinion, seems what's best for CCFC.
Surely they would need to buy half the loan as well?
There is another wrinkle here isn't there. The assets and rights to assets of CCFC ltd were sold to Otium for 1.5m (that could include the rights under the option perhaps), and the accounts for SBS&L showed the option as an asset in that company. Could SISU claim beneficial ownership (where have we heard that before) by one or other of the companies. Hate to say it but the prospect of more legals could be looming...........
Fernando - as I understand things the option for CCFC Ltd is real and factual. As some including OSB have pointed out there may be some legal dispute/conjecture/discussion as to whether this option has passed to Otium. Not withstanding that the option is real and there and the club, in my opinion. should act upon it. Given a free choice would the Higgs turn cartwheels of delight and willingly sell to SISU? After all the bad blood etc that has gone on between the two entities I very much doubt it but this isn't about who tied balloons to who's bumper or old court cases its about CCFC and what's best for OUR team. Personally I believe thats getting 50% of ACL, Tim and Joy may disagree and may have good financial reasons for wanting to build their own stadium but I would urge them to explore this possibility with all the vigour they can muster before its too late. I want CCFC to either exercise their option via CCFC Ltd / Otium, make a counter bid to the Wasps bid or explain to us the clubs supporters why its a better idea to rent for 4 years with little or no revenue whilst we build a smaller stadium for £20-30m?
Just to point out this is my PERSONAL opinion and not Trust policy before anyone starts accusing the Trust of being in SISU's/Councils/ACL's/Wasps/Preston Haskell's/Otium's/etc etc respective pocket
Surely they would need to buy half the loan as well?
Yes that's the other thing that crossed mind.
Its a rather shameless tactic I think to claim the club could purchase when in reality they cannot.
In terms of fairness I would say then yes they should.
In terms of the law, if the loan has been signed over fully to Wasps now doesn't that mean that the Higgs share doesn't actually have anything to do with the loan? How would that work?
Fair enough Jan, not questioning your reasoning.
Wasps have half the Ricoh - I'm not happy about it but thats now done and cannot be reversed so for me it comes down to do I want Wasps to have 100% of the Ricoh and CCFC to be playing in a small ground outside of Cov in a few years time or do I want CCFC to have 50% of the Ricoh and play in Cov? As ever for me it comes down to CCFC being the most important part of any decision - do I want the Higgs to get shafted? Of course not but they have seemingly set a price that satisfies their needs and to a non financial person like me it seems a good one for all concerned and one that CCFC should be trying to match for the good of the club and its supporters.
And of course if we were to own 50% we may find that the other 50% becomes available at a knock down price in a year or two.
Fairness to who, mate? To Wasps? F*ck em! They don't give a sh*t about anyone other than themselves - they don't even care about their own fans.
To Higgs? I don't think this actually impacts them at all - but again at the point they decided to get into bed with a franchise they made their choice in my book.
Just business, nothing personal, would be the phrase that I'd use.
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