So you buy a business and then find that the entire structure and assets of company are subject to a police investigation, where it is alleged that the assets were criminal acquired. That’s a serious problem, but one which will take several years to manifest. Let’s call that Problem A.
Problem B is that you have also established that the business needs to raise cash. This is an acute problem which will manifest in a matter of months.
What’s the prognosis?
It could be 2018 before a verdict on Problem A, the criminal trial, is reached. If it’s not guilty, there are no consequences. If it’s guilty, the rightful owners of the criminally acquired assets can apply to the court to recover them. This doesn’t mean they will apply, but if they do, it’s highly likely that the court will make the award in favour of the rightful owners.
For our example, the rightful owners are creditors of a failed business, represented by a liquidator. It’s the liquidators job to get as much money for the creditors as possible, and in this instance, HMRC is the creditor with overwhelming influence.
There’s an added complexity. Although none of your directors are contaminated by the criminal investigation, there’s a concern that some of the accused are beneficiaries of shares in the company, or commercial contracts which the company has entered into. In short, the accused have left the stage, but they could still have a considerable financial interest in the success of the business, which may steel the resolve of the most influential creditor, HMRC. HMRC know such tactics well and would be reluctant to allow a convicted criminal to profit from their enterprises.
As far as Problem A is concerned, you have to allow the law to take its course and hope for a not guilty verdict. Should a guilty verdict transpire, you then have to hope to cut a deal with the liquidator (representing HMRC et al) to allow you to continue to retain title to the assets.
If the creditor was malleable, willing to come and go with you, this would be possible. Especially as the liquidator may have the opportunity of pursuing the professional indemnity (PI) insurance of some of the accused, who provided professional services relating to the transaction. Grab the PI money for the creditors and allow you, your shareholders, and the beneficiaries of your commercial contracts, to continue to benefit from ownership of the assets.
A great deal of uncertainty surrounds this, however. You would make it your business to get as close as possible to the liquidator. Make sure there’s no limit to the hospitality on offer, but ultimately, HMRC will decide how matters proceed. It may even be the case that PI money is pursued, and the assets are recovered and put on the market. There will, after all, be an eye-watering level of professional fees to cover.
Problem B is, as I said, more acute. Raising money for a business which is losing money and burning cash is difficult enough, but if there is a possibility the business has been built upon criminally acquired assets, the challenge is herculean.
The criminal trial may not conclude until 2018 (or later), and it could take a couple of years thereafter for the liquidator to petition the court for the assets and then dispose of them. In short, the assets could come back onto the market around 2020.
Problem B is for you to fund a trading deficit until 2018, then hibernate for a couple of years, and bid enough to buy the assets at auction in 2020.
In the short term all you can do is try to convince as many people as possible to become co-investors. Or put the money in yourself, of course (sorry, I know how you feel about that prospect). Then you could shower the liquidator with the kind of corporate hospitality illustrated in The Wolf of Wall St, and hope you’ve got enough credit with them to have them batting for you at the creditors’ meeting.
The prognosis? It’s not the fact that you are possibly trading with criminally acquired assets, or that your entire enterprise could be shut down with the drop of a sheriff’s gavel, that would worry me. There’s nothing you can do about that, so ignore it. The big worry is how raise the £25m to keep the lights on until you discover if you’re business’s founding fathers acted within the law.
Good luck with that.
This is an absolute minefield. No one is in control. Three years ago I suggested the best thing to do was to start from scratch at another location, this is the only way to proceed with certainty.
Share premises in Paisley, or Cowdenbeath or wherever will take you. Hope that you can carry some brand affinity (although clearly you’ll not be able to use any disputed IP, including brand names). Appoint reputable people to your board and get back to doing what you really want to do.
Behold to no one contaminated by the decades of misrule. Cut loose those who hold the onerous contracts. Allow the assets to come back onto the market in due course, knowing that by then you have all the customer goodwill you need to ensure there is no point in anyone bidding against you at auction.
The future will be nothing like the past, but at least you’ll have a future.
Celtic are the first UK club to react to the refugee crisis
“This is absolutely the right thing for us to do. Our club was formed by immigrants, many of whom had escaped the devastation of the great famine.” Tony Hamilton, Celtic FC Foundation CEO.
Proceeds from Sunday’s Jock Stein 30th Anniversary game will go to alleviating suffering of the refugees. The club will appoint a charity with expertise to ensure the assistance is productive.
I know we go on about the Foundation a lot, but it’s the most important part of our club, today and every day. Never let this change.
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Your eyes ur painted oan ….. Hahahahahahaha
64 ….. We’re just a number :)
As I have said before our superb stadium is now too big and needs redesigned to suit a reduced capacity which will create a better atmosphere. If the recent supporters survey is anything to go by plans are already underway.
My friends in Celtic,
Giving away tickets in September is another direct consequence of going out of the CL.
A good set of results, effort and performances in the Europa is now so critical.
Sometimes ( and I am not being critical ) I feel that posters on the other side of the world are distant from the reality of what the SPL actually offers. Opinions and reminiscence are great, but as earlier posts have intimated, reality at the ” coalface” is much more challenging.
HH.
Enjoyed reading back, last night was good stuff
Roy C…. Housing scheme, my wee niece done her teaching training in St Serfs and loved every minute of it
TheGlaagowCelticWay…. It’s all they have now but, maybe not in my lifetime, but certainly my daughters it will go the same way as their club
Dallas Dallas, popped round to see you yesterday afternoon after we got.moved but you must have been skiving, great meeting you during the week always good to put a face to a good Cqner and obviously a good Celtic fan !
