RO report sounds like a useful forum.
Main concerns arising:
Level of debts now nearing £5m. As interest is no longer being charegd, and debt is to the owners with no assets to pawn, we can hold this in abeyance (for now).
WPL almost agreeing to stadium price of £13m is ludicrous, especially in current climate.
If club shop is being taken over, are the staff who have been so loyal to the club, being made redundant?
Purchase of stadium in such a short timescale will not make club viable, it will make it debt ridden and impossible to manage financially, unless there have beeen major changes in the as yet unreported finances of the stadium company.
Use of season ticket money now for cashflow, may make beginning of next season difficult for cashflow, unless the idea is to raise money for signing players on before pre-season rather than during pre-season as has previously occurrred.
Please to read Lenagan was in attendance and prepared to be honest about level of debt and availability (or rather lack of availability) of funds from WPL. Entirely understandable, but if the club is budgeted to lose another £100k next season, who will fund this?
Otherwise all sounds as it should do.
4 umm
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Matt D
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the club are quite good at doing these things (even if it was inevitably all a bit 'motherhood and apple pie'), which makes you wonder why they seemed so reluctant to do it, especially when £400 is raised for youth development from good will donations.
so, i'd say the best thing of the evening was that it happened.
the most interesting things of the evening were questions raised rather than answers. kelvin thomas mentioned briefly that there were board changes to come in the summer.
so, i'd say the best thing of the evening was that it happened.
the most interesting things of the evening were questions raised rather than answers. kelvin thomas mentioned briefly that there were board changes to come in the summer.
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A-Ro
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Re:
Club Secretary perhaps?"boris" wrote:Oh yeah, forgot about the impending board changes, damn my incomplete note-taking. Kelvin implied that they would be looking at the structure of the club as a whole, so the changes may not be limited to the board but could also affect the backroom staff too.
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recordmeister
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Re:
Darren Patterson back as youth team coach anyone???"boris" wrote:Oh yeah, forgot about the impending board changes, damn my incomplete note-taking. Kelvin implied that they would be looking at the structure of the club as a whole, so the changes may not be limited to the board but could also affect the backroom staff too.
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Kernow Yellow
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Re:
They didn't need to. Kelvin stated at the outset that he had spoken to Bickerton, the CEO of Shrewsbury, that afternoon and he confirmed that the deal agreed in the email exchange remained in place. He also stressed that the deal was with Shrewsbury, not Paul Simpson."Kernow Yellow" wrote:Did no-one ask about the Constable situation?
Did they explain whether:
a. Interest was no longer being charged or accruing on the debt to WPL
or
b. Interest was no longer being charged but was accruing on the debt to WPL?
Also how much of the existing WPL debt related to historical unpaid interest?
The £5 million figure sounds a bit high to me if it is just covering losses as it would mean over £800,000 per year plus the £2.5m original payment.
a. Interest was no longer being charged or accruing on the debt to WPL
or
b. Interest was no longer being charged but was accruing on the debt to WPL?
Also how much of the existing WPL debt related to historical unpaid interest?
The £5 million figure sounds a bit high to me if it is just covering losses as it would mean over £800,000 per year plus the £2.5m original payment.
A few additional notes to add to what Boris wrote I have tried to take out what has already been said:-
WPL loans
The WPL investment was supposed to be £2.25MM plus 750K over 3 years. It is now closer to £5MM in total.
six to nine months ago the club had just 3 weeks of finances left at which point KT was brought in. WPL could not afford to put anymore into the club, and the club had to be self sufficient
WPL stands by its loans and has taken no interest.
WPL has worked extensively on the stadium purchase/regeneration. The intention is to make OUFC self sufficient in operating terms and pay off capital debts.
Stadium
It is the intention in the foreseeable future of 18-24 months to own the stadium and repay some of the WPL debt.
Budget
The budgeted loss of £100K for next season is based on season ticket sales of 3,000, average crowds of 5,000 (in the KT era average crowd is 4,526 so ||10%), with no allowance for cup runs/ play-offs / promotions.
Youth
It has cost £450K over the last 3 years and they are committed to running it in 09/10. But major fundraising is needed for this.
