Football Ventures Share Ownership.

Sluffy wrote:
I'm sure Bob will set me right if I've got any of the above wrong.

I think we can pretty much guarantee it.

boltonbonce wrote:

Sluffy wrote:
I'm sure Bob will set me right if I've got any of the above wrong.

I think we can pretty much guarantee it.

Haha!

I did mean it in a nice and helpful way really.

I know Bob maybe not everyone's cup of tea and I do think he 'plays' others a bit but credit where credit is due, he is extremely knowledgable in finding his way around accounts and has been supremely helpful and patient in broadening my understanding on some of the more 'deeper' stuff that has up to that point been beyond my comprehension of what actually was going on.

I thank him for that particularly because we have plenty on social media who like to think they know everything and post as though they do - and precious few who do know what they are talking about, even when it conflicts with the popular/lynch mob mentality and abuse.

Let us not forget that most of us are on Nuts, or keep returning to it, because we simply don't fit in on the other forums (or other forums don't want us to fit in with them) and for all our faults on here, and there are many, we do kind of like stumble along, through all that continues to happen and still find enough enjoyment mixed in with all the dross to somehow want to come back for even more!

Vive la difference as they say!

Sluffy wrote:Interesting, thanks BTID.

Seems Sharon shares have gone down by 250,000
Michael James remaing the same.
Jeff Thomas selling all his holding of 500,000
Nick Luckock remaing the same
And the Company (Football Ventures (Whites) Ltd) buying back the 'sold' 750,000 shares to hold that number in its name.

FV (Whites) Ltd being owned of course by its shareholders being

Nick Luckock with 1,500,000 shares
Sharon with 1,250,000
and Mike James with 500,000.

So they would therefore be in effect the owners of the 750,000 shares held by FV (Whites)

The total number of shares adds up to £4m at £1 per share issue price.

At that point I become out of my depth on this as on the 6th Sept, 2019 the statement of Capital following share allocation to be only £2,750,000 and I can't see where share allocation increased to £4m as shown in the 21st January, 2020 confirmation statement?

My simple understanding from the updated confirmation statement registered at todays date at Companies House is that there are £4m 'A' shares at £1 each and are currently owned as stated.

There are 'B' shares issued in the company but I think(?) they don't confer voting rights.

I'm sure Bob will set me right if I've got any of the above wrong.

Ah, right, I see where I've gone wrong (thanks Bob), I'd mis-read Luckock's shareholding which should have been 250,000 - which accounts for me totaling the total shareholding to be £4m when of course it should have remained at £2,750,000.

Easy to make mistakes, even when you try your best not to.

However unlike some, there is no shame in admitting to a genuine error, in real life or even on social media!

Sluffy wrote:

Ah, right, I see where I've gone wrong (thanks Bob), I'd mis-read Luckock's shareholding which should have been 250,000 - which accounts for me totaling the total shareholding to be £4m when of course it should have remained at £2,750,000.

Easy to make mistakes, even when you try your best not to.

However unlike some, there is no shame in admitting to a genuine error, in real life or even on social media!

In reality it amounts to £2m for the shares with Sharon now owning 62.5%, Mike James 25% and Nick Luckock 12.5%. It would have been an absolute steal if there wasn't the ongoing deficit to fund and some debt to re-structure but that will be funded by borrowings secured on the assets paid for by Eddie.

Its not difficult to understand though why Sharon 'fell in love with the place' when she first walked through the front door of the Reebok Stadium.

Not really sure what you are getting at Bob?

Somebody had to buy the club, the alternative would have been liquidation - and whoever did buy it would be purchasing the assets paid for by Eddie.

If we put aside those 'mythical' claims that super rich people such as Ron Billionaire were going to buy the club but couldn't deal with Ken Anderson (think about it a billionaire wants a football club, yet hasn't bothered being involved in trying to buy one in the years since he 'walked away' from buying us - why's that then because all club owners are difficult to buy from OR there never was a billionaire or two trying to buy us in the first place - which is the mostly likely do you think?) then you are left with those who must have some plan to turn the business around to cover their investment in it, or are prepared to subsidise a loss during ownership up to a predetermined limit.

I've constantly said I can't see the footballing side of the business being a viable profit making venture and can only therefore conclude that if the plan wasn't to develop the company assets (such as sale or development of land and/or stadium) and in the time since purchase there appear no plans to do this, then all that is left is for an owner to 'knowingly' put their own money into the club (up to a limit they set themselves) to establish the business as self sustaining and thereafter enjoy the 'ride' and possibly recoup their outlay by sale of the company at some future date.

What else is there?

As mad as it seems, it looks like EDT has stepped away from the £5m assets secured against the club to allow FV to do just that.

Doesn't make much sense to me but it's the best I can come up with and I've not seen anyone put up a better analysis to explain all the events - namely why FV bought a loss making business, with zero chance of securing a return on their purchase and why EDT seemingly waived a £5m secured debt in favour of FV.

I would love to hear someone come up with a better plan as it has certainly got me beat to date - apart from my 'mad' idea above!

What you have, Sluffy, is an information vacuum which always tend to be filled with ill-informed speculation. Its been like that since 2016 but I also think its been a bit like that since ED first appeared on the scene in 1999.

FV were originally five people. Now there are three each of whom come at it from a different background and with probably different perspectives, ambitions and objectives. Sharon has control of the reins but I am not convinced that she has the necessary wealth to fund a Championship team as described recently as the 'pragmatic ambition' of the club by Andy Gartside.

I feel sure that there was some hard bargaining going on in 2019 and that somebody had to give a lot of ground. No prizes for guessing who that was but it wasn't ever likely to be Ken Anderson.

Speaking of information vacuums, I've just seen this on Wiki about Eddie Davies:

'He was married to Susan Davies.^{[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]} They had two children'
.
No they didn't. He had two children from his first marriage to Jean, who last I heard, lived in Onchan. I think Sue may have had two children from her first marriage.