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Reply | EGM
at 08:47 1 Aug 2023
Have those that are shareholders received the papers for the EGM yet?
I've emailed the club twice and no response...
Not wanting to pile on but it certainly makes me disinclined to vote yes to any resolution when they can't be bothered to provide shareholders papers per their own timeline. |
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Reply | EGM
at 08:29 27 Jul 2023
Bit later than some to this, but if there is options for an alternative approach, I think using a market making / distribution platform like Tifosy may be a good route. We could either list the shares or Bond issuance on their and broaden the access of potential smaller investors.
https://www.tifosy.com/en/exchange
From a quick glance, the most relevant listings are Stevenage's Share issuance (offering up 12% of the club's equity) and an unsecured bond issuance from Peterborough - looking to raise £1.5 - 2.5m. The key aspect of the latter is that this in unsecured and has a specific objective listed.
Per SG's response in the trust update - I wonder if this platform has been considered? On the face of it, it would enable us to raise capital (equity or debt) from a broader pool than just fans - fans of course could participate. |
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Reply | EGM
at 10:44 26 Jul 2023
I know it's been asked a few times, but have any shareholders received papers, etc. yet?
Want to check whether it's just me and if I need to phone / email the club. |
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Reply | EGM
at 08:48 25 Jul 2023
Whilst the willingness to step forward by the current directors has rightly been applauded, they seem to have forgotten the nature of investing in equity.
No one who is a shareholder in the club should expect a return or security in the case of the club is heading in the wrong direction in terms of profitability. This move feels very much like a way of securitising the equity investment made by the two directors. As the adage goes, don’t invest more than you can afford to lose.
If this is about raising working capital, there are other means rather than putting the entire club and its assets at risk if we don’t have a successful season. Others have used platforms like Tifosy in the past to raise debt capital, but again that was unsecured. |
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Reply | Dunphy withdraws bid
at 14:57 2 May 2023
Do we know if the board have got advisors supporting the evaluation of any bids? If so, who are they?
A number of people over the past few years have shown an aptitude for understanding and analysing some of the financial implications of takeover / investment attempts. I think seeking outside support for this (within the bounds of any NDA) would make a lot of sense given the potential impact any deal will have. |
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Reply | First Signing For Rochdale ?
at 13:41 15 Jun 2021
It's not, or rather shouldn't be a mutually exclusive approach. You should use the analytics and data to screen for talent and generate the right signals on which players have potential. This can then be combined with a view on temperament, attitude, and other qualitative factors before making a decision on signing a player. |
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Reply | How much does a RAFC share cost?
at 15:57 4 May 2021
This is the key point. The only way the purchase of shares puts money directly in to the club is through the purchase of the unissued shares previously mentioned at the time of the Altmann discussions.
Purchase of shares from existing shareholders will provide the voting rights etc, but any price paid goes to the shareholder that is selling rather than the club. |
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Reply | Mark Hodkinson: Inside the Boardroom Pt. III
at 10:19 26 Mar 2021
I can't tell if you are continually playing the role of devils advocate to foster debate or you genuinely think the board and CEO are doing things right?
As 442 has pointed out a number of times, they can't even seem to stick to their own conclusions that communication needs to be remedied. There is very little substantive communication that comes from the board and CEO. All we seem to get are platitudes and soundbites that regurgitate the same information or are blindingly obvious.
All of this fuels the narrative that they either don't know what's required or don't care about fostering a good relationship with their stakeholders.
By their own admission in previous statements - actions speak louder than words... |
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Reply | The lack of concern!
at 09:13 25 Mar 2021
There are certainly some concerning signs in the running of the club when looking at the financial statements. God knows what the '20 Financial Statements will show!
Some lowlights from previous years:
18-19
-Gross Profit Decreased 59%
-Total Operating Loss increased 330%
-Cash at Bank decreased 65%
-Liabilities increased 76%
-Total Net Assets decreased by 47%
-Net Margin went from -6% to -25%
-Operating Margin went from -5% to -24%
-(Solvency)Debt/Equity Ratio went from 37% to 123%
-(Liquidity) Quick Ratio went from 3.65 to 0.95
Compared to 17-18
-Gross Profit Decreased by 46% but was still almost £1m higher than '19
-Change of -120% moving from Operating Profit to and Operating Loss
-Cash at Bank increased by 128% to £1.2m
-Liabilities increased 34%
-Total Net Assets decreased by 11% |
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Reply | Crypto currencies for Football Clubs
at 10:00 18 Mar 2021
I think at this point Bitcoin behaves much more as a commodity than a currency.
Whilst there is no government backed (fiat) basis of exchange for Bitcoin, you could argue it still has the merits of a unit of exchange in that I can buy something for X bitcoin - i.e. it's tradable.
Other aspects of currency are unit of account and store of value. Arguably it is an accurate unit of account in that 1 bitcoin is fungible with another and it is divisible , i.e. you can have fractional ownership of bitcoin without it losing value.
Store of value is where bitcoin struggles to be viewed as a currency at this current time given it's volatility, etc.
