What’s going on ?

[Mallard]

Football Club Investment

If you would like to own part or even potentially all of a club, here is your chance. As I write this King’s Lynn Town FC are 5th in the National League North just 2 points from the top.  The squad is good, the manager excellent and there is no bank debt other than a 17k bounce back loan that remains.  Our academy has over 400 kids in it,  does very well and we sell more players than almost any other club.  We have decided to look at all options and are open to a coffee and a confidential discussion - I am more than happy to stay involved and indeed would like to do just that.  Would prefer a telephone call with any potential investors so please email me with your number at s.cleeve@icloud.com and we can have a quick chat.

Was sent this last evening taken from SC’s LinkedIn.   Is the repeat of the situation from January.?   I thought the Jo/Bal investment had sorted the issue.

[Loopy,linnet]

Here’s a chance for trust to put their money up and buy the club

[gs50]

Never gets mentioned how much he wants for the Club. Statements like this just disrupts the Club.

[rod]

Smoke and mirrors? Mr Cleeve is surely unlikely to attract a hard headed investor who will undertake due diligence: so he needs a football loving wealthy philanthropist?

[happymondays]

Sounds like a 10 year old getting rid of his monopoly set on swap shop 

[Mallard]

Everything comes to an end.  Cleeve came in with great expectations on what he wanted to achieve.  I guess like most owners they get their eyes opened to just how difficult it is to make a success of it and the cost involved.  SC must have done a small fortune in his quest for success.

The question is has he left the club in a better place than when he took it over from Buster Chapman ?  I think the Clubs accounts answer that one.  Still he did oversee some decent times mainly under Culverhouse where the Football offered was a pleasure to watch.

[Quinn Upstone]

I'm not usually stuck for words...but what the (insert your own expletive) is going on at our club ?????

Just when it looked like things were getting back on track with Joe, Cleeve is trying to flog our club behind our backs. Or bits of it. Why didn't he let supporters know or speak to the trust ?

And I simply don't believe that such a small amount of debt can be accurate.

And I don't believe that Jo and/or Cleeve paid off thousands of pounds of debt, just to walk away with perhaps just a season ticket and a scarf as a momento !!!

So much for our improved media and Cleeve going quiet now appears to be a desperate hope that buyers won't do any due diligence.

Has all this just been done recently as a quick paint job hoping to cover up the cracks to put us on the market before it all falls down.

And never forget that he has the lease so he won't go quietly...

[Blue_and_Gold]

I'm not usually stuck for words...but what the (insert your own expletive) is going on at our club ?????

Just when it looked like things were getting back on track with Joe, Cleeve is trying to flog our club behind our backs. Or bits of it. Why didn't he let supporters know or speak to the trust ?

And I simply don't believe that such a small amount of debt can be accurate.

And I don't believe that Jo and/or Cleeve paid off thousands of pounds of debt, just to walk away with perhaps just a season ticket and a scarf as a momento !!!

So much for our improved media and Cleeve going quiet now appears to be a desperate hope that buyers won't do any due diligence.

Has all this just been done recently as a quick paint job hoping to cover up the cracks to put us on the market before it all falls down.

And never forget that he has the lease so he won't go quietly...

My take on the questions you raise.

1) His club, not ours. That's been made very clear.

2) The Trust are supporters. One and the same thing.

3) I don't think anyone has suggested that Jo has paid off any of the debts.

4) I guess the wording on debt is accurate when it says only 17k  of BANK debt. Other debt is not with the Bank.

5) Media can only go with information they are given. As long as they publish information as soon as they receive it, that's an improvement to what we had previously. If they weren't informed, they couldn't really inform us.

6) It's the Club (Lynn FC Ltd) that has the lease, not Cleeve.

7) Not sure about terming it a quick paint job in an attempt to cover up the cracks as nothing has really changed since day one. Some just choose to ignore things.

 

[Mallard]

I think the very least SC can do is to release a statement on the state of the party.  A statement that is both true and factual and one that  holds water. 

I can’t help wondering how this is affecting Adam Lakeland.  In his post match interview it kinda sounded like him and the staff were taking the rest of the week off but would be back in on Monday.   Anything to read into that ?

[Blue_and_Gold]

I think the very least SC can do is to release a statement on the state of the party.  A statement that is both true and factual and one that  holds water. 

I can’t help wondering how this is affecting Adam Lakeland.  In his post match interview it kinda sounded like him and the staff were taking the rest of the week off but would be back in on Monday.   Anything to read into that ?

Can we get back to you on Monday about that one?  😄

No game Saturday. Some aching bones and niggling injuries with lots of games coming up over next 4 weeks. Unusual to get the chance to have a few days break, so taking full advantage of how the fixtures have fallen.

Makes sense.

[rod]

I'm just surprised that anyone else is surprised.

[Linnet465]

It clearly states invites to input cash or take over and he still wants to be involved. Obviously he needs more backers but this is not a panic notice yet.

[Quinn Upstone]

I'm not usually stuck for words...but what the (insert your own expletive) is going on at our club ?????

Just when it looked like things were getting back on track with Joe, Cleeve is trying to flog our club behind our backs. Or bits of it. Why didn't he let supporters know or speak to the trust ?

And I simply don't believe that such a small amount of debt can be accurate.

