SUFC: The Future SUFC up for sale

[Shrimper]

My concern with this sale is how long it will take. I'm glad he's selling but he's clearly not going to invest in the team or stadium any more. If the embargo isn't lifted then this summer could be horrendous for us

 

[SPALDINGBLUE]

the problem i see is this , in common with many other towns, the more affluent southend fans possibly the older ones have moved out of southend, as the southend area with the exception of a few places, has become a really awful city, I walked through the high street to the pier the other sunday afternoon, and couldnt believe what I saw( I moved out many years ago) it looks like a downtrodden suburb of london. So attracting new fans to a new stadium might be a harder job than you think. Especially if the stadium goes ahead in the middle of social housing, its hardly going to be a place you are likely to linger around . I would be interested in seeing how many southend fans still live in southend ??

 

[TheSouthendUnitedRunner]

I think with this whole sale thing we are gonna struggle have any ITKs know what is happening purely because the sale will be getting discussed at the ownership level (whoever may own us) and not within the club level.

Discussions are taking place with interested parties.

Some have “reignited” their interest since the announcement on Friday. Some have been talking before Friday, and some have come out after Friday.

 

[yogi bear up the cagire]

I think with this whole sale thing we are gonna struggle have any ITKs know what is happening purely because the sale will be getting discussed at the ownership level (whoever may own us) and not within the club level.

When the white smoke is visible and the successor is know, I'd expect Stan to be the first to announce something. Almost certainly, not in so many words and probably in a way more cryptic than the Guardian crossword!

 

[Kat_r]

the problem i see is this , in common with many other towns, the more affluent southend fans possibly the older ones have moved out of southend, as the southend area with the exception of a few places, has become a really awful city, I walked through the high street to the pier the other sunday afternoon, and couldnt believe what I saw( I moved out many years ago) it looks like a downtrodden suburb of london. So attracting new fans to a new stadium might be a harder job than you think. Especially if the stadium goes ahead in the middle of social housing, its hardly going to be a place you are likely to linger around . I would be interested in seeing how many southend fans still live in southend ??

thats the contradiction i was getting at
Southend central area yes has big issues with deprivation.

The demographic I believe rm was referring to were those in the wealthier surrounding areas who he appeared to be indicating a new owner would need to attract to turn a profit.

But yes, how likely are they to be tempted and what sort of experience would need to be offered. It’s all up for debate but prices at the new stadium will have to go up if a new owner hopes to make money from the club.

I don’t think being surrounded by social housing would put people off tbf

 

[hlane17]

the problem i see is this , in common with many other towns, the more affluent southend fans possibly the older ones have moved out of southend, as the southend area with the exception of a few places, has become a really awful city, I walked through the high street to the pier the other sunday afternoon, and couldnt believe what I saw( I moved out many years ago) it looks like a downtrodden suburb of london. So attracting new fans to a new stadium might be a harder job than you think. Especially if the stadium goes ahead in the middle of social housing, its hardly going to be a place you are likely to linger around . I would be interested in seeing how many southend fans still live in southend ??

I don't want to sidetrack the thread too much, but I will likely move out of Essex when the time is right.

I'll probably still attend matchdays as long as I don't move too far, but younger fans could be moving away as the area becomes more and more expensive to live in.

 

[Jai]

I heard they can't even have a Christmas party any more. Have to call it a Holiday lunch. Smh

If you say Christmas, you get arrested and thrown in jail.

 

[yogi bear up the cagire]

Discussions are taking place with interested parties.

Some have “reignited” their interest since the announcement on Friday. Some have been talking before Friday, and some have come out after Friday.

Thanks for that, very interesting. Of course I have plenty of people who come into my stand at Toulouse and show interest ........... but they don't end up buying!. However It does answer the pessimistes on here, posing the question, who on earth would be interested in buying our 'debt-ridden' club. There are some!

 

[Kat_r]

Thanks for that, very interesting. Of course I have plenty of people who come into my stand at Toulouse and show interest ........... but they don't end up buying!. However It does answer the pessimistes on here, posing the question, who on earth would be interested in buying our 'debt-ridden' club. There are some!

It would also require a trust in rm that he will cancel the debt when stadium is complete or whenever. Which I actually believe he will do. But would a new owner want to take that risk?

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

It would also require a trust in rm that he will cancel the debt when stadium is complete or whenever. Which I actually believe he will do. But would a new owner want to take that risk?

I would want to secure a legally binding contract to that effect

 

[southendkid]

Cheers. Stan must too as I distinctly remember him saying he wanted to attract younger fans and those from the immigrant community on one of his video calls with fans and discussing the population increase in south Essex.

And is this a bad because? If the new stadium ever gets built it seems like common sense that we should try and attract new fans to fill it.

 

[BedfordShrimper]

Discussions are taking place with interested parties.

Some have “reignited” their interest since the announcement on Friday. Some have been talking before Friday, and some have come out after Friday.

I would assume Simon Cox who I think was working with Carl and the Ferdinand brothers will be taking another look.

