COMMENT: Could dark days be behind Wanderers at last?

Confirmation arrived yesterday that an 11th hour deal had been struck with Essex-based finance company BluMarble to repay a debt which threatened to bring the club to its knees.

Late on Monday night, and for most of Tuesday morning, the prospect of a 12-point deduction, two-year embargo and almost certain relegation was on everyone’s mind as we watched the drama to unfold.

Mercifully, administration was staved-off and the situation was placed on hold as the whole club came to terms with the sudden and sad passing of former owner Eddie Davies.

But as things slowly started to return to normal yesterday it was natural to wonder if this was just a temporary reprieve? Would financial problems arise again with the same speed they did this week, or can Bolton’s long-suffering supporters now rest easy?

The frightening figures which emerged prior to the administration scare still stand. Wanderers have curbed their losses considerably but still lose money – an estimated £6million a year, in fact. Unlike many clubs who find themselves embroiled in administration, however, Wanderers do not have huge external debts, nor an especially expensive playing budget.

The next set of financial accounts will actually show a small profit, which is a rarity at Championship level but this is chiefly due to the £6m sale of striker Gary Madine back in January.

The fact remains Wanderers are dependent on central payments from the Football League, from crowd receipts and merchandise to pay their bills, and on the financial safety net offered by owner and chairman, Ken Anderson.

The Londoner freely admits his pockets are not as deep as former owner Davies, who wrote off nearly £200million in loans before passing on control of the club just over two years ago. And it seems unlikely the personal wealth he puts into the club will be turned into equity.

The club has had to sell players to keep afloat in the past few years and that won’t change unless new investment comes aboard. How Anderson reorganises and chips away at the remaining debts could be key.

The BluMarble loan was by far the most awkward problem facing the club as it was secured to the stadium, accrued interest and was owed an external party. Removing it from the equation makes the whole package of Bolton Wanderers look far more appealing to the many speculators looking to invest in the hope of hitting the Premier League riches.

Anderson did need some last-minute assistance from local businessman Michael James to force the deal through. It is also understood BluMarble’s owners took a substantial financial hit of their own as they avoided the costly and complicated exercise of putting a club into administration.

Some debt remains tied to the club, although it has been reported that deals have been done with James and Brett Warburton to restructure, leaving the sum total owed elsewhere as one of the smallest in the division.

Provided Anderson has the financial wherewithal to keep Bolton operating on their current levels for the time being there is no reason why they cannot join the growing number of clubs in the second tier whose budget has been boosted by foreign investment, or even ownership.

There are still hurdles to be negotiated. On Monday, Wanderers will be in the High Court to defend a winding-up order presented by their catering partner, Heathcote & Co over a debt of around £200,000. All the while, Phil Parkinson’s team will be back on the pitch and hoping to climb back into the top six with victory against QPR. If the club’s impressive start to the season can be continued, no finer bait to attract outside investment could possibly be found.

It is always darkest before dawn, they say, and Wanderers’ long-suffering fans have certainly endured some sleepless nights in the past couple of years as they worry for their club. With any luck, the latest scare will be their last.

Source

I don't believe any fan had sleepless nights about this.

I think we'll struggle from financial problem to financial problem whilst Anderson remains and for once I agree with Sam Allardyce who has said he should sell up to someone with the wherewithal to run a Championship club.
The frenetic action behind the scenes reported by Nixon and others - and Anderson keeping schtum for once following a significant event - has given me hope that the US billionaire is still in the picture despite not being able to buy us from the receivers and having to deal with Anderson but we'll see if anything comes of that over the next few weeks. If it doesn't, I'm struggling to see how we will progress.

wanderlust wrote:I think we'll struggle from financial problem to financial problem whilst Anderson remains and for once I agree with Sam Allardyce who has said he should sell up to someone with the wherewithal to run a Championship club.
The frenetic action behind the scenes reported by Nixon and others - and Anderson keeping schtum for once following a significant event - has given me hope that the US billionaire is still in the picture despite not being able to buy us from the receivers and having to deal with Anderson but we'll see if anything comes of that over the next few weeks. If it doesn't, I'm struggling to see how we will progress.

This is a much subdued offering from you Wander. 
Have you finally realised that though Ken has very little, if any, money to play with, his manipulation of the many financial problems and situations has been good enough to get us where we are today?
I have confidence in his business approach, although we all know some of it could have been, we assume, a little better. 
He's handled a real shitty job, very well. Credit to him.

lusty, the idea that someone with big money to spend is just sitting around waiting for a call from Ken is I'm sorry to say unrealistic at best. This is NOT a dig at you or anyone else who is "anti-Anderson."

It's about the business of football itself. In truth making any club successful is now a hugely expensive business, one very, very few individuals can actually afford to do by themselves. Not only that but even though our finances do appear to be in better shape than they were two years ago we're still not a very attractive proposition for takeover by Sheik Fatwalletah or King Wadsadosh.

The main reason for this is the sheer number of clubs in the North West of England mean that most of them have a very limited cachment area and thus a limited pool of local fans. Throw in the fact that the two Manchester clubs are just a few miles down the road and it's hard to see how BWFC, BRFC and various others such as PNE and WAFC can really compete.

We simply can't generate the kind of revenues that would make us look worthwhile to a billionaire or a consortium and thanks to FFP rules we can't even make use of a philanthropic owner who'd be willing to chuck a hundred million or so of his own money in without bothering about profit.

I have no doubt that Ken would just love for someone to come in and say "here mate, there's twenty million for you and I'll pay off everything else on top of that" but it's not likely to happen anytime soon. Frankly I think the day is coming when some of the smaller North West clubs will have to merge in order to survive let alone actually compete at the top level.

It's sad but the truth is that since both Sky and the Bosman rule came into play the cost of owning and running a football club has become prohibitive to all but billionaires at clubs with massive fanbases and the likes of Bolton Wanderers simply are not and likely never will be in that bracket.