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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Notthebus,
I wouldn’t exactly say pressley loses it there.
It thought it was quite lennonesque (after Ross County semi).
Bgx
What about ole Salmond as his economic background
And not as…
“I feel a YES rant coming on …sorry your highness SFTB..”
Bgx,
Why ye only apologising to him!!?? We’ve all got to endure it :)
Pfayr….whatabouarry….the last refuge of the scoundral….
Pfayr…..and again…..i voted YES…..NOT SNP….
thought you would have got that …
Bgx
Very relevant question
You think Scotland will become some form of socialist utopia ….kidding yourself on
ABZMike –
Tickets go on general sale Friday 9.00am. As my wife’s mobile is with O2 you can register for ‘priority tickets’. Did this last night which meant we could access the pre-sale today.
I don’t have friends in high places and indeed very few in any other places either!
SOAL – you just do what you’d rather do ;-)
Geordie munro…
Sorry your honour….
BGX of course in Scotland there would be and never could be any corruption.
Away and look in the mirror…….
off out catch up later
HH
Bgx
Not that old chestnut …didn’t believe then don’t now ….the swell in SNP numbers lays bare the lie
Anyway…the once in a generation chance has passed …yesterday’s news
marspapa
19:49 on 12 November, 2014
Don’t you worry about it mate, everything has been fine and dandy over old ibrox way since February 2012 and don’t let the nastie Tim’s tell you different HH
Pfayr…..under a free from london Scottish Socailist Labour Scottish Gov….might have a chance…as it is **Chance…
Bgx
Chance …as in none and feck all
Pfayr… Godwilling we will cross swords in.3 years time….
Pfayr …your an auld tory…hingin oan ti lizzies underskirt…i on the other hand am a progressive forward thinking optimist….
brogan rogan trevino and hogan supports oscar knox, mackenzie furniss and anyone else who fights neuroblastoma
13:21 on 12 November, 2014
If I may, I’d like to inflect a small point here.
I do agree we are heading back in the direction of the gold standard.
To take your point further, however, over the superpowers hoarding gold, it would be more pertinent to state that it’s actually the global ring of world banks, not individual nations. We are at a time in place in history where borders are no longer relevant. The world banks owned by the Rothschild dynasty (even in China and Russia) and aided and abetted by the like of our own Winsors (Saxe-Coburgs) and the Rockefellers across the pond have ring fenced the planet and are poised to establish themselves as the only superpower when the gold standard is reintroduced.
What happens to humanity after this event is anyone’s guess.
Good to see you back marspapa. .
you where missed Sunday.
hun slelper
do you think there is any chance of them not being around to play us in the up and coming SF ?
BT
glad somebody misses me :(
lol.
Bgx
Never voted Tory in my life …you don’t know me …keep your assumptions
I’m a realist …who has in business been subjected to the nonsense created by the Scottish Govt and the feckwits that inhabit there
No utopia for me
Auldheid at 13.42:
Do you really think they will ever change from:
“the truth, the whole truth and nothing like the truth”?
marspapa
20:11 on 12 November, 2014
They’ll be there, they won’t go under mike Ashley will make sure of that. He will own every asset needed to run a club but won’t own the club and the football club playing at ibrokes will be him for the privilege, that’s how I see it playing out HH
Pfayr…..you nailed …
NO THANKS….IM FINE…..
Be- pay
Pfayr….its how you thought when you voted….it is…
I see reports saying Man Utd want to loan out Januzaj in January.
Would be a perfect addition to the squad. Wide left is a trouble position for us…. Specially since Sammy left
BT
you enjoying aw the attention your getting from the two women in your life , runnin eftur yi like a couple a maddies ;)
you do realise you will be up on your feet at some stage , then you’ll hear them ……we had to this ,had to do that …
;)))
bepreparedcsc.
Bgx
Do you have problems reading ??
I offered you nothing
As ” nailed” what on earth you on about
You remind me of a mad Arthur Scargill ranting nonsense in pursuit of an unattainable utopia
Some people were stupid enough to want us to hand over the rights to write the constitution carte Blanche to the people who gave us the offensive behaviour law, and after that power was handed over do you honestly think they would not have sat down with the masons and orange order to try and win their approval ffs.
Marspapa
they 2 have done he haw for the last 2 months.
Pfayr…my point was …your utopia is fine….and thats the way you voted….i have no prob with that…
Apologies to all …can’t believe I got embroiled in this BS again …
Neil canamar….did the SNP..bring in the OB act?…
hun skelper
exactly Rangers ( whatever ) are not not going anywhere but forward , from one blunder to the next , owing , shifting debt , they dont care how they get up but they will , imo ;)
Pfayr…..we dont agree on this…so let it go…
bgx,
You tell me