Post by Macmoish on Jan 13, 2011 7:59:24 GMT
Guardian - The Digger/Matt Scott
Watford spared embarrassment by calling off negotiations
• Consortium's negotiations led by convicted fraudster
• Watford end talks after discovering the man's true identity
Watford have saved themselves and their biggest shareholder, Lord Ashcroft, embarrassment by breaking off negotiations with a previously undisclosed potential buyer.
A man calling himself Paul Anthony was the lead negotiator for an apparently credible consortium of property specialists, bankers and former football executives in talks to take over the club. However Watford, which last month had announced takeover negotiations with Ashcroft's Fordwat vehicle were under way, immediately closed down discussions after learning Anthony's true identity.
Watford discovered Anthony was in fact a convicted fraudster and undischarged bankrupt named Paul Anthony Garland. Garland was involved when Sebastian Sainsbury attempted to take over Leeds United from the Yorkshire Consortium in 2004, which failed over a lack of formal proof of funds. Two years later, over a separate incident, Garland was convicted on 11 counts of deception at York crown court.
The Watford consortium sought to raise the finance to buy Ashcroft's stake from boutique lenders. However it is understood these too refused to deal with the consortium after learning of the Garland connection. The Watford approach – which centred on hopes of exploiting the council's willingness for the club to move to an out-of-town stadium, while developing the Vicarage Road property – followed talks over another Football League club that also failed last month. Watford are understood to be considering another approach from an alternative investor.
Wrexham's bad deal
Geoff Moss's announcement that he intends to charge Wrexham Football Club for the running costs of the Racecourse Ground coincides with a mortgage newly registered on the property by the Rugby Football League. Wrexham fans, already incensed that their club must pay for the stadium's upkeep following its transfer out of their club's hands and into those of the Moss-owned parent, Wrexham Village, (whereupon he may sell the football entity) have more cause for concern.
The counterparty to the RFL loan is not the rugby league club that would presumably enjoy the benefit of any RFL cash advances but Wrexham FC. Moss has himself held a mortgage on the stadium since 30 June last year – the date he bought from the club a strip of land that is now being developed as student accommodation.
Moss said in a statement that the £6m property deal was an "inflated price", but it was not in the long run very profitable for Wrexham: most of it went to repay the £5m they owed Moss. Indeed the club's expenditure had become so unsustainable under his then chairmanship that the £1m profit lasted hardly any time at all. Moss apparently always knew that he would have to act as the club's banker for some time to come, hence the simultaneous charge against the ground. That was registered two years ago; the most recent was made on Christmas Eve.
Reading rumours
There is a buzz in football-finance circles that a deal is being put together to purchase Reading from the long-standing club chairman and owner, John Madejski. The multi-millionaire founder of Autotrader has always been candid about his intention to sell to "somebody with deep pockets". Reports 15 months ago that the Championship promotion hopefuls were the subject of an Arab-financed takeover were firmly denied by Madejski at the time. The jury must remain out on the latest speculation: Madejski said in 2009 that he would only sell "if it was right for the club", and there are no clues even as to the identity of the current rumoured purchaser, still less of their intentions.
Grounds for concern
The football industry has become high finance and hi-tech: there are multimillion-pound transfers to Premier League football clubs and Fifa has introduced an electronic Transfer Matching System. So which club chief executive is not inspiring confidence in agents this transfer window by using a less‑than‑secure Hotmail account for his email address?
qprreport.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=post
Watford spared embarrassment by calling off negotiations
• Consortium's negotiations led by convicted fraudster
• Watford end talks after discovering the man's true identity
Watford have saved themselves and their biggest shareholder, Lord Ashcroft, embarrassment by breaking off negotiations with a previously undisclosed potential buyer.
A man calling himself Paul Anthony was the lead negotiator for an apparently credible consortium of property specialists, bankers and former football executives in talks to take over the club. However Watford, which last month had announced takeover negotiations with Ashcroft's Fordwat vehicle were under way, immediately closed down discussions after learning Anthony's true identity.
Watford discovered Anthony was in fact a convicted fraudster and undischarged bankrupt named Paul Anthony Garland. Garland was involved when Sebastian Sainsbury attempted to take over Leeds United from the Yorkshire Consortium in 2004, which failed over a lack of formal proof of funds. Two years later, over a separate incident, Garland was convicted on 11 counts of deception at York crown court.
The Watford consortium sought to raise the finance to buy Ashcroft's stake from boutique lenders. However it is understood these too refused to deal with the consortium after learning of the Garland connection. The Watford approach – which centred on hopes of exploiting the council's willingness for the club to move to an out-of-town stadium, while developing the Vicarage Road property – followed talks over another Football League club that also failed last month. Watford are understood to be considering another approach from an alternative investor.
Wrexham's bad deal
Geoff Moss's announcement that he intends to charge Wrexham Football Club for the running costs of the Racecourse Ground coincides with a mortgage newly registered on the property by the Rugby Football League. Wrexham fans, already incensed that their club must pay for the stadium's upkeep following its transfer out of their club's hands and into those of the Moss-owned parent, Wrexham Village, (whereupon he may sell the football entity) have more cause for concern.
The counterparty to the RFL loan is not the rugby league club that would presumably enjoy the benefit of any RFL cash advances but Wrexham FC. Moss has himself held a mortgage on the stadium since 30 June last year – the date he bought from the club a strip of land that is now being developed as student accommodation.
Moss said in a statement that the £6m property deal was an "inflated price", but it was not in the long run very profitable for Wrexham: most of it went to repay the £5m they owed Moss. Indeed the club's expenditure had become so unsustainable under his then chairmanship that the £1m profit lasted hardly any time at all. Moss apparently always knew that he would have to act as the club's banker for some time to come, hence the simultaneous charge against the ground. That was registered two years ago; the most recent was made on Christmas Eve.
Reading rumours
There is a buzz in football-finance circles that a deal is being put together to purchase Reading from the long-standing club chairman and owner, John Madejski. The multi-millionaire founder of Autotrader has always been candid about his intention to sell to "somebody with deep pockets". Reports 15 months ago that the Championship promotion hopefuls were the subject of an Arab-financed takeover were firmly denied by Madejski at the time. The jury must remain out on the latest speculation: Madejski said in 2009 that he would only sell "if it was right for the club", and there are no clues even as to the identity of the current rumoured purchaser, still less of their intentions.
Grounds for concern
The football industry has become high finance and hi-tech: there are multimillion-pound transfers to Premier League football clubs and Fifa has introduced an electronic Transfer Matching System. So which club chief executive is not inspiring confidence in agents this transfer window by using a less‑than‑secure Hotmail account for his email address?
qprreport.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=post