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BOLTON Wanderers owner Ken Anderson is trying to remove a council-approved order which he claims is complicating his plans to refinance the club.
The Macron Stadium and its surrounding land was granted legal protection by Bolton Council in February after an application from the Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust (BWFCST).
Now an Asset of Community Value, none of the assets on the land can be sold without public notification. This includes the stadium itself, the Whites Hotel, offices and car parking land adjoining the Middlebrook Retail Park.
Under the terms on an ACV, if the club wished to sell an asset the applicant – i.e. the trust – would get six weeks to state their intention to bid and another four-and-a-half months to raise capital. They are not guaranteed the bid would be accepted.
Anderson says a delay could impact upon his plan to re-purchase assets bought by Prescot Business Park in 2016. He says the club has spent £20,000 on legal fees investigating the ACV’s validity and has now appealed.
“I thought long and hard about appealing it when it went in,” he told The Bolton News earlier this week. “But I understand why the trust applied for it and appreciate the logic behind it.
“An ACV would not stop a sale but what it could do is defer a sale. And if we wanted to raise finance it could slow the process down.
“The problem here is that the hotel is a separate entity (to the club) but also part of the listing, so are the offices being rented by Keoghs.
“Our case, unlike a lot of other stadia, is not a straightforward one.
“We have had discussions with Michael James (co-owner of PBP) about getting the car park and offices back but if we did want to raise the finance it would complicate matters.
“I need to get rid of the loan from BluMarble and then the loan with Michael James, which has a charge on the hotel.
“In an ideal world we would refinance, acquire back the offices and car park as assets for the club and still have sufficient funds to clear the loan on BluMarble or the hotel. I’d hope, however, the BluMarble situation is long solved by then.
“I’m hoping the Supporters’ Trust agree to withdraw and then we can have regular ongoing meetings to understand each other’s’ points of view.
“It is easy to withdraw the application and then there is nothing to say it cannot be put back in again.”
Anderson insists, however, the option of raising money against the Macron Stadium itself is not an option being investigated.
“No, I have never personally applied for any finance against the stadium,” he confirmed.
A number of famous football stadia around the country are currently protected by an ACV sought by the local supporters’ trust including Ewood Park, Old Trafford, Bloomfield Road, St Andrews, Anfield, The Valley and Portman Road.
Wanderers’ application was made back in December 2016 and granted in February 2017 – but an appeal was only recently submitted.
Anderson’s request to voluntarily ‘lift’ the order have also hit complications, as the decision must be made by the council itself.
The BWFCST took advice from fans’ group Supporters Direct – who actively encouraged the ACV application – and the council on their options.
The request was made by Anderson in a private meeting last Wednesday but then thrust into the public limelight via his column on the official website.
But in a statement made to their members, the trust underlined the ACV does not impede assets being mortgaged and simply “introduce a transparency to transactions."
“Our response to the (club’s) request to ‘lift’ the ACV was that we would investigate the position with Bolton MBC and Supporters Direct and revert to the club,” it read.
“Whilst the club highlighted that it would be preferable for the club and the supporters’ trust to do this on a consensual basis, we pointed out that the ACV was core to the values of any supporters’ trust and we wanted to take advice.
“From the discussions with Bolton MBC and Supporters Direct, we are advised that there is no mechanism in the legislation for the voluntary ‘lifting’ of the ACV. The idea being that the listing of an ACV is now a matter vested with the local authority.
“Unfortunately, in these circumstances, the request made of the Supporters’ Trust is misplaced and therefore we’re not in a position to help, however we will continue to drive our initiatives for the direct benefit of the club and to support the experience of the supporter.
“We have informed the club of our findings and have sought another meeting to pursue further initiatives.”
The council will now assess Wanderers’ request – or whether their dispute on the validity of the application – will force the ACV’s removal.
A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that the owners of the Macron Stadium have asked for a review of the listing of the stadium as an asset of community value. The review is currently in progress.”
