Statement re potential sale of club

[spongebobsquarepants]

The club cannot be bought.

People can invest in it and secure funds against the ground but the club cannot be bought.

If there was a serious investor he should go public with his plans etc, call an EGM and try and get the Keen's out. If he is then voted onto the board he could try and make moves to take the club back into private ownership.

However, another sticking point would be negotiating with ASDA to prevent them exercising the right they have to buy the ground. From Memory there is a couple of years left and it can be exercised at any time.

[John Very Little]

I have heard from more than one un linked people that the amount being asked for was way above what the directors etc are owed? If this is the case, how can that be right? The only monies which can be asked for is that which is owed to them for what they have loaned the club. How can the value of the ground come into it when it is owned by the club/members, as long as the payments on the mortgage are maintained. The only claim anyone who has loaned the club money have, is the outstanding amount due to them as an individual/company. From my recollection of the AGM that was no where near the figures i am hearing being asked for from this prospective buyer!

Many of the debts are probably secured against the ground as the club have very few other assets to secure their debts against if they can't pay them.
If the ground is ever sold firstly the mortgage, then the debentures and then the loan to St Andrews Engineering which are secured against the ground that must be paid before anyone else is paid anything. After that the directors loans are unsecured along with all the the other various debts the club owe so effectively the clubs entire debts would have to be paid off for those with the directors loans to get all their money back.
As Spongebob says there is still the Asda option of buying the ground to consider first though as that runs till Feb 2017.

[barrowfan]

However, another sticking point would be negotiating with ASDA to prevent them exercising the right they have to buy the ground. From Memory there is a couple of years left and it can be exercised at any time.

I was recently told by someone in the know that Asda no longer have this 'right'.

[blue nige]

once it transpired the deal wasn`t going to happen i asked(at the constitution meeting!)if we could have the facts about the offer,i was told we couldn`t be told because the person/persons who were making the offer didn`t want it lifting (the confidentiality clause)

to all you people who seem to know the person/persons involved in the offer,all i can say if this is true and the offer is all above board what is there to hide?

let`s have the facts in the open then we all know where we stand and for once stop all this "he said/she said"!


over to you"green armour" and co.!

[spirit of 1990]

I think your right barrowfan, I'm sure ASDA's first option deal has expired, or something along them lines.

bluenige, if the mystery investor was still interested I still don't think anyone would be allowed to say anything as was the NDA not agreed on by both parties?

[blue nige]

I think your right barrowfan, I'm sure ASDA's first option deal has expired, or something along them lines.

bluenige, if the mystery investor was still interested I still don't think anyone would be allowed to say anything as was the NDA not agreed on by both parties?

you are right! but all i was getting at if and i say if it`s finished let`s see what was on offer! to be honest we obviously would not be privy to any of the negotiating but not to even give a hint of what the guy`s intentions are seem very suspicious(at least colin moore held a meeting and showed us his plans!)i can`t understand why this couldn`t have happened !

thanks for the info on the roller!

[optomisticsupporter]

The sticking point is the fact the "Buyer" will not pay off debts accumulated by The Keens he wants to buy the club not the debts which I think is fair enough, he does want to buy the ground and rebuild it, he is a committed Barrow supporter and I for one would not object to this person owning it, if you put the money this person will do I think that's only right. O.K. you can always go on as we are now and eventually disappear completely or you can go with this person.

[DaveC]

I think the problem for for me and maybe others too is that we don't know anything about the potential new owner. If we did know more, ideas, plans, finances etc, then we'd be in more of a position to make an informed decision.

The way I see things, something must change. As a club we are in decline, as it's all to obvious to see. But I don't wait to change just for the sake of changing. Informed choice is always the best avenue.

[blue nige]

cheers dave at long last people are seeing through all the smoke and mirrors put in our way, i know this is harsh but i as a member did not endorse/agree to people putting money into the club that was their own decision, if the finances were that bad it should have gone back to the members and then i doubt we would be in this present situation where peoples finances are getting in the way of progress.
don`t get me wrong i admire what certain people have done but as a members club it should never have happened!

[Wintergreen]

cheers dave at long last people are seeing through all the smoke and mirrors put in our way, i know this is harsh but i as a member did not endorse/agree to people putting money into the club that was their own decision, if the finances were that bad it should have gone back to the members and then i doubt we would be in this present situation where peoples finances are getting in the way of progress.
don`t get me wrong i admire what certain people have done but as a members club it should never have happened!

Agreed.

Have you found a laptop in the street or summat? You’re nearly as vocal on here nowadays as you are from your close contact sniper position on the Pop Side East!

Anyone lost a laptop?

[Wintergreen]

Maybe the decent thing to do would be to set up some kind of interest free repayment loan/mortgage via the Furness Building Society and chip away at the St. Andrews debt ourselves? It wouldn’t be a vast monthly premium over 25 years and the sooner we get this club re-invested in and on the up the more the cash will come in. If we do get a new owner, I can’t see a reason why most of the present BoDs (all good folk who didn’t set out to do a bad job) couldn’t work with the new owner. As some will remember from the AGM, TK has already said he wouldn’t be at the club next summer and if he goes I would imagine BK will go with him.

[spongebobsquarepants]

However, another sticking point would be negotiating with ASDA to prevent them exercising the right they have to buy the ground. From Memory there is a couple of years left and it can be exercised at any time.

I was recently told by someone in the know that Asda no longer have this 'right'.

I have a copy of the Title Register for Holker Street and a copy of the option agreement.

If they no longer have this right then it has not been removed from the Legal Title or perhaps they don't know as much as they think?

[spongebobsquarepants]

I think your right barrowfan, I'm sure ASDA's first option deal has expired, or something along them lines.

It definitely has not expired but an agreement may have been made without the Legal Title to HS being updated.

[John Very Little]

I think your right barrowfan, I'm sure ASDA's first option deal has expired, or something along them lines.
bluenige, if the mystery investor was still interested I still don't think anyone would be allowed to say anything as was the NDA not agreed on by both parties?

Ian, I looked into the various things after our Constitution Meeting and Spongebob got a copy of the agreement with Asda from 1997. The option to buy the ground exists until 5 Feb 2017 and was valid for successive companies who purchased the club or were wanting to buy the land. That is where I found out the date from.
Looked into a few other issues and found out a lot of interesting stuff!!
Bluenige is right about the NDA though.

[popsider]

I am pretty sure this agreement allows Asda first refusal if the ground were to come up for sale, therefore I see no problem unless things get worse than they are.