Not for the first time around Ibrox, we’re deep into denial territory than an insolvency incident is imminent. A whole load of irrelevant questions have been answered; they will not go into administration on ‘Sash Wednesday’, nor will a board meeting be convened today, but the pertinent question, whether club consultant Philip Nash, and director Graham Wallace, have held pre-administration talks, remains curiously unaddressed.
My information is that administration is only one of a number of options under consideration.
They have alternatives. A sale and leaseback of the stadium and (still magnificently named) Murray Park could provide the club with enough money to see them through until season ticket renewal time next year, when they have a chance of being in the Premiership. If it was your objective to maintain shareholder value, this must surely be considered. Cast your mind over what we know about the bulk of the shareholders and there should be no doubt about their priorities. These are not shareholders who will accept cumulative losses or even a pound-in-pound-out model.
They could continue to secure assets against borrowing from hedge fund-shareholders at an interest rate of 30%. This is an attractive return for a hedge fund. If they secure the stadium in return for a future loan they will be in a position to earn attractive returns from whichever club plays there for many years to come.
If you are a fan, or indeed, a director of Oldco, who set on a path to liquidation, this reality will feel intolerable. Those responsible for strategy, oversight and governance at Oldco set the wheels in motion; Newco’s burden is a consequence of Oldco trying to put their rivals in their place, and allowing the wolves in.
Intolerable though the situation may be, I’m not sure what can be done about it. Using season ticket sales to threaten to subvert the value of investments made by hedge funds, and shareholders who have made it their absolute priority to remain anonymous, is incredibly risky. Incredibly. Risky.
Here’s the question, are those anonymous investors likely to submit to threats, or are they the kind of people who can afford to play hardball and would raze the stadium to the ground rather than be bullied?
My guess is we are talking about hardnosed, wealthy individuals, who will forever remain anonymous and who have never been bullied by minority shareholder action in their lives. It’s easy to whip football fans into a pitchfork-esque revolt, 10 years of CQN has provided regular evidence of this (mostly over comparatively trivial misinformation), but if this was my club, I’d be going off my head at the behaviour of just about everyone involved and I don’t think I’d be able to sleep at night.
‘Seville’, the book detailing the incredible stories you, the Celtic support, experienced and set down on record, is out this month. To order your copy click on the link below.
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Cheers philbhoy
tonydonnelly67
No way will Dave appear.
LB
Your welcome!
Livibhoy
What makes you think that?
Is he not a character witness in the Pistorious trial?
tonydonnelly67
The guy has no backbone.
LB
LB
he has to come surely, otherwise what’s the point?
Henr1ck
I was looking for that. Ta.
Paul Larkin is talking about the same document that is in the evidence sent to the SPFL and H&M.
I am not sure he is precise on CO’s role after setting the scheme up in that CO’s name is only on 2 documents in Sept1999.
I think it possible/likely CO was well aware of how ebts were being used thereafter and he would have been well briefed about how it should operate and if De Boer insisted on a side letter CO would have been asked by the guy providing it (Odham?) if it transgressed the scheme.
However there is no documentation unless Paul Larkin has it, that links CO to anything other than the first ebt Moore.
I have covered the detail earlie on this blog.
Embramike
Dont know but word is that its thorough.
tonydonnelly67
I think from his record up to now he likes shooting his mouth off from afar. Reminds me of the blue knights. When is comes to the crunch though these guys don;t get the cash out.
I could be totally wrong but similar to Craig Whyte he is a dodgy character and being the main man at a football club seems to attract the type of scrutiny that dave might not want. I could be completely wrong but his track record regarding tax issues is not great.
LB
The Liquidators of any company require to make a report to Creditors on their progress every 6 months.
In the case of Rangers plc, there are 2 such reports published to date, the next due in May. There is little in them beyond a statement of costs and fees to date, and a note that they cannot discuss a number of sensitive matters which remain outstanding.
It is likely that the final report on this liquidation assignment, given its complexity and assorted legal actions, will take perhaps 5 years.
Don’tHoldYourBreathCSC
ThomtheleedsTim
Why not? :)
I do not know is the answer but I think it must be.