Hail ! Hail !
67 heaven.
Should be a busy day through there today.
The paradise to Cardenden charity cycle ride ends there and I believe there’s a squad coming through from Coatbridge annaw.
84 years to the day.
HH
GERRYFAETHEBRIG on 5TH SEPTEMBER 2015 9:01 AM
I went to Serf’s, P1-P6 1967 to 1973.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
GERRYFAETHEBRIG on 5TH SEPTEMBER 2015 9:01 AM
The riddle of who shot JR…not at Desk…think about it…:)
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Margaret
I am afraid the future will always been the future and we will never change the past, on this wee time on earth we can only affect our own future, nobody else’s ….. But as a happy clapper my glass is always half full in fact usually a boy 3/4 full….. Not only in supporting Celtic but life in general
been = be in
The 2016 Europa cup final will be held at the st jakob stadium in Basle which has a capacity of 36,000.
Lennybhoy
Your name came up in the conversation, (always in a good way) I am still astounded that you knew that mob I am related too, and were my Aunt Sadie’s link to the big man up above, CQN is a small world, and yet still, I would say the majority of Celtic fans/supporters don’t even know about it, it puts the happy clappers and Lawell dislikers on the blog into perspective
JIMMYBHOYCAMPBELL
If you’re looking in,mate-check your e-mails please.
Looks like good news re Ajax ticket.
HH
Has there ever been a CQN cramp debate ?
I only last thirty minutes at the swimming now before getting cramp .
FRED COLON
You’re not still hiding in the lockers,ya peeping tom?
FRED COLON
Hope this helps.
http://highfive.co.uk/high5-faster-and-further/cramp
Gordon64
If you can’t support the club when we are losing, or drawing, don’t bother supporting us when we are winning, as a famous Scotsman once said, and how right he was.
Never mind all this international guff, The Specials followed by the Jam from 7.30pm tonight on Sky Arts.
HH
Twentyfirstofmay, you just beat me in posting about the Specials followed by the Jam concert in Germany and the documentary about them.
My Saturday night viewing sorted out now.
Fred C
You shouldn’t be going down those slides in the Time Capsule at your age no wonder you got cramp !
Eh? The scene,massive game against the huns at CP in the race to win Tommy Burns Title,heavy,heavy pressure and the Green Brigade provide the best banners and show I’ve ever seen-
A Time For Heroes
Cost Celtic money,aye right.
My friends in Celtic,
So the Italian second tier ( Serie B ) is to introduce a green card for ” good sportsmanship” and ” other acts of virtue”
If we introduced similar in Scotland Im sure the conspiracy theories would be in full flow and the interpretation of green card would be in no way associated with Gerard Depardieu or Andie Mac Dowell.
More like GCC.
HH.
Dallas Dallas
Also, the missus not too chuffed though, she can always listen to her bloody abba dvd’s
HH
Morning Timland from a hot hun free mountain valley
So the GB have cost the club money, I wonder if the posters who state this can come up with figures to back that up.
morning champions
FRED COLON on 5TH SEPTEMBER 2015 9:34 AM
Schweppes tonic water is supposed to help. Something about the quinine in it.
Not sure if it would prevent cramp or if it just eases the pain once it happens.
Ideally they could add quinine directly to the pool water. I’m sure there’s worse stuff in there.
Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood Morning
Good morning all.
Great piece for John Thomson’s anniversary from @TonysHuddle in NC, USA: http://t.co/gz8PQ1BaRs
Gerryfaethrbrig,sorry I missed you yesterday afternoon.
I bumped into an old friend , who used to work there and was in for a meeting.
I’ll probably see you nexr week. Where you are going to work, is round about where my wife sits. I’m up there at least once a week when summoned by her.
Couple of good Celtic men in the vicinity of where you will be working including a good friend of
mine.
So here’s the deal.
A roll on skwerr has been replaced in the Burghbhoy household by a roll on pork round.
Just bootiful
Sets u up nicely for a weekend of Sevco baiting
HH
Forty two thousand pounds.
A fair few food parcels there.
Nice one ,G.B.
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/448542/Hoops-fined-by-UEFA-over-banner
All the club had to do was challenge it, they chose not to for political reasons.
A half wit hun could have got the club of on that charge.
FRED COLON
I was recommended to drink just plain old SODA WATER (not tonic) by what I thought was a mad auld wummin :)))),when I had a bad attack of cramp,
It works fantastic for me ,dont know how or why it just does
bmcuw
thanks for the link
Gerry ftb
i go to the time bomb on a Thu night and get the pool to myself for the last 45 mins
Ernie
Thanks for the schweppes advice … i’ll try it
So the GB cost the club money did they , the aforementioned put on one of the finest displays ever witnessed at the Barcelona game . Did the club offer any assistance ? did they help financially ? did they even offer the guys a drink of water during the 7 days it took to set up the display? the answer to the questions is NO .
The club did however milk the display for every penny it could get selling photos and prints etc .
HH
Apologies if already posted .
http://imgur.com/a/rzAU6
CQN Saturday Naps Competition
Lads, for those in the CQN Naps Competition, please post your selection here :
http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/ciftci-stein-and-the-audit/comment-page-12/#comments
All the best, fleagle1888
(–Dubai CSC–)
Lefty
Soda water added to my list of things to try
Here’s hoping i don’t have an ahem accident in the pool with all this ginger