All in all, I would not be putting any assets of a football club into bitcoin or any other crypto asset in the near future. |
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Reply | Crypto currencies for Football Clubs
at 13:52 15 Mar 2021
Appreciate mini-bonds have been problematic. Having said that Stevenage managed it and then went on to use the same platform to manage their equity round c.12%. https://www.stevenagefc.com/news/2019/june/share-in-our-future-public-launch-tif
Given the unallocated shares, these could be an interesting means of raising more than the £2 nominal whilst allowing fans to participate at smaller lot sizes. Which would benefit the club not only in terms of cash injection but also keeping a diverse shareholder base - helpful to prevent one majority shareholder with nefarious aims... |
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Reply | Crypto currencies for Football Clubs
at 08:38 15 Mar 2021
I have to agree in relation to football clubs. I don’t see the benefit of using crypto over some kind of fan wallet, like from Visa. I’m also not clear on what the asset behind these coins are for PSG, Juvenile, etc. I suppose they work because of the brand value attached to those clubs.
Bitcoins value increases because of the scarcity of the asset and the increasing demand. There can only ever be a finite amount of bitcoin (hard coded into the network). I’d also add that the computing power for running Bitcoin nodes and Bitcoin mining is insane.
Personally think rather than crypto, leveraging something like the Tifosy platform for a bond or additional equity issue would make more sense. Both Norwich and Stevanage have used the platform over recent years to find specific projects. Norwich in particular raised funds for a training ground!
https://www.tifosy.com/en/raises/invest-in-the-canaries-bond-and-help-build-our- |
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Reply | BBM contract confirmed
at 10:27 12 Mar 2021
It’s not a simple binary though James. It is possible they are working hard (as constantly reminded on Wednesday) but just aren’t good enough.
People can work as hard as they want but if they aren’t good enough then the outcomes will be subpar. In the world outside football it’s the role of the board to identify underperforming management teams and replace them. We seemingly don’t have that effective oversight at the moment. And wouldn’t surprise me if DA and EM have seen this and come to the conclusion it’s of limited value to invest time and capital at this time.
It doesn’t have to be deliberate but it can still be a bad outcome for the club... |
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Reply | BBM contract confirmed
at 09:01 12 Mar 2021
It is interesting how GR was keen to add new board members but only if they can bring money.
It’s a bit of a catch 22 as the combination of wealthy enough to buy into the board, helpful skills, and die hard fan may be in short supply. At some point, it would be worth considering adding board members that can meet the latter two of those three criteria.
It doesn’t cost the club anything but they will add some additional insights and skills albeit without the investment they are looking for. |
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Reply | Fan's forum 10.3.2021
at 20:08 10 Mar 2021
It would be nice for the CEO and manager to at least recognise things could be improved.
It's all very much that "we are great, and its all external events that are preventing us from succeeding".
It's hard to improve things, without first taking accountability, and there is limited willingness to take accountability for negative aspects of the performance. |
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Reply | Fan's forum 10.3.2021
at 19:39 10 Mar 2021
I don't buy the hand to mouth comment.
From the last 4 years worth of accounts, only the latest one has seen Cash at Bank drop below 500,000, indeed in 2018 this was over £1m.
In addition, Net Assets from those same accounts have been:
2017: £2.9m
2018:£2.6m
2019: £1.4m
Did he also say it's a tough call for the board on retaining the League 1 status and the survival of the club? [Post edited 10 Mar 2021 19:40]
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Reply | Club Statement
at 09:18 25 Feb 2021
Any chance we could tone down the generalisations and general Xenophobia?
It's reasonable to be skeptical and question the intention / objective of new board members and investors, but not sure we need to tie that to them being "American, so all they're after is money, etc."
I fully agree the investment and approach should be scrutinised carefully (mentioned earlier in this thread) but the nationalist overtones in some of the comments detract from these perfectly valid questions, in my opinion... |
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Reply | Club Statement
at 12:25 24 Feb 2021
I think this is the key point from the fans forum - What is the valuation approach / model they have used to justify investment in RAFC?
In addition:
What is the vehicle they are using to make the investment / subsequent investments?
Who are the counterparties to any loans?
What's their investment horizon and planned exit?
What we don't necessarily want is some sort of Leveraged Buy Out scenario, as meeting the income requirements for servicing the debt (particularly in times of stress, you know like post a pandemic!) could become unsustainable and leave the club with loads of debt etc. and a sure fire route to administration.
On the flip side, I can't believe any investment case is predicated on the club going out of business. I expect the assets remaining in a default / liquidation wouldn't be of enough value to generate a sufficient return. A more plausible case may be that RAFC is a "loss-leader" with potential to prove the value of Smarter Scout and increase the valuation of that business sufficiently to generate palatable returns for LPs invested in the fund. That assumes a EM's fund vehicle is being used for investment. If this is the case, we would hopefully benefit by having high potential players come through the club that we could then sell on which is pretty much the model we have right now.
All this is speculation until we get the view of DA & EM's plans / investment thesis. |
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Reply | Baah analysis
at 13:47 19 Feb 2021
The fact he has limited coaching experience is in fact probably a benefit.
Less subjective bias (consciously or unconciously) creeping into the insights. It becomes a more "pure" approach. With the findings from the analytics supported by experienced coaches to look at cultural factors etc. |
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