 

[Shrimpergonzo]

Premier League is popular but American investors are quietly snapping up EFL clubs too

The Todd Boehly-led takeover of Chelsea had all the ingredients that explain the lure of the Premier League for investors from the United States, with half the

www.thetimes.co.uk

Not sure if anyone has already shared this but very interesting article about why American investors are interested in British clubs.

Proximity to London and size of fan base are important factors, according to the article.

Hopefully this is the reason Stan is in New York.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

Premier League is popular but American investors are quietly snapping up EFL clubs too

The Todd Boehly-led takeover of Chelsea had all the ingredients that explain the lure of the Premier League for investors from the United States, with half the

www.thetimes.co.uk

Not sure if anyone has already shared this but very interesting article about why American investors are interested in British clubs.

Proximity to London and size of fan base are important factors, according to the article.

Hopefully this is the reason Stan is in New York.

Hmmm. Interesting !

 

[Mr Browns Ghost]

the problem i see is this , in common with many other towns, the more affluent southend fans possibly the older ones have moved out of southend, as the southend area with the exception of a few places, has become a really awful city, I walked through the high street to the pier the other sunday afternoon, and couldnt believe what I saw( I moved out many years ago) it looks like a downtrodden suburb of london. So attracting new fans to a new stadium might be a harder job than you think. Especially if the stadium goes ahead in the middle of social housing, its hardly going to be a place you are likely to linger around . I would be interested in seeing how many southend fans still live in southend ??

Town needs more train spotters, sorry the City needs more train spotted to come back and support the blues

 

[Barry.C]

Firstly i'd want to see the 2020, 2021, 2022 annual accounts, plus up to date management accounts, before I even made a bid. How can you bid or carry out DD if you have no idea how the club has been operating financially. Also i'd want to see a full breakdown of the debtors and creditors. Which co.s does the club still owe money to and when is it due etc....

Agreed

you might want to go back to a number of earlier years as well to clarify Ron costings and sums regarding the debt and so called putting money in

For example in one year alone why were we charged £850,000 for rent and Management fees? What did that represent. Why were rental costs so high, It sounds more like taking money out
Be interested to see the invoices and what value they represented as evidence

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

Agreed

you might want to go back to a number of earlier years as well to clarify Ron costings and sums regarding the debt and so called putting money in

For example in one year alone why were we charged £850,000 for rent and Management fees? What did that represent. Why were rental costs so high, It sounds more like taking money out
Be interested to see the invoices and what value they represented as evidence

..and the money he says "he" has invested into the club. Where were the payments actually from ? Mr R Martin, or from one of this companies ? ie who do we actually owe the funds back to ?

 

[kentblues]

..and the money he says "he" has invested into the club. Where were the payments actually from ? Mr R Martin, or from one of this companies ? ie who do we actually owe the funds back to ?

All irrelevant. For a very simple reason. The club and ground have a value, and that is what someone will pay. Anything is worth only what someone will pay. The more debt the less they pay. All they will want clarity on is what they are buying and the specific debts they are taking on at point of sale. Of course via a DD process. The history of it all is just noise.

 

[fbm]

It would also require a trust in rm that he will cancel the debt when stadium is complete or whenever. Which I actually believe he will do. But would a new owner want to take that risk?

It doesn't require any trust at all, it will be legally enforceable under the terms of purchase. What you're saying is akin to "trusting" the person you've just bought a house from not to move back in after completion.

And re the fans thing... the only issue I had with your previous statement is the word "replace". We're not in a position where we can aim to replace any fans (although a few on here spring to mind...)

Of course, we are going to want to expand the fanbase across all age-groups but to be honest, you don't suddenly switch allegiance to a different team and so the very best time to get new supporters is when they are kids. It's very unfashionable to credit Ron for anything I know, but he did this part extremely well with his "Kids for a Quid" promotion, free tickets for schools and Beaver/cub/scout groups, in fact any youth community project. This is probably why we now have a hard core of around 4-5000 fans who will come rain or shine. A few years ago that was about 2500 and back in the 1980's, 1000.

Expanding the demographic to people in their 40's is a nice idea but in reality it will effectively be either wooing previous supporters back which, if RM leaves will require very little effort, or trying to grab the London club supporter who can't afford to go to Premiership matches, a lot of which have already made that switch.

 

[Holy Joe]

Acquired a business or two over the years but been thinking if I were to be looking to buy the club what would I want (PS I'm not!)

The first thing is I would be moving very quickly. Why? Well in my mind the stadium is a major factor in what I am buying and impacts many things going forward. And it is yet to be built. So not to have influence over what is built, seems to me, to be madness. And if I had deep pockets I would almost certainly be interested in the original plans incorporating the hotel. I would be thinking longer term not just around short term challenges. And the permission is already there.

Then because the stadium not built how is the sale structured. There are many ways of doing this in degrees of complexity. Most things can be structured contractually.

I think I would want a way of buying the club and the land for the stadium with planning. Then I would own the build. I would expect to be playing rent free at RH until the new stadium is ready.

If you had the money (and enough of it) what would your approach be ?

Would Ron give up control of the stadium build? He needs that built, or phase 1 anyway, before housing at roots hall can commence. Be risky to lose control of the project?