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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Million a Month Mike……
Dining now, later. :-)
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
Bada
Gave it all away to the Poppy fund.
Weefra,
I’m grand mate, I got into work this morning and my old banger started first time, hopefully just dampness caused the glitch.
Ye, looking forward to our next home game and getting there early:)))
weefrathetim
18:34 on 12 November, 2014
Won’t be long till Ashley owns the lot, then the lease back will begin and he will take a large percentage of the coin on a yearly basis from who ever plays out of ibrox, he’s not interested in owning the club/company he’s only here for the assets and the Huns can’t do a thing to stop him, he’s in control of the boardroom without buying the club, he didn’t become wealthy giving his money away HH
“Eh… sorry Mr Ashley… eh… any chance of another million?!”
HH!!
weefrathetim
18:45 on 12 November, 2014
Dining now, later. :-)
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
——–
Ghuys n ghals
Stop posting for now.
Weefra’s away to have his tea so we need to wait till he gets back.
BagpussCSC!
HH jamesgang
hun skelper
We live in hope, oh, and laughter. :-)))
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
Think it’s fairly obvious what Ashley has planned for the Deadies………
Dena
Carlsberg don’t do posh seats for God’s Finest Supporters.
But if they did there would def be one with your name on it!
Xxx
HH jamesgang
jamesgang
Yer a nutter, in the nicest possible way, you realise. :-))
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
F̶a̶t̶ ̶S̶a̶l̶l̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶m̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶c̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶c̶u̶t̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶e̶x̶c̶e̶r̶c̶i̶s̶e̶
Fat Sallary is against any form of exercise.
Oooooh.
Bagpuss is back on!!!
;-)
HH jamesgang
Love ya big stuff!
HH jamesgang
jamesgang
:-)))))0
o aye and what weefra said lol
HH
on a serious note do any of you knowledgeable bhoys think there will be a newco for us to play in SF ? Financially the look busted and how can they keep going to the end of Jan?
HH
So we’ve landed on a comet – what’s next -let’s tackle world poverty – much too difficult
cynicalCSC
Dena29
I hope not but fear so.
Sadly there’s a market for such an organisation and so many friends and institutions of influence.
I just wish that poisonous entity would be gone forever.
HH jamesgang
Dena
Sorry. Missed where it said ‘knowledgable’!
HH jamesgang
Huns phone Ashley –
Hi Mr Ashley were skint any chance of a sub ?
Ashley-
Sure dafty how much you looking for and what am I getting ?
Huns-
We need a million and you can get the stadium incase we don’t pay up.
Ashley-
Sounds fair just send the deeds down and I’ll transfer the money.
Huns-
Ah well the deeds there’s a wee problem with them we canny find them an
Ashley’s phone
Doooooooooooooooooooo
jamesgang
Amen to that . cant help but wonder how long they can go on, best scenario would be to skelp them in Jan and disintegration immediately after Carlsberg moment aaaaahhhh
HH
Genes
thats exactly what i said to mrs bt before turning news off.
jamesgang
19:10 on
12 November, 2014
Dena
Sorry. Missed where it said ‘knowledgable’!
HH jamesgang
:-))))))
HH
Good evening friends.
And, yes, Fleetwood Mac tickets secured this morning.
bucketlistCSC
Banks fixing exchange rates…RBS fined again….who pays the fine…guess….and yet we are told we need to pay bonuses to these guys …or they will go elsewhere…we gotta pay them …they are the best….im mean really….you couldnt write this nonsense….yet the city of london gets richer and richer…..why didnt Scotland divorce itself from this ….
Unbelievable…
Fred C. McCoist: Say, mister. Will you stake a fellow Spiv to a million?
Ashley in Tesco in white suit: Such impudence never came my way. Early this afternoon I gave you money… while I was having my shoes polished I gave you MORE money… now you put the bite on me again. Do me a favor, will ya? Go occasionally to somebody else – it’s beginning to get tiresome.
Fred C. McCoist: Ah, excuse me, mister, I never knowed it was you. I never looked at your face – I just looked at your hands and the money you gave me. Beg pardon, mister, I promise I’ll never put the bite on you again.
Ashley in Tesco in white suit: [gives him a million] This is the very last you get from me. Just to make sure you don’t forget your promise, here’s another million.
Fred C. McCoist: Thanks, mister. Thanks.
Ashley in Tesco in white suit: But from now on, you’ll have to make your way through life without my assistance.
SierraMadre CSC
;o)
steven pressley losing it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MbkjJCB1RY
gene’s a bhoy’s name
19:08 on 12 November, 2014
So we’ve landed on a comet – what’s next -let’s tackle world poverty – much too difficult
cynicalCSC
Considerably cheaper than one trident missile….and we’ve got lots of them..
jobo mobo baldie
You kept the receipt!
Pedrocav says they’re shoite!
;-)
HH jamesgang
Jobo – how did you get those tickets, I thought the presale didn’t start till tomorrow… Friends in high or low places?
I feel a YES rant coming on …sorry your highness SFTB..
abzmike
19:31 on 12 November, 2014
Jobo – how did you get those tickets, I thought the presale didn’t start till tomorrow… Friends in high or low places?
_________
That was just rumours :)))
How can anyone who voted against independence(i just cant say the **word)…look at what is happening in the city of london and want to be part of that….i mean really…it doesnt work ..this trickle down economics is nonsense..it only works for the people running the programe…its gotta change….
Golden oldies, Rolling Stones, we don’t want them back
I’d rather jack than Fleetwood Mac
No heavy metal, rock’n’roll, music from the past
I’d rather jack than Fleetwood Mac
I’d rather jack
Someone on SSB there called Gavin. Said it as it is re: olco, nice one son.
bigmike
And they didn’t touch it with a barge pole did they?!!?
HH jamesgang
The lie still needs constantly exposing though so fair play Gavin!
HH jamesgang
nearly 3 years down the line and the same pish being spouted about another spiv who’s gonnae shut the doon and sell up , for a club that’s supposed to be defunked yeez don’ half waste your breath on thum ,
law of averages say you ‘ll get it right , might not be anytime soon though , imo ;