Council want £325k off SISU before they help the club (3 Viewers)

skybluebeduff

Well-Known Member
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/council-says-taxpayers-325k-out-11772291
Leader says Sisu must pay all costs before authority helps football club stay at stadium and secure Academy's future

Coventry council says taxpayers are currently £325,000 out of pocket as a result of court action taken by the owners of Coventry City.

Now, council leader George Duggins has told the Telegraph club owners Sisu must pay the local authority the money before it will offer assistance with issues such as extending CCFC’s stay at the Ricoh Arena or securing the future of the Sky Blues’ under-threat Academy.

The council says its estimated court costs in relation to the ongoing judicial reviewsaround the Ricoh Arena are now £655,000 - including £500,000 spent defending itself in the High Court hearing and £155,000 at the Court of Appeal.

So far, Sisu has paid the council everything it has been ordered to pay by the courts after reimbursing the council for about half that amount - £250,000 for High Court and £80,000 for the Court of Appeal hearing.

The final figure to be paid will be determined by judges when the Supreme Court makes a final judgment in the saga, which has so far seen two court defeats for Sisu. But the council wants the legal actions dropped and the costs paid immediately.

If the council wins, or the case is dropped, it will be up to the courts to decide how much of the total council spend should be reimbursed. If Sisu wins, and the council is found to have acted unlawfully, the local authority will likely be forced to reverse the payments received to date and pick up Sisu’s costs.

It is estimated the total legal bill in the Ricoh Arena row is now well in excess of £1.2million.


Council leader George Duggins has pointed to the legal action as a red line in terms of rebuilding the relationship between the owners of Coventry City and the local authority.

He insists the judicial review, focusing on a £14.4m loan from the council to Ricoh operators ACL, must be dropped before any meaningful talks can take place.

He also wants to see a second scheduled court challenge dropped which would look into the council’s deal to sell its 50 per cent share-holding in ACL to Wasps.

Coun Duggins said: “There are significant costs outstanding in respect of the two judicial reviews.

“The costs owed to us are hundreds of thousand of pounds and that must be paid back before we can look to assist the football club in respect of the Ricoh Arena or anything else.”


The money to fund the council’s legal defence, which started in 2013, has been taken out of reserves. Although the council currently has more than £84.4m in cash reserves, the local authority insists this is money that could have been included in its budget forecasts and potentially allocated for other projects in the three years it has spent tied up in legal fees.

A spokesman for the council said: “The council has been awarded its costs of defending proceedings before the High Court and Court of Appeal, which are to be the subject of detailed assessment if they cannot be agreed. The £330,000 is essentially a payment on account.

“The council has three months from the date on which the Supreme Court determines the application for permission to appeal/any subsequent appeal (whichever is the later) to commence the detailed assessment process.

“If the Supreme Court granted permission to appeal, and the appeal is successful, the council would be liable for Sisu’s costs. Essentially if the position is reversed and we would have to pay back the £330,000.

“The general rule is that costs are awarded to the successful party.

“Although the council always has some flexibility in its reserves to deal with unexpected and necessary expenditure any legal costs to the council that are not met by Sisu will ultimately have to be funded from council reserves that could have been used for council services.”


Sisu’s legal action argues a £14.4m loan from the council to ACL made in January 2013 was unlawful state aid, not made on commercial terms and was a decision motivated by malice from within the council to prevent the football club securing a stake in ACL.

In June 2014, a High Court judge found the council had acted appropriately and included scathing comments in relation to Sisu in his judgment.

The hedge fund sought to overturn that decision at the Court of Appeal in February this year but failed as three law lords described the original judgment as “impressive”.

The football club owners have now launched a bid for a further appeal at the Supreme Court. A decision on whether a final appeal will be granted is expected before the end of the year with any appeal hearing unlikely to take place before 2017.
 

Nick

Administrator
Don't know why they want to harm the club though if it's SISU's battle.

They do seem a lot more eager to stop things now than they did in the past.

There are points being made about if SISU win the council will have to pay it all back as well.

I don't think SISU will win.

The money to fund the council’s legal defence, which started in 2013, has been taken out of reserves. Although the council currently has more than £84.4m in cash reserves, the local authority insists this is money that could have been included in its budget forecasts and potentially allocated for other projects in the three years it has spent tied up in legal fees.

How long before SISU are harming the kids of Coventry?
 

Nick

Administrator
What I don't get is, how are the council going to help them stay at the stadium and academy? It is almost like they are admitting they have a say in it...

It makes it look even more like they have something to do with CSF / Wasps not playing ball about the academy and Ricoh, and somehow they will be able to force them.
 

dongonzalos

Well-Known Member
Right my business is up shit creek and I see a way that I can turn it around if I merge it with someone else's business by buying theirs. My business is quite reliant on theirs and theirs is definitely reliant on mine

I put the feelers out and I discover that their estimation of the value of their business is way above what I am prepared to pay.

I realise the significance of my business on theirs. So I do a few things to start to lower the value of their business. This is a fine line as this is upsetting them somewhat and I still need to do business with them at the end of the day.