And I don't believe that Jo and/or Cleeve paid off thousands of pounds of debt, just to walk away with perhaps just a season ticket and a scarf as a momento !!!

So much for our improved media and Cleeve going quiet now appears to be a desperate hope that buyers won't do any due diligence.

Has all this just been done recently as a quick paint job hoping to cover up the cracks to put us on the market before it all falls down.

And never forget that he has the lease so he won't go quietly...

My take on the questions you raise.

1) His club, not ours. That's been made very clear.

2) The Trust are supporters. One and the same thing.

3) I don't think anyone has suggested that Jo has paid off any of the debts.

4) I guess the wording on debt is accurate when it says only 17k  of BANK debt. Other debt is not with the Bank.

5) Media can only go with information they are given. As long as they publish information as soon as they receive it, that's an improvement to what we had previously. If they weren't informed, they couldn't really inform us.

6) It's the Club (Lynn FC Ltd) that has the lease, not Cleeve.

7) Not sure about terming it a quick paint job in an attempt to cover up the cracks as nothing has really changed since day one. Some just choose to ignore things.

 

Thanks for your help with clarifying some of my thoughts. I'll try to respond to your points.

1) Unfortunately I agree with this one. I was so taken aback that I became delirious and entered a parallel universe where we actually had some control over the club.

2) It wasn't my intention to suggest that the trust members are not supporters of the club. I apologise for my clumsiness.

3) and 4) I agree with your analysis.

5) I agree that the current media setup is much better than it's been in a long time, which is to be applauded. My point here was a cynical suggestion that it has only been improved to impress any potential buyers.

6) Thanks for clarifying this one for me. Could you perhaps outline what impact this could have in the future i.e. post-Cleeve.

7) I'm perhaps sceptical about Cleeve's intentions. I believe that he's trying to create an imaginary club for buyers and he's being shady...at the very least.

[Blue_and_Gold]

I'm not usually stuck for words...but what the (insert your own expletive) is going on at our club ?????

Just when it looked like things were getting back on track with Joe, Cleeve is trying to flog our club behind our backs. Or bits of it. Why didn't he let supporters know or speak to the trust ?

And I simply don't believe that such a small amount of debt can be accurate.

And I don't believe that Jo and/or Cleeve paid off thousands of pounds of debt, just to walk away with perhaps just a season ticket and a scarf as a momento !!!

So much for our improved media and Cleeve going quiet now appears to be a desperate hope that buyers won't do any due diligence.

Has all this just been done recently as a quick paint job hoping to cover up the cracks to put us on the market before it all falls down.

And never forget that he has the lease so he won't go quietly...

My take on the questions you raise.

1) His club, not ours. That's been made very clear.

2) The Trust are supporters. One and the same thing.

3) I don't think anyone has suggested that Jo has paid off any of the debts.

4) I guess the wording on debt is accurate when it says only 17k  of BANK debt. Other debt is not with the Bank.

5) Media can only go with information they are given. As long as they publish information as soon as they receive it, that's an improvement to what we had previously. If they weren't informed, they couldn't really inform us.

6) It's the Club (Lynn FC Ltd) that has the lease, not Cleeve.

7) Not sure about terming it a quick paint job in an attempt to cover up the cracks as nothing has really changed since day one. Some just choose to ignore things.

 

Thanks for your help with clarifying some of my thoughts. I'll try to respond to your points.

1) Unfortunately I agree with this one. I was so taken aback that I became delirious and entered a parallel universe where we actually had some control over the club.

2) It wasn't my intention to suggest that the trust members are not supporters of the club. I apologise for my clumsiness.

3) and 4) I agree with your analysis.

5) I agree that the current media setup is much better than it's been in a long time, which is to be applauded. My point here was a cynical suggestion that it has only been improved to impress any potential buyers.

6) Thanks for clarifying this one for me. Could you perhaps outline what impact this could have in the future i.e. post-Cleeve.

7) I'm perhaps sceptical about Cleeve's intentions. I believe that he's trying to create an imaginary club for buyers and he's being shady...at the very least.

6) The lease is an asset of the Limited Company (Lynn FC Ltd), and not a personal asset of Cleeve's. I doubt its of much use to anyone other than someone that want's to run a Football Club from it. I have no idea what value it has placed on it. The lease has been extended (so new investors could be found), so it has got the benefit of a long lease.

I would guess the stated book value could be quite high and form a sizeable % of what the Club is valued at. i.e. on paper probably one of, if not the, main assets.   

The problem here could be two parties agreeing what the true value of the lease (and any other asset) really is. Its true value will be debatable, even with the benefit of the rent being Peppercorn.

My thoughts are it will probably be one of the main points during discussions with any potential investors.

As with most things, the true value can only be ascertained when buyers and sellers agree a price.

Regarding your question regarding the situation "Post Cleeve", that depends why he has become "Post". If the lease reverts back to the Council, who knows what the outcome will be. They have hardly covered themselves in glory in the past, although there is fresh blood in there these days, so hopefully there would be some Blue Sky thinking.

 

[Linnet465]

Perhaps the awaited Football Governance Bill has made SC think that the club needs to be managed differently. This will appease some supporters however there are some deluded ones who think that it can be run by a supporters trust without a large financial input.