SUFC: The Future SUFC up for sale

[stortford]

At least we know Ron will be writing off his years of fantasy rent figures as promised and such a wonderful parting gesture that will no doubt redeem faith in him and mankind in general. So no £16 million for a start as he agreed

In exchange for FF being named the RM Memorial Stadium in perpetuity

 

[* ORM *]

I will be in Hong Kong from 27/6 until 11/7, and, if during that period, a takeover eventuates, I will be up for a celebration should anyone else feel like it!

I thought I’d replied to this when I woke in the middle of the night. Delighted to buy you a beer, offer any advice for getting around etc. I’m assuming 2 weeks cannot be a holiday?? And I hope you like heat, humidity, the occasional very heavy downpour/thunderstorms and possible typhoons. Apart from that HK is fantastic. (I love the heat and humidity).

 

[bluesfansince1952]

I thought I’d replied to this when I woke in the middle of the night. Delighted to buy you a beer, offer any advice for getting around etc. I’m assuming 2 weeks cannot be a holiday?? And I hope you like heat, humidity, the occasional very heavy downpour/thunderstorms and possible typhoons. Apart from that HK is fantastic. (I love the heat and humidity).

Ex resident of thirty one years standing having left in 1996.

Before covid I was usually in HK twice year. I am long retired so life is a holiday which means my visits fall under the category of leisure!

Look forward to meeting. I will be staying in TST East.

I would guess something either good or bad will soon go down so perhaps we can get together to either celebrate, or, discuss the merits or otherwise of a phoenix club. Suggest hold off fixing the date until for a week (if no news is forthcoming) but if we are still in the dark by the 7th we may need to consider Plan B.

My apologies for those thinking this message is off topic but my defence is that maybe as many as 35% in this thread fall under that category. And I would also contend this is far from the most boring off topic message in this thread as it is at least of interest to two of us (ORM and I!).

 

[Callum]

Come on make the announcement today we can finally send Ron packing

 

[meerkat54]

I thought I’d replied to this when I woke in the middle of the night. Delighted to buy you a beer, offer any advice for getting around etc. I’m assuming 2 weeks cannot be a holiday?? And I hope you like heat, humidity, the occasional very heavy downpour/thunderstorms and possible typhoons. Apart from that HK is fantastic. (I love the heat and humidity).

ORM you forgot the snakes

 

[londonblue]

I expect he reimbursed the club

I doubt it, but given he was propping the club up, if he took some out, isn't that really him re-imbursing himself?

As you know I'm not a Ron fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I think it's right to keep an element of perspective.

 

[GROWLER]

Ex resident of thirty one years standing having left in 1996.

Before covid I was usually in HK twice year. I am long retired so life is a holiday which means my visits fall under the category of leisure!

Look forward to meeting. I will be staying in TST East.

I would guess something either good or bad will soon go down so perhaps we can get together to either celebrate, or, discuss the merits or otherwise of a phoenix club. Suggest hold off fixing the date until for a week (if no news is forthcoming) but if we are still in the dark by the 7th we may need to consider Plan B.

My apologies for those thinking this message is off topic but my defence is that maybe as many as 35% in this thread fall under that category. And I would also contend this is far from the most boring off topic message in this thread as it is at least of interest to two of us (ORM and I!).

As a previous regular visitor to HK and the Mandarin part as well I think this is welcome off topic subject as gives me a warm feeling just thinking about past visits instead of the Billy Goats Gruff mates under the bridge rubbish we getting on this Club for Sale site.

 

[shrimperjon]

Come on make the announcement today we can finally send Ron packing

Well Chris Phillips has cancelled holiday booked for this week just in case there is some news. He hasn’t mentioned Southend in a tweet for a few weeks and then posted that last night at 22:50. Maybe he has been given the heads up. He also mentions tennis which he has been reporting on constantly.

 

[Smiffy]

Well Chris Phillips has cancelled holiday booked for this week just in case there is some news. He hasn’t mentioned Southend in a tweet for a few weeks and then posted that last night at 22:50. Maybe he has been given the heads up. He also mentions tennis which he has been reporting on constantly.

Not quite what he said Jon. But yes as always CP will be there to report if needed.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1673448325817724928

 

[dusterman]

CP hasn’t really spoken about said takeover at all unless info is out or about to come out. Feels like some news is afoot this week. Whichever way it goes, it shan’t be boring.

 

[shrimperjon]

Not quite what he said Jon. But yes as always CP will be there to report if needed.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1673448325817724928

Oh yes fair enough. I read it last night he has cancelled his holiday but see you point still interesting timing with rumours of the takeover possibly happening this week when he has barely mentioned Southend in the last few weeks etc. let’s hope he will have something positive to report on

 

[BoyWonder2]

Oh yes fair enough. I read it last night he has cancelled his holiday but see you point still interesting timing with rumours of the takeover possibly happening this week when he has barely mentioned Southend in the last few weeks etc. let’s hope he will have something positive to report on

To me, that tweet is what he puts out every time he has anytime booked off. He always says he will report on any Blues news which happens when he is off.

 

[dusterman]

To me, that tweet is what he puts out every time he has anytime booked off. He always says he will report on any Blues news which happens when he is off.

Something’s happening this week though, right BW2?

 

[shrimperjon]

To me, that tweet is what he puts out every time he has anytime booked off. He always says he will report on any Blues news which happens when he is off.

Fair enough, but he could have sent it Sunday evening / Monday morning that’s all. Sniffs of something going on which if rumours are to be true could be the next day or so

 

[Kenny]

Judging by the replies to that thread on twitter, I think people are reading too much into his tweet. I read it as “he’ll be around to report on news dropping about Southend this week (ie: player departures).”

People are obviously willing it to be a clue about a bigger announcement.