Well LB
ONE way or the other it should be very interesting, I hope he takes great care on what taxi he gets into when he arrives at Glasgow airport, that’s IF he comes , lol
Looking for some CelticFC financial info.
I’m in a discussion at work with a zombie who is mudslinging.
One of his accusations is that one of the CelticFC shareholders receives £500k every year in perpetuity.
He alleges that it is documented and in the yearly accounts.
Does anyone know if this is true and, if it is, why?
Thanks.
~SPF~
LiviBhoy – God bless wee Oscar
15:34 on
3 March, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26420403
Sevco board want to meet dodgy Dave.
LB
————
Or as its otherwise known-“meet the Easdales!”..some months later-” no your honour he..em slipped on the newly polished staircase” [allegedly]
ScotPatsFan
I heard it was DD.
Dharma
Nobody can growl like old Tom or Old Croakie as my missus calls him.
Saying that I do like the version of Temptation by Mrs Costello.
Other tunes covered by uberTim Roderick were God damn awful
Young ghuns now 3 up. :-))
Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.
Philboy
I think that is what he is alluding to, but I’m not sure why.
I need some more info before I get back to him.
Any idea why DD gets this money?
~SPF~
Oops, ghuns=guns. :-)
Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.
ScotPatsFan
I was told it was a special kind of share DD had purchased. He is the major shareholder.
Other than that I canny help ye!
Paul67.
When were the tickets for CQ10N sent out, were all sent out at the same time, people have told me that they had received their tickets on Saturday, I haven’t had a delivery yet, and I have complained to the Post Office about 15 minutes ago that I never received a delivery that was sent on the 28th February, Am I wrong, maybe they weren’t sent on Saturday. I may have blamed the PO when it wasn’t their fault.
winning captains
12:46 on
3 March, 2014
ryecatcher
Seville – The Celtic Movement is about the Celtic support in Seville. It is not about the football match. In essence the book is about being a Celtic supporter. It has taken a year of hard work to put together and you have your zippo lighter out before the ink is dry.
*I’m with ryecatcher on this, same as Milan 1970. I have no interest in either game and have never watched them again, I had Seville on tape and taped over it rapidly.
I know that this project is about the fans but it’s no different than Milan where the Celtic support were in exemplary behavior even though they were well let down.
Unlike Seville where to quote MON we were punching above our weight, in Milan we were favourites to win.
Six days prior to the Seville game I was in hospital for a 5 hour procedure for an atrial flutter, I said to Mr.’s TT that day “thank God I had this last week or else I could have had a heart attack watching this”.
The whole final was a fiasco as the Milanese were not interested in hosting it and were quite fiercely anti-Celtic owing to us humiliating their favourites 3 years before. It was between Milan and Rome to host the final with unfortunately the former winning the rights.
In saying that though, the result notwithstanding, it was one of the best days I’ve had as a Celtic supporter, our fans were immense prior to and after the game….as the song says “you can take us anywhere we won’t let you down”.
You should as TG for his comments on that scabby day.
TonyDonnelly67
at 15.13
Tony,Bhoy…..
Ur ye sure that Yer Irish?
n… Masel.. Being Very Aware that this Sainted Forum.. is Populated By A Very Fair Number o’
folk , who ur Eethur Pukka..or…. Claim tae be o’ Irish Descent…
Then ,Kin Ye Blame Me.. If
Ah Hiv Ma Doots, man!
Fur yer Outwardly Sanguine Attitude towards the Celtic Board..n it’s Works..
in Respect tae yer Irish Name..
Well…
“JIst Disnae Compute, Will Robinson!”
Did Ye know that it wiz an “Article of Faith”, that The Irish..
Hate.. Awe Authority Figures?
The Ur Palpable Sworn Enemies.. o’ Awe ” Bowler Hats”?
Ah think the Reason fur that.. Dates Back tae the Days of
Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott…
Yep.. That’s It..
Those Days ur never Furgotten, in Ireland..n… by extension.. Right Here, oan this
Celtic Fans’ Forum.
so..Naturally.. oan here frum Time tae Time.