Membership scheme
The loyalty card is apparently a very popular system at many US colleges / schools. More than just 2 or 3 discounts at Papajohns / Oxy etc
Marketing
Will be more focussed in the Summer - bit of a shotgun {scattergun?} approach this season.
More contact with Uni and Brookes. Also looking to major businesses and employers to offer them group rates and discounts. Looking at clubs like Derby and Aston Villa which do similar schemes.
Summary
Profitable club
Winning club
We can build a club to be proud of
--------------------------------------------------------
The key points to me were:-
KT has steadied the ship, but the club still needs to do more to get to break even.
The fans now need to be aware that WPL have run out of money for the club operationally and more is needed from the fans to get fund raising up / attendances up etc.
The youth scheme will run next season but no commitment beyond that, with significant fund raising required.
The player wage bill will reduce naturally - (presumably some of the higher paid players will either not get new contracts or get offered a significant pay cut).
Someone else will come on the board in the Summer.
Acquiring the stadium is still an important part of the mix for revenue generation. IL confirming he thought the price was about right suggests there must be significant revenues possible.
NM didn't speak, but his presence suggested to me that he has a significant part of the WPL debt and wasn't about to walk away from it.
Some of what wasn't asked
How long KT is committed?
What Just-sport are in the deal for - are they effectively now like the caterers paying a fee and taking profits, or does the club still benefit from kit sales?
WPL loans
The WPL investment was supposed to be £2.25MM plus 750K over 3 years. It is now closer to £5MM in total.
six to nine months ago the club had just 3 weeks of finances left at which point KT was brought in. WPL could not afford to put anymore into the club, and the club had to be self sufficient
WPL stands by its loans and has taken no interest.
WPL has worked extensively on the stadium purchase/regeneration. The intention is to make OUFC self sufficient in operating terms and pay off capital debts.
Stadium
It is the intention in the foreseeable future of 18-24 months to own the stadium and repay some of the WPL debt.
Budget
The budgeted loss of £100K for next season is based on season ticket sales of 3,000, average crowds of 5,000 (in the KT era average crowd is 4,526 so ||10%), with no allowance for cup runs/ play-offs / promotions.
Youth
It has cost £450K over the last 3 years and they are committed to running it in 09/10. But major fundraising is needed for this.
Membership scheme
The loyalty card is apparently a very popular system at many US colleges / schools. More than just 2 or 3 discounts at Papajohns / Oxy etc
Marketing
Will be more focussed in the Summer - bit of a shotgun {scattergun?} approach this season.
More contact with Uni and Brookes. Also looking to major businesses and employers to offer them group rates and discounts. Looking at clubs like Derby and Aston Villa which do similar schemes.
Summary
Profitable club
Winning club
We can build a club to be proud of
--------------------------------------------------------
The key points to me were:-
KT has steadied the ship, but the club still needs to do more to get to break even.
The fans now need to be aware that WPL have run out of money for the club operationally and more is needed from the fans to get fund raising up / attendances up etc.
The youth scheme will run next season but no commitment beyond that, with significant fund raising required.
The player wage bill will reduce naturally - (presumably some of the higher paid players will either not get new contracts or get offered a significant pay cut).
Someone else will come on the board in the Summer.
Acquiring the stadium is still an important part of the mix for revenue generation. IL confirming he thought the price was about right suggests there must be significant revenues possible.
NM didn't speak, but his presence suggested to me that he has a significant part of the WPL debt and wasn't about to walk away from it.
Some of what wasn't asked
How long KT is committed?
What Just-sport are in the deal for - are they effectively now like the caterers paying a fee and taking profits, or does the club still benefit from kit sales?
All good information and detail but it doesn't answer my question - is interest not being charged or not being collected?
I don't know if the words above are your or theirs slappy. If the words are theirs then it is worrying as they say they aren't being "taken" which tends to suggest they still exist.
Of course they won't take them if they have to lend the same amount of money back to the club to pay them so if this is the case then it is very misleading to even talk about the interest.
I don't know if the words above are your or theirs slappy. If the words are theirs then it is worrying as they say they aren't being "taken" which tends to suggest they still exist.
Of course they won't take them if they have to lend the same amount of money back to the club to pay them so if this is the case then it is very misleading to even talk about the interest.