 

[Medway Blue]

It seems soooo quiet at the moment. Any chance we can get an idea if we are likely to see a sale this week from any of the ITKs?

Really, really difficult to say. The level of noise has reduced - whether by design or not, I don't know, but not necessarily a bad sign.

I think the buyers believe everything to be in Ron's hands. It's apparently now with Kimura's lawyers, which suggests to me that DD is complete and that there are some complicated contracts, etc. to draw up for what is a very complex deal, and also probably that some things were uncovered during DD that Kimura want more info on, or just straight-up don't want to take on liability for and want sorted before the sale finalises.

I think the legal teams will be working on these things, and that's why Kimura see it as being all down to RM now - because he needs to agree or disagree to sort out anything that the DD might have uncovered.

On the other hand, and as old Wolfy suggests on Twitter, the RM camp see it as being in Kimura's hands (there's the clue, imo, that Wolfy is somebody on the club/Martin side). I think he's washed his hands of the club and his responsibility for it, and essentially sees it as sold. For whatever reason (whether wanting to cover some things up, or whether just simply for speed), he never wanted and was completely unprepared for full DD to take place and by all accounts hasn't been very co-operative. We all know he doesn't live in the real world and likely assumed any buyer would dance to his tune and cut corners.

So with each side pointing fingers at the other, there remains a possibility of a stand-off this week.

DD processes will never uncover everything and at some point a buying party will have to relent a little bit and make some concessions, but it does feel like this is more in the court of the Martin camp, as much as RM would like to pretend and give the outward impression that it's not.

Hopefully this week will focus minds a little bit as we approach month end on Friday, and the inevitable unpaid wages and expired contracts that will bring but I just don't know. It's a good sign that it is with Kimura's lawyers now as that represents the final stages to me, but the sale won't complete until they are happy, and they might not be happy enough to sign off this week.

TL;DR - maybe this week, maybe not. Sorry to sit on the fence.

 

[annie1954]

Just as a matter of interest we have sold or released players over the last few weeks so who at the club would be arranging these deals and signing paper work if the club is being sold and legal teams are working on this?

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Fair enough, but he could have sent it Sunday evening / Monday morning that’s all. Sniffs of something going on which if rumours are to be true could be the next day or so

I have no inside info on timing but it stands to reason both sides would like it completed this week. From Ron’s perspective he needs to find the cash to pay wages Friday. He spoke in the press conference about any new owners wanting to be in by June to put their stamp on the club (ie that’s when his funding wages runs out). Kimura want to finalise it to launch their plans, they want the embargo lifted so they can secure players, they want to stop paying legal fees.

Of course both parties would have wanted it completed earlier, so that’s no guarantee but it adds a little urgency to negotiations.

We’re probably at the stage where they are haggling over finalising reps and warranties. Kimura probably think the information they’ve received is incomplete so it’s only right that Ron covers anything missing and there’s a retention fund to cover any nasty surprises. Ron probably thinks they knew they were buying a distressed business at a knockdown price and this is already reflected in the price. Things can grind to a halt and look if they’re deadlocked only to then fall into place very quickly.

I’d expect an announcement some time within the next fortnight.

 

[Callum]

Well Chris Phillips has cancelled holiday booked for this week just in case there is some news. He hasn’t mentioned Southend in a tweet for a few weeks and then posted that last night at 22:50. Maybe he has been given the heads up. He also mentions tennis which he has been reporting on constantly.

Let’s hope so something does get announced

 

[spoons]

Highlighted blue sections of the clubs announcement below tell us all we really need to know.

At a press conference held at Roots Hall this afternoon, Chairman Ron Martin, along with the Board of Directors, announced that Southend United Football Club Ltd (“Southend United”) is commencing a formal process to explore the sale of the Club or bringing on board new investment partners.

Southend United’s parent company has undergone a strategic review as part of a formal process designed to maximise the Club’s widely recognised potential and to enable the Club to fully capitalise upon the significant infrastructure that is being delivered at the new stadium site at Fossetts.

The introduction of a new custodian or investment partners will not be fast-tracked and will follow DD with the assistance of the Club’s appointed advisors, American-based sports agency General Sports Worldwide LLC, who have overseen the successful sale and purchase of sporting clubs both in the UK and the USA. Mr Martin and the Board trust their expertise to deliver the Club’s objectives.


Chairman Ron Martin said: “The strength of Southend United lies in the passion of its fanbase, its historical and cultural importance to the city and the value in its relocation to a new state-of-the-art stadium at Fossetts – a project that has never been closer. The £2million new training facility is almost complete and shall be ready for use when the players return from the close season. Completion of the Club’s new training ground represents the first phase of infrastructure, enabling the stadium and residential phases to commence. Tenders for those works, both stadium and residential, have now been received with works programmed to commence later this year.

I, together with our contracted development partners, institutional funders and our partners at the City Council remain committed to delivering, at pace, an outstanding scheme at Fossetts from which Southend United and the wider City will benefit for generations. The new stadium and its commercial income-generating opportunities will provide the infrastructure for the Club to maintain a stable financial footing, enabling the Blues’ to fulfil its long-held potential on the pitch and transform the Club into a profitable enterprise.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the team here at Southend United for the last 25 years, lead most recently by CEO Tom Lawrence, from the match day staff, welcoming fans at Roots Hall, to the departments you rarely see. Their dedication, support and commitment has been invaluable in contributing to our future. Thank you.”

General Sports Worldwide LLC is acting as the Club’s exclusive agent, led by Andy Appleby in the USA and Jez Moxey across EMEA. DLA Piper International LLP is the appointed legal counsel.

Southend United do not intend to make further announcements regarding the strategic review, unless and until the Board of the Football Club has approved a specific transaction or another course of action requiring a formal announcement.