When the Subject o’ Cetlc’s… “Bowler Hatted” Administrators …comes up..
Bingo.
The Cry o’ “Boycott the Rascals, n Rallying Cries o’ .. Tae the Barricades!”kin be Hoid.. Resounding thru.. this Sainted Spot.
So ye kin, Understaun My Puzzlement..
When a guy.. wi an Irish Sounding Surname…like Your’s..
Actually..
DEFENDS, so Well…the Celtic “Bowlers.”
Astonishing?
That Couldnae Describe my..well. Astonishment!..oan reading whit he hiv tae say..oan this, tender subject.
Well,Pal..
Ah am Pleased as Punch tae Find an Irish Gentleman.
Who.. Dis-Proves the Rule!
Congratulations… n.. Let me tell You
That.. Kojo,is right in Yer Corner.. Cheering ye Oan..
Every Time ye..
Slap doon wan o they..
Celtic, “Bowler”… Criticizers..
Fur They ur awe tae Cock..wrang as Kin Be..
Hooray fur Logic..pal..
N.. Mair Power tae yer Pen..
Nice Chattin
Kojo
Still,Laughin’
Hen1rik
Those are astonishing claims. When were those words spoken? ie Was it recently?
JJ
Orc blood boils to super-hot:
http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/…atives-ignored
Philboy
Thanks for your replies.
~SPF~
Afternoon Celts,lovely day today,
Enjoyed the game on Saturday,well done to Leigh on his all round performance and his well fought for hat-trick.I think he can go on and do some damage for us.Biton looks a player too,he just has that look of never being rushed and comfortable on the ball.Good all round performance by the team and everbody not afraid of taking or giving a pass
Scotspatsfan ta for the YES memory, yours is no disgrace was first track i played to death on our new 2 speaker stereo hifi back in the day,still pop it on at times just for that guitar lead which bounced from speaker to speaker.
Setting free the bears -olivia newton john ‘if not for you’ sitting with that terrible little rift going thro my head since you suggested it,and i dont want it there lol.annoyin or wit! :-))
ScotPatsFan
15:59 on 3 March, 2014
The Great Desmondo has a huge wodge of cumulative preference shares, the income from which helps fund his annual budget for moustache wax.
Money goes to money.
Surprised huns don’t have other, more pressing, concerns.
ScotPatsFan
15:59 on
This is what he is on about.
http://footballtaxhavens.wordpress.com/2012/12/19/celtic-fcs-9-million-hidden-debt-paying-6-in-perpetuity/
An Tearmann
Saw the forthcoming Yes show in Vegas last summer whilst on hols.
Great crowd in the Casino where they were playing in and a very professional show they put on.
Going For The One was the first LP I ever listened to.
Whilst I’ve moved on, music wise, it’s still nice to go back and give it a play.
Ernie
Yes, I’m not quite sure why the zombies are giving any time to the money DD takes out.
I understand if it’s a dividend on the shares he owns, but if we don’t make a profit why does he still get to take £500k?
~SPF~
Ireland’s new media kings fight for their reputations
By Henry Mance
Denis O’Brien of Digicel.©Charlie Bibby
Denis O’Brien has emerged as one of the rare winners from Ireland’s financial crisis
Few people remember what was in the Sunday papers in 1998, but Irish billionaire Dermot Desmond certainly does.
The canny investor – who made hundreds of millions of pounds from turning round London’s City Airport – is suing the Sunday Times for defamation over an article published 16 years ago, which claimed he had wrongly taken the credit for the idea of Dublin’s financial centre.
Mr Desmond and his close friend, the telecoms entrepreneur Denis O’Brien, have emerged as rare winners from Ireland’s financial crisis.
They are both among the country’s five richest people, according to Forbes, with their billion-dollar fortunes largely unaffected by the property crash.
However, the actions and investments of Mr Desmond, known as “the Kaiser” on account of his upturned moustache, and Mr O’Brien, a flamboyant jet-setter who pays part of the salary of Ireland’s football manager, have come under intense media scrutiny in their home country.
In response, the two businessmen have fought to protect their reputations – aggressively.
Between them, the two men have launched more than 50 claims, related to news coverage, against journalists and newspapers over the past two decades, according to a Financial Times analysis of court records.
“They’re peas in the same pod. They use their wealth to browbeat criticism,” says one person who has been involved in more than one of the cases.
Mr O’Brien and Mr Desmond did not respond to a request for comment.
Controversial figures
While billionaires tangling with their critics are not uncommon, the issue has become particularly sensitive in Ireland after the financial crisis exposed close relationships between politicians and businessmen.
Intense scrutiny of business and government is necessary “if we are to avoid sleepwalking into another crisis”, says John Devitt, head of the non-government organisation Transparency International.
Mr Desmond and Mr O’Brien have long been controversial figures in Ireland. An official inquiry led by Mr Justice Moriarty found Mr Desmond had once paid for repairs to a former prime minister’s yacht, while Mr O’Brien had made payments of about €500,000 to the communications minister, and supported a loan to him for a further €500,000, in the period after his consortium was awarded a lucrative mobile phone licence. Both men deny any wrongdoing.
“This is not about any individual, but there is reason to believe that our laws don’t deal adequately with the financial and editorial realities.”
– Colum Kenny, professor at Dublin City University
Observers say that the worry is not just that they have sued critics – but also that they have invested in them.
In December, the pair were confirmed as the two largest shareholders in Independent News & Media, Ireland’s biggest newspaper group and a company that Mr O’Brien once accused of “trying to destroy my reputation”.
The two men own about 45 per cent of the company following a fierce boardroom battle. Mr O’Brien also owns Ireland’s largest network of commercial radio stations through his company Communicorp.
“He is probably the most powerful media owner the country has ever known,” said Mr Devitt.
Staunch critics
The Irish Independent and Sunday Independent , Ireland’s best-selling titles which are owned by INM, have been among Mr O’Brien’s strongest critics.
A dominating figure who demands absolute loyalty from his staff, the entrepreneur is said to read everything written about him.
“Those fuckers at the Indo are at it again,” the entrepreneur would tell an adviser, while leafing through their reports, according to a biography by the journalist Siobhán Creaton.
Several journalists and academics told the FT that they are now concerned that Mr O’Brien’s investment in INM could dilute critical coverage of his business affairs.
“[INM] was the British Leyland of newspaper groups”
– Denis O’Brien
The newspaper group has recently proposed a code of conduct, under which “sustained or repeated adversarial editorial material concerning individuals or organisations” would require written approval from the managing editor. The code was proposed in February 2013, but has not been implemented.
In 2012 James Osborne, INM’s chairman who was later voted out, said the entrepreneur had asked for an article about his debts to be removed from the next day’s paper.
“Zero influence at all,” was Mr O’Brien’s response to suggestions of editorial influence. “I’m not even on the board so I don’t have any influence. I’m an investor.”
The media group said any suggestion of external influence would be “incorrect or defamatory”.
Winning the 1996 mobile phone licence laid the basis for Mr O’Brien’s telecoms empire, Digicel, which extends to the Caribbean, Central America and parts of Asia, and from which the entrepreneur this year expects to receive a dividend of $650m.
KINGSBARNS, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 27: Dermot Desmond, Irish businessman, in action during the second round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at Kingsbarns Golf Links on September 27, 2013 in Kingsbarns, Scotland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)©Getty
Dermot Desmond is a keen golfer
Mr Desmond, who agreed to finance the mobile phone consortium, has called the Moriarty report “the most lengthy and expensive comic ever produced”.
He has also had his own grievances against INM’s publications, including one article about sectarianism in Scottish football. An investor in Celtic FC, he labelled the piece “disgusting . . . gutter press”. He sued INM over an article published in a now-defunct newspaper.
“There is no point in meeting face to face unless you have a cheque,” he wrote to Gavin O’Reilly, INM’s then chief executive, during the dispute.
Investing in INM
Mr O’Brien’s financial involvement with INM began at the height of Ireland’s boom, when he spent €500m for a 26 per cent stake in the company.
It turned out to be his worst investment: the shares fell as much as 99.8 per cent following the financial crisis.
