I received an e-mail this morning asking me to invest, as I imagine a lot of people did. Have to admit I'm very sceptical, but thought I'd take a further look. Since they're asking for investment now, is there any sort of detailed business plan available anywhere for investors to look at, detailing the source of funding for the club post acquisition, how they plan to convince Barclays or another bank to put up a new working capital facility, and what security will be offered to obtain funding?
There is plenty on the website about the make up of the executive committee, but there doesn't seem to be any detailed financial planning. The Barcelona model works mainly because of the huge income generated, so the club is to an extent not completely reliant on bank funding. NUFC are losing £20m a year at the moment, how will that loss be covered in the first year?
There is a full Q and A section on the website in realtion to the proposed buy out. At the moment we will be asking peple to deposit 10% of their pledged investment into an escrow account which is set up and handled by a respected city centre local legal firm. If the buy out does not work then the 10% is refundable. By all means be secptical, ask the questions, read what NUST has to say, and watch the campaign grow over the coming days, the chron, journal etc will feature full page ads, the website will be updated and reflect whats happening, this is the ultimate protest and the best, most organised, professional, clear and transparent way to remove the current regime.
Thanks, I've seen that, although it doesn't seem to give a lot of detail. From what I can see, the aim seems to be to raise £200m, and pay a return of 2%. Begs the question, why pay a return at all? Anyone investing in this could invest elsewhere and get better than 2%, so they're obviously doing it for non-financial reasons, i.e. to help the club, which is great. So surely the sort of people who would put their cash/pension funds towards this would happily agree to foresake what is a fairly minimal return and have it invested back into the club? Is it one of the qualifying conditions for the qualification for SIPP investment?
THe website also doesn't make it clear what the trust policy is to gearing, borrowing at a sustainable level to invest in the club.
I've got a bit of spare cash at the moment and would give it some serious consideration, but not before seeing some detailed funding plans. It mentions on the website that there will be a detailed business model released shortly, surely this should be made available before seeking investment? There also doesnt seem to be any indication of what level of funds will be required for the acquisition to get the go ahead from NUST. I'd be very nervous if the NUST was planning to buy the club when it has only raised £80 - £100m worth of funds, however if it raised £200m then I'd be more confident you could get the club back into the Premier League and cover the inevitable losses as you put in place your business model over a 5 year term. Is there a number where you will/won't go ahead, and wouldn't it be sensible to communicate this to potential investors?
I don't want to come across as picking holes or anything, would love this to work, but there are some key facts missing from the website - this sort of investment should really have a proper information memorandum with more detailed financial information.
