Delighted Aberdeen are now free of their “debt servicing burden” after long-term supporters Willie and Elaine Donald proposed to reduce net debt by an astonishing £14.9m. The club have been able to service their debt but it’s been caught between paying for old overspends and driving ahead with a new stadium to provide for its future.
Aberdeen has a vibrant business and corporate entertainment sector which the club is well-placed to exploit. In the right environment, specifically, playing a regional league with a new stadium, they could be transformed into a European power, as they were back in the day.
Unfortunately, it’s not all rosy positive financial news for Scottish football clubs. Rangers International’s statement to the stock market this morning confirmed that Mike Ashley’s £2m loan will not be enough to see the club through to the end of this month. Ash’ has provided a further £1m, which will take them through to the second week in December – at least!
The statement confirms yet more money will be needed before the end of the year and that the directors have begun a cost cutting exercise. So where does this leave them?
Living week-to-week is fine if you are within sight of season ticket renewal deadline but that’s six months away. The funding requirement to get them to that day is likely to be north of £10m, with Ashley now the only wallet in town.
A great deal of analysis is taking place over his commitment to the SFA that he’ll not acquire more than 10% of the club, but this overlooks all the important factors, specifically that owning more share capital is neither necessary nor helpful to Ashley.
Football clubs are a collection of businesses. There is the football, of course, but there is also a media business (print, online), retail services, brand merchandising, corporate hospitality, there’s advertising space to fill, and with some, there’s a link to a charity, which requires administration.
The charity and football operations cost money but everything else tends to make a profit. Football clubs are horrible entities to manage. You have unrealistic competitive pressures, fans who demand conflicting objectives and your performance can be undermined by a defender’s lapse, before you’re scrutinised in public. Only lunatics would apply.
By contrast, corporate retail management is a walk in the park. Ashley already has a healthy share of Newco’s retail, merchandising and IP rights. He can and will make money out of them, and no one has been able to tell me why he’d be remotely interested in owning an ounce more than Rangers International.
The funding which will get the club through the rest of the season is likely to cost them all those profitable income streams in perpetuity. There’s a good chance security will be required over the property assets too.
Newco is pretty much hollowed-out already but the scavenging isn’t finished. By the time the consequences of all that ‘we will continue to act like a big club’ nonsense of the last two years has comes home to roost, the cost of their hubris will be laid bare to even the most blinkered mind.
All of this was inevitable when Sir David Muray overruled his board’s recommendation and sold out oldco to a liquidation expert.
TIME CHANGE Remember, we’ve got Davie Hay on the blog tomorrow from 9:30 – 11:30.
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BT
nae bed bath , you must be hummin ;)
Neil canamalar….come on…you know where im going with this so answer me …did the SNP bring in the OB?..
bgx,
They certainly did, yes
Go on
Neilcanamaler……right….i never voted SNP….again……
Re OB Act
And…the have supported it ever since in the face of compelling evidence as to it being ineffective …including the manipulation of figures and disingenuous reporting
Bgx
Are you going to at the general election ?
bgx,
But you voted for them to write the constitution, did you not ?
bgx,
Come on I answered your question, it’s your turn
BT
when is the next Celtic game on in the club?
Neilcanamaler….i voted for Independance in the hope that in a free Scotland i would see the rise and eventually the gov of a proper socialist labour party….i will never see that in the UK imo…
Independence
bgx,
You never answered the question I asked I’ll try again
But you voted for them to write the constitution, did you not ?
Marspapa, I got a wee note from a Bhoy you done some work for and gave a discount cause he knew me :-) nice gesture Bhud
Should hivaskedmefirstandaddedtwenty :-)
Pfayr, serious question
Do you think the OBAF act will survive, more importantly Focus ?
Police Scotland to make £100m savings on next year on budget
Oh and Dena, enjoy :-)
Hail Hail
Marspapa
probably EL game..
“Tonight Mathew, I’m…… a…………………..”
;)
Cowiebhoy
It’s an outrageous waste of money but was one of Salmonds flagship policies ….with him gone and hopefully McAskill following him …it might be binned …hope so
Cowiebhoy
CC House was involved too…hopefully he’ll follow the other two soon
Neil canamalar….if by voting for Independence….then yes i did….so what is the point….because , cant you get amendments to the constitution….
owen
18:20 on
12 November, 2014
Dena
All doing great, Boo getting ready for Taekwando class. Shifts up at airport keeping me out of trouble, and the pub :-(, so can’t complain. Then again none of the locals can understand my accent anyway so it would be a waste of breath. Must get up to mums some weekend rota permitting.
————————————————–
Owen
Taekwando you say ? Don’t suppose it’s the class in St Joseph’s in Crumlin ?
Pfayr…i agree the OB act should be repealed…
Pfayr
Hopefully a combination of both budget pressure and change of politicians will deliver the change required
Thought also with the poor legal success rate would support change, in the review ?
Thanks for response
Hail Hail
Incidentally I know of somewhere else, there is an outrageous waste of money
About time they just disappeared for good :-)
Hail Hail
BGX I know you are embroiled in a losing battle however you seemed to imply earlier that Scotland would never ever have corruption like anywhere else………what nonsense.
marspapa
20:26 on 12 November, 2014
Don’t think there going forward mate, they’re treading water at best, they had a great chance when in division 3 to build a club from scratch with youth and blew it IMO, they’re finished before really getting started, HH
Negannon….imply has no relevence…
Goal for the Glasgow Burds
Cowiebhoy
I watched a politics program one Sunday morning as Mulholland misrepresented the success of the failing OB Act and attempted to claim it was a effective …shameful
Cowiebhoy
its a small world right enough , yeah working away and got to start talkin football (Celtic) and reading blogs .
next thing , he new a guy “cowiebhoy”, i said i had met you a few times ,briefly ,
they are a real nice family , see you on the 22nd bud ;))
I’m an unabashed Yes.
But I don’t agree with fellow Yes voters who simply seek to tar No voters as Tory 5th columnists supporting welfare cuts et al.
Equally it’s inaccurate to the point of disingenuous to try to tag all Yes voters as SNP members or supporters or advocates of the OB Act.
C’mon ghuys!
HH jamesgang
Evening all. Are we talking Celtic this evening?
bgx,
The point is, you wanted to give unlimited power to the people who want to put you in jail for being a Celtic supporter.
You have/had no idea what that constitution would have contained or what conditions for change could have been written into it.
Some on here bless them, believe any constitution would have been an improvement on the current set up, but going on previous form how the hell could they honestly get to that conclusion, it defies logic, they broke their promises to every group they had previously made deals with.
The fact they did not have any constitution written and available to view in the two years leading up to referendum should have been a dead give away, only very stupid people trust politicians.
I will if you will!
HH jamesgang
HT
Nope…..independence and Sevco
Or do you want to talk about your burgeoning tv career?
You got an agent yet?
May I suggest Jobo?
HH jamesgang
I want another Celtic match.
Now!
Stamps feet.
HH jamesgang
HT,
You start it and we’ll all join in :)
Jamesgang…i agree…a lot of No voters are unashamed No im all right voters, or NO im scared voters…too each their own…and …i have never voted SNP..and i would like the OB cancelled….im a YES man alldaylong