“I bought into a business that I thought had very strong assets and was well managed. It was the opposite,” Mr O’Brien told the FT. “It was the British Leyland of newspaper groups.”
A restructuring deal struck by INM reduced Mr O’Brien’s stake to about 20 per cent, a level he still held when the Moriarty tribunal’s final report was published in March 2011.
But by May 2012, at a time when the newspaper group was continuing its hostile coverage, Mr O’Brien had increased his stake to 29.9 per cent. That was just shy of the level at which he would be forced to make a bid for the whole company, at a time when Ireland was considering a new law on media ownership.
Meanwhile, Mr Desmond disclosed in August 2011 that he had bought a 3 per cent stake in INM. Mr Desmond continued to build up that stake, to 15 per cent by December 2013.
The two billionaires enjoy a close personal relationship. They worked together on the appointment of Martin O’Neill as manager of Ireland’s football national team.
They deny, however, that they acted in concert in building up their respective stakes in INM.
“I’m a friend of Dermot Desmond but he has separate investments to mine,” Mr O’Brien told the FT.
Boardroom changes
Mr O’Brien and Mr Desmond both urged the board to remove Mr O’Reilly as chief executive in 2012.
Several board members planned to refer the two billionaires’ stake-building to Ireland’s Takeover Panel for scrutiny, two people familiar with the matter said. But the proposal did not progress, with two board members failing to win re-election and four others resigning.
On Friday INM announced that its chief executive Vincent Crowley – one of the few directors to remain in place as Mr Desmond and Mr O’Brien built up their holdings – will depart within three months.
His departure is expected to give greater power to INM’s chairman Leslie Buckley, who is also vice-chair of Mr O’Brien’s telecoms company Digicel.
The story of INM illustrates potential shortcomings in Irish media ownership regulation, which would not consider Mr O’Brien’s radio business when evaluating his power in Ireland’s newspaper industry.
“We need new legislation,” says Colum Kenny, a university professor in Dublin. “This is not about any individual, but there is reason to believe that our laws don’t deal adequately with the financial and editorial realities.”
A draft law on media plurality has been delayed.
Meanwhile, Mr O’Brien scored a big win last year against the Irish Daily Mail, which had alleged his charity work in Haiti was motivated by a desire to distract from the Moriarty tribunal.
A jury vindicated him and ordered the newspaper publisher to pay €150,000 in damages.
In December, the lower-profile Mr Desmond also chalked up his own victory. His lawyers won a ruling to proceed with the 16-year-old case against the Sunday Times, despite judges finding that there had been an inordinate and inexcusable delay in bringing it.
It is unlikely to be the last time his critics find themselves in court.
Mr Desmond did not respond to a request for comment on the matters referred to in this article.
ScotPatsFan
16:34 on 3 March, 2014
‘but if we don’t make a profit why does he still get to take £500k?’
##
As I recall of the explanation given on here previously, he doesn’t. The entitlement though is rolled over to the following year. That’s where the cumulative bit comes in.
oldtim67 – will check for you now re your tickets. Most have been sent but there were some held back as there were address queries etc – will let you know, but don’t worry!
Re the new CQN Book, Seville – the Celtic Movement, I posted a link to the cover sleeve last week. For those who missed it then here it is again. If you posted on CQN last May re Seville them you are in this book.
http://www.calameo.com/read/00039017147e44ea61e38
oldtim67 – just checked and your tickets were posted to you today. Should be there tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you at CQTEN…
Yes live at a casino in Vegas.
Gettin’ close to the edge of the ole cognitive dissonance…
hoopy-do
15:14 on 3 March, 2014
Tallybhoy
14:38 on
3 March, 2014
South of Tunis
Benny Hill was bad enough in English, but excruciating when dubbed into Italian.
Think I watched it once.
I then drank a bottle of gin.
HH!!
============================================
Shocking post
Benny Hill was a great programme
__________________________________________________________________________
hoopy-do
I concur with you on that. Benny Hill was a great show.
SOT, “you a brurry irriot”
HH
EddieInKirk and Ernie
Many thanks for the explanations about DD.
~SPF~