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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

  • chickenbadge says:

    It’s an interesting proposal and on the face of it it’s something I’d be open to. It’d be nice to do my bit.
    A good point raised though was what the position would be if the club were to be sold. Would these extra shareholders have to be bought out as well as the shares in the club? If so, it could make it a more lucrative investment (are we allowed to look at it like that?) but at the same time put off a potential buyer.
    i shall be watching this space with interest

    • LosLorenzo says:

      They would not be shares. They would be debt for the club. If someone buys the club, they also buy the clubs’ liabilities. The new owner would have the same obligations toward the bondholders as ENIC did.

  • fliptop says:

    Mikster ..Sloppy seconds

  • H says:

    I can’t see this happening because of THFC’s status as PLC.
    Just another thought, does Daniel levy think the Government will give us loans, grants or major tax breaks when we are registered in the Bahamas and are a PLC rather than a local football club?
    How will it work if the Mayor or Council give us a grant and then Levy cash’s his chips in and sells us out to the highest bidder?

    • stinky steve says:

      I might be wrong, but I was under the impression that the owner of ENIC is Joe Lewis and Levy is his employee.

  • Harry Hotspur says:

    Lots of fine details need to be explained. I’ve swerved much of the nitty gritty as I’m not a money head.

    But I understand several readers who are have been in touch direct with Spurs Future and believe the model they propose to be sound.

    I met up with some of Spurs Future in Dublin last weekend in order to explore this whole shebang, make sure I was dealing with the right guys.

    In the next day or two I’ll have a comprehensive Q&A out on here and this will hopefully answer most if not all questions.

    I hope you lot know me well enough by now that I’d publish the entire doc., but that wouldn’t reflect well upon the chaps who diligently drew the proposal up.

  • L3ONC says:

    I imagine that they will raise the money through a type of trust where the club is trustee and ‘community’ the beneficiary. Tax avoidance

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