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.
***
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.
***
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!
Far too complicated .Why don’t we just have a raffle?
:freu
This I like.
If your ticket ends in a ‘0’ you get to sit on Arry’s lap at the away game of your choice :silly:
and talk about the first thing that comes up.
:ermm:
Great idea. Lets Raffle Van Der Vaart (Mrs)
How do investors get their money back or even interest on their investment, if that investment has been used to buy shares in Tottenham Hotspur Plc, which as a matter of policy has not declared a dividend since ENIC took over, the directors preferring to re-invest profits into the Club?
If there are 250,000 shares issued, what are they shares in? The current share price of ordinary shares in Tottenham Hotspur Plc is 51p, so I can’t think that’s what they are. Are they preference shares? This would mean no voting rights. Are they shares in something entirely separate to Tottenham Hotspur Plc? If so what is that different entity, and how is it connected to the Club?
If all 36,000 attendees at home games each bought a £200 share, this would bring in £7.2 million. How do the proposers come up with a figure of £50 million? What makes them think they would get anywhere near this figure?
Who would control these shares and how could they possibly ensure that it will only be spent on the NDP?
How would shareholders be able to trade the shares? If it is on the open market, then surely an offer could be made for the shares at a later date by people with no interest in either Tottenham Hotspur or the NDP.
Why not suggest am ordinary share issue if the proposers have a spare £50 million to invest?
There may be reasonable answers to all these questions. Indeed I’ve read the pdf on Spursfuture’s website to try to get at answers and even gone to the sites apparently connected, one of which goes to a software products web site, but frankly none of it is particularly helpful, though the original pdf does suggest that the community shares are somehow in the Club. However, since throughout the whole document there is no reference to Tottenham Hotspur Plc, this is far from conclusive.
As you can tell, I am, up to now, far from convinced about the proposal or for that matter SpursFuture’s competence, but I would not preclude the possibility of some wider share ownership being part of the funding package for any new stadium. However if I were to want to buy a further stake in Tottenhan Hotspur Plc (already being a minor shareholder), I would want control of those shares to remain with me, rather than be transferred to some person or group I don’t know from Adam.
smells like a dog farted in the room and a lot of people left.some will take a deep breath and overcome the the smell and carry on with the meeting,
good research and some good questions though.
Are you sure you didnt tread in some dogs poo on the way in?
Think you will find Mr White has stomped dog muck all over other blogs and forums for quite sometime. Well at least the dig. sig. says they are partial to a bit of posting on DML, Twitter, THFC Boards etc and very pro WeAreN17 by all accounts. Was kicked off COYS as well for bogus posts.
Silly girl for hiding as it invalidates what could have been some good points.
Oh and on this proposal? Will reserve judgement for now
You know, I’m going to wait until a firm proposal is issued, but in principle It works, I’ve seen it work on a much, much smaller scale; but from little acorn’s, eh?
That’s what I tell her.
Haha.
I mean, ‘I do not know what you mean.’ *ahem*
Do you not do an audio version?
Can I just sit here and wave my flag ?
I didn’t get any pocket money this week :-(
I’m still a real fan aren’t I ? :unsure: