Takeover

[Ian]

No I think Elvis is a little off the mark.

 

[bigmart]

deal is off confirmed on twitter

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I went to the meeting and, yes, the deal is off but the news was quite encouraging. PJ is willing for the Trust to play an active role in the club including a seat on the board, and the moneys raised so far by the Trust are to be ploughed into the club as working capital. PJ encouraged supporters who have not donated to the Trust to do so, as any contributions will help safeguard the future of the club.

The club is to issue 2,000,000 new shares, a proportion of which will be available to businesses and members of the public as a means of attracting new investment.

Both the proposed deals fell through as the prospective buyers were unwilling to invest £1 million in the club. Without the investment, PJ did not believe the potential buyers had sufficient capital or were sufficiently serious to be entrusted with the ownership of the club.

 

[Boz]

Got up at an ungodly hour on a Saturday to make this, thankfully getting there before the lock-out.

The news that PJ gave about the sale being off was widely rumoured (but so were a lot of other things to do with the takeover). The Chairman came across fairly well in the meeting, hope he took heed of one remark from the floor that he should communicate with the fans more often. Given he could have opted to leave in the absence of a buyer, the fact that he's planning on sticking around has got to be taken as a positive.

The Trust have already re-funded some of the moneys raised in the takeover. It's not a given that the all rest will be available, but the current reality is there are no other options.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

The Chairman came across fairly well in the meeting, hope he took heed of one remark from the floor that he should communicate with the fans more often.

I got the impression that the meeting marked something of a sea-change in PJ's relationship with the fans. He was warmly welcomed and his comment that he wanted to 'embrace the Trust' suggests there will be far more engagement with the supporters in future: if the Trust get a place on the Board, there will have to be.

Well done on making the trek over from West Yorkshire for this one.

 

[Ian]

I think PJ has finally praised the work the trust has done so far which is a positive step. Ultimately though we are still operating under the same constraints. For this club to go anywhere it needs financial investment. It may never happen, certainly not in PJs lifetime. He's stuck with a club he cannot sell. At least he operates with the best interests of the club and won't sell to anyone.

 

[bigmart]

Its good that PJ has not just sold to anyone and has now come out and spoken to the fans but I cannot see the share issue working and we are going to be in the same situation of the playing budget being reduced and if we somehow manage to stay up it will be another relegation battle next season, some tough times ahead I fear.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

For this club to go anywhere it needs financial investment. It may never happen, certainly not in PJs lifetime.

This is true, but at least the Trust are now actively involved and can attempt to increase revenue from non-matchday income streams, as was discussed yesterday (eg. catering, merchandising, sponsorship). There is also a clear plan in place to make the club debt free, of which the share issue forms part.

I am not sure we can be so negative as to say the share issue 'won't work'. Whether it raises £1 million or £250,000, all the money will be ploughed directly into the club which can only be beneficial.

With the Trust now involved and the club being more proactive in in its attempts to increase income, the picture is still brighter than it was a couple of months ago.

 

[Ian]

Let's just hope it does have an impact. And now the trust has been acknowledged as some kind of influence at the club, it may also sway people to put their hands in their pockets when they haven't done previously.

 

[bigmart]

Apparently the Ingleborough Road deal is close to completion which will reduce the debt to about £500,000 which ahs to be good news and I agree the trust having more involvement is certainly a good thing. I just wish more people would turn up to support the team but this is the hardest thing for anybody to achieve.

 

[Boz]

Got back tonight to an e-mail from the Trust stating that the proposed involvement has fallen through, mainly because the prospect of fan representation on the board has been jettisoned. Very disappointing given the positive noises at the end of March. Butler arrived shortly after that, any connection I wonder?

 

[Ian]

Ohh dear.. Backward step in my view. Do they learn nothing? Give the supporters a voice!

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Yes, this is really frustrating and concerning. The e-mail says that the club planned to allow a Trust member on to a new 'management board' and he /she would not have had powers equivalent to the existing directors.

As Boz says, it is strange that this development followed hot on the heels of Jeremy's arrival. If he is so desperate to give the fans a voice, why did this proposal trouble him so much ?