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/15394928.Bolton_Council_to_make_final_judgement_on_Macron_Stadium_order/
The Macron Stadium and its surrounding land was granted legal protection by Bolton Council in February after an application from the Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust (BWFCST).
Now an Asset of Community Value, none of the assets on the land can be sold without public notification. This includes the stadium itself, the Whites Hotel, offices and car parking land adjoining the Middlebrook Retail Park.
Under the terms on an ACV, if the club wished to sell an asset the applicant – i.e. the trust – would get six weeks to state their intention to bid and another four-and-a-half months to raise capital. They are not guaranteed the bid would be accepted.
Anderson says a delay could impact upon his plan to re-purchase assets bought by Prescot Business Park in 2016. He says the club has spent £20,000 on legal fees investigating the ACV’s validity and has now appealed.
“I thought long and hard about appealing it when it went in,” he told The Bolton News earlier this week. “But I understand why the trust applied for it and appreciate the logic behind it.
“An ACV would not stop a sale but what it could do is defer a sale. And if we wanted to raise finance it could slow the process down.
“The problem here is that the hotel is a separate entity (to the club) but also part of the listing, so are the offices being rented by Keoghs.
“Our case, unlike a lot of other stadia, is not a straightforward one.
“We have had discussions with Michael James (co-owner of PBP) about getting the car park and offices back but if we did want to raise the finance it would complicate matters.
“I need to get rid of the loan from BluMarble and then the loan with Michael James, which has a charge on the hotel.
“In an ideal world we would refinance, acquire back the offices and car park as assets for the club and still have sufficient funds to clear the loan on BluMarble or the hotel. I’d hope, however, the BluMarble situation is long solved by then.
“I’m hoping the Supporters’ Trust agree to withdraw and then we can have regular ongoing meetings to understand each other’s’ points of view.
“It is easy to withdraw the application and then there is nothing to say it cannot be put back in again.”
Anderson insists, however, the option of raising money against the Macron Stadium itself is not an option being investigated.
“No, I have never personally applied for any finance against the stadium,” he confirmed.
A number of famous football stadia around the country are currently protected by an ACV sought by the local supporters’ trust including Ewood Park, Old Trafford, Bloomfield Road, St Andrews, Anfield, The Valley and Portman Road.
Wanderers’ application was made back in December 2016 and granted in February 2017 – but an appeal was only recently submitted.
Anderson’s request to voluntarily ‘lift’ the order have also hit complications, as the decision must be made by the council itself.
The BWFCST took advice from fans’ group Supporters Direct – who actively encouraged the ACV application – and the council on their options.
The request was made by Anderson in a private meeting last Wednesday but then thrust into the public limelight via his column on the official website.
But in a statement made to their members, the trust underlined the ACV does not impede assets being mortgaged and simply “introduce a transparency to transactions."
“Our response to the (club’s) request to ‘lift’ the ACV was that we would investigate the position with Bolton MBC and Supporters Direct and revert to the club,” it read.
“Whilst the club highlighted that it would be preferable for the club and the supporters’ trust to do this on a consensual basis, we pointed out that the ACV was core to the values of any supporters’ trust and we wanted to take advice.
“From the discussions with Bolton MBC and Supporters Direct, we are advised that there is no mechanism in the legislation for the voluntary ‘lifting’ of the ACV. The idea being that the listing of an ACV is now a matter vested with the local authority.
“Unfortunately, in these circumstances, the request made of the Supporters’ Trust is misplaced and therefore we’re not in a position to help, however we will continue to drive our initiatives for the direct benefit of the club and to support the experience of the supporter.
“We have informed the club of our findings and have sought another meeting to pursue further initiatives.”
The council will now assess Wanderers’ request – or whether their dispute on the validity of the application – will force the ACV’s removal.
A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that the owners of the Macron Stadium have asked for a review of the listing of the stadium as an asset of community value. The review is currently in progress.”
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/15394928.Bolton_Council_to_make_final_judgement_on_Macron_Stadium_order/
