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Levy & Co Offered £50M

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Good morning.

Now this another one of those rather meaty, lengthy ones. Those of a nervous disposition or with the attention span of a 5 year old may wish to either look away now or perhaps join us for the caption competition after lunch.

As some will realise by now I have been in pretty regular speaks of late with the Spurs Future mob. My goal was to bring clarity in my own mind at the very least to what is a muddled situation, the NDP.

I found the chaps I’ve spoken to so far to good eggs. This s a trade term. It means they are intelligent, forward thinking and receptive types. And frankly when all this is done and behind us, they will be owed a debt of gratitude for approaching a bloody horrible task with both good humour and a sense purpose that has to reflect the feelings of the majority of us.

So how did you like that proposal I referred to as a ‘Legacy Bond’ in a recent blog? As Jimmy Carr says towards the end of his live shows, ‘…oh, that was just to get you ready for this one…’

Spurs Future have submitted a £50million Community Share Proposal to THFC.

The proposal itself is, we believe, very sound and certainly can work to close any gap needed to make NDP viable, on the provision of course that RGF and advanced corporate sales also progress in the right direction. We have also had it looked over by a party more familiar with the financial model we have proposed.

Spurs Future

Which is good.

The only question mark now is if the club will run with it. Of course there will be a lot of discussions and agreements between all parties before it can be considered a final proposal. We hope that we have left enough room given enough implied direction throughout the proposal for that to happen. Certainly we have left ample space to delve further in to the legacy share idea.

Spurs Future

Which makes excellent sense.

The Proposal proper has been submitted in full then. I have a copy but it would be a bit previous to publish a document that Levy & Co have quite possibly yet to fully digest.

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What I can do is a Q&A with myself asking the questions I want answered. I’ll be gently grilling the Spurs Future chaps in the very near future. You can obviously field your own questions in the usual manner.

What the hell is a Community Share when it’s at home?

It’s a simple way of raising money from communities through the sale of shares or bonds in order to finance enterprises serving a community purpose. Unlike charitable fundraising, investors can get interest on their money, even get their money back.

Triffic. So what’s the actual plan?

The sale, or offer for sale, of up to £50,000,000 of shares or bonds to
a community of at least 2500 people, to finance ventures serving a
community purpose.

I get that, but what’s the money for for?

Simply to make the NDP happen. To go that extra mile and make the NDP truly viable.

Sounds great. I’m not a millionaire, but do let me know how you get on.

There will be 250,000 shares issued. The minimum commitment is one share. The shares cost £200 each. The maximum one individual can own is a hundred shares.

I could run to that. How much do I make for letting us stay at The Lane, then?

You get no interest for the first 3 years. In year 4 you’re looking at 2 points above base.

Yeah, but I’ll be part of a pressure group and will be able to demand we buy Messi and Ronaldo and shout,’Levy out!’ in a boardroom when it doesn’t happen though?

No. This is nothing to do with the football side of things. Nor is it a ‘Get Rich Quick Scheme.’ This is about making sure the NDP happens and that the stable financial management of the Club isn’t damaged or abandoned in the process.

What say will I get for my £200? Or will all the ‘power’ be with the big boys investing lumps?

You’ll like this. Every investor gets one vote, irrespective of the number of shares they own. So when NDP matters are discussed, your voice will carry as powerfully as everyone else.

What about the small print? There’s always small print and plenty of it.

This is just a snapshot of the model that has been presented to the Board. To whet your whistle, if you like. Keep you in the loop. All the FSA end and legals are all very much in order and will be of course be available once the Board has had a butchers and a final proposal is hammered out.

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Well I hope that gives you food for thought. I think this is is the right direction. There is still a long way to go of course.

BIOYC!

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65 comments

  • Sid Trotter says:

    Middle – very interesting – so for £200 I could have a stake in the ground and pretend to be a defeated Dracula?

    Seems a sensible way of raising money – but why limit to £50m when we need a lot more, especially if it doesnt interfere with the way the club will be run or Levy’s control of it

    Phw, read the whole thing through – time for a lie down

  • Mikster says:

    Número uno

  • spursman79 says:

    wtf?

  • edspur says:

    Anything that gets the NDP moving has to be a good thing in my opinion but wouldn’t it be simpler for the club to issue £50m worth of new shares? Then those that can invest will do.

    I’m still a bit vague on what the investment is in actually. If its not in the club then is it in the ground development? If so, isn’t thast owned by the club and how can there be 2 differing interests in it? If its in peripheral stuff like infrastructure, transport, traffic lights then they will be adopted by the Council/Highways/transport bodies.

    Pardon my slow uptake on all this.

    Now if we were all going to get a £200 share in Mr Bale I might even rustle up the spondooliks :)

    • Harry Hotspur says:

      I think the idea that people don’t have a part share in Gareth Bale’s big toe is one reason this may actually work!

      • edspur says:

        Pity. I was going to send my £200 and book him for the last Thursday in June each year. Sorry to detract from the serious stuff. I look forward to learning what this investment is in though.

    • TMWNN says:

      I agree, it’s all a bit vague, but I’ll wait for the exact details before I poo on it.

      £50m of new shares in the club as a whole does seem like an obvious and much easier way to raise the dosh, but would dilute the current stock and affect ENIC’s return when they do eventually sell up.

      • Harry Hotspur says:

        As someone who was very anti us even considering moving from WHL, I would be shocked if you didn’t wait for the details before using it as a toilet :daumen:

        • TMWNN says:

          I’ll refrain from any piss taking as long as you don’t parade the details on a dirty bed sheet outside the ground shouting ‘We are S O F!’. ;-)

      • wayne king says:

        I don’t see why the 2 are mutually exclusive. To be honest, any additional options mean the board will be able to consider that later down the road and with an extra £50m in the club coffers, it would be a more appealing investment. While it is (at least I think it is) a form of debt, if it is structured in such a way that it’s interest free for a few years, and the creditors have a vested interest in the club’s success in additionto financial interest (in this case emotional interest as fans) it’s a huge cash-flow boost without some of the downsides of more traditional forms of borrowing. And once the ground is built, servicing or repaying £50m of debt is not gonna be the end of the world. And remember, the club would have other options, such as repayment in kind in the form of merchandise, free ticket options for testimonials or pre-season fixtures, seating choice priviledges in the new stadium, food and drink vouchers, club membership, discount benefits in the shop or at the new ground etc etc. Most of those options themselves carrying additional profit margins and many of which would be potentially extremely appealing to a fan who’s put up £200 primarily to help the club.

  • edspur says:

    PS Perhaps I’ll wait for the caption comp :(

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