This plan is working but then they do a bit of refinancing which derails my plan. I sue them over their refinancing which really pisses them off and I continue to devalue their business. Hoping they will have no choice but to sell or walk away eventually. I now know I have really pissed them off.

They then sell their business to someone else. This causes me a major problem.

I have now really pissed them off yet it seems even though they have sold the business, they still seem to have a bit of impact on mine.

The new owners don't seem reliant on my business at all.

My legal action is failing badly and the legal world keeps telling me to drop my action.

So I have some choices.

I decide to continue to piss off the original people by continuing to sue them. However I also decide to irritate the new buyers by lining up further legal action about the sale of the business to them.

Whilst I do this I enter into talks with the new owners about extending my business contract with them, which expires shortly. This business contract is very important to me. It doesn't seem as important to them.

The original sellers have some influence over another part of my business because that important part of my business rents and uses their custom made facilities.
During this period of animosity they sell that part of their business to the new buyers of the other business. Whom I have recently upset by dragging them into legal actions.

My contract with them on this side of my business is also up for renewal very soon. Again they are not reliant on my business.

When the original owner was reliant on my business I continually stated I was taking my business elsewhere to apply a bit of pressure to get what I wanted.

Now I am trying to sort out some deals with the new owners and it's not going very well.

I am ploughing on with the legal action that is annoying them all. I am also going back to the original seller asking for their help in my dealing with the new buyer.

Yet the bloody original seller who it seems is still pissed off with me, is having the cheek to say I am not helping you till you stop suing me!!!!!

What the bloody hell is going on in the world
 
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skybluebeduff

Well-Known Member
They do seem a lot more eager to stop things now than they did in the past.

There are points being made about if SISU win the council will have to pay it all back as well.

I don't think SISU will win.



How long before SISU are harming the kids of Coventry?

They probably already are, they've harmed the fans enough.
 

dongonzalos

Well-Known Member
What I don't get is, how are the council going to help them stay at the stadium and academy? It is almost like they are admitting they have a say in it...

It makes it look even more like they have something to do with CSF / Wasps not playing ball about the academy and Ricoh, and somehow they will be able to force them.

It should be sod all to do with the council
Other than planning permission
I still say enter negotiations on everything with the Proviso if a deal is struck at the point of signing the legal action is dropped
 

Nick

Administrator
It should be sod all to do with the council
Other than planning permission
I still say enter negotiations on everything with the Proviso if a deal is struck at the point of signing the legal action is dropped

Would agree with that.

The thing is, the council have now made out they have the power to make everything OK if they stop the legal action which also implies they have the power not to, if it isn't...
 

skybluebeduff

Well-Known Member
So Cov fans who live in Coventry, who pay taxes in Coventry, are dealt with a double blow because of this.

It's a farce.
 

Nick

Administrator
Which is wrong

It is, totally.

Especially as they are attacking the club to get at SISU. They must realise that if the club goes down the shitter, Seppalla isn't going to be bankrupt living in a box. It is only the club that gets hurt.

It could just be to try and pin the blame on council cuts on SISU as well, especially after the news about the library and child services...
 

Grendel

Well-Known Member
Just when you think the council couldn't sink any lower it manages it.
 

albatross

Well-Known Member
It is, totally.

Especially as they are attacking the club to get at SISU. They must realise that if the club goes down the shitter, Seppalla isn't going to be bankrupt living in a box. It is only the club that gets hurt.

It could just be to try and pin the blame on council cuts on SISU as well, especially after the news about the library and child services...


But SISU are using the club to blackmail everyone else to get what they want. So its alright for SISU to do it?
 

dongonzalos

Well-Known Member
So, they're blackmailing the club? Nice on CCC

To be honest as a fan I couldn't give a rats ass about the legal action. I don't think SISU have a cat in hells chance of winning it.
So If dropping it somehow helps the club I would much rather they get on with getting some long term deals signed and it gets dropped.
Unfortunately I think the legal team advising SISU care very much about it continuing, can't think why. I guess the future of CCFC and the academy might not be too high their priority list. Just my opinion of course
 
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dongonzalos

Well-Known Member
Someone did say on here if you think Lucas had a tough stance on these matters wait till this bloke starts throwing his weight
 

dongonzalos

Well-Known Member
It is, totally.

Especially as they are attacking the club to get at SISU. They must realise that if the club goes down the shitter, Seppalla isn't going to be bankrupt living in a box. It is only the club that gets hurt.

It could just be to try and pin the blame on council cuts on SISU as well, especially after the news about the library and child services...

They were discussing in talk sport yesterday about fans and what's more important.
They concluded that fans are prepared for their club to keep falling down the ladder until the owners go. If they felt those owners were not good for the club and didn't share a passion for the club.
It was an interesting debate.
They said it was more important to the fans to know the owners had the club's best interests at their heart. Than success.
I wasn't so sure.
 

Nick

Administrator
There is certainly something bigger going on here, and people are trying to push things. Same with Kev and his academy stuff the other day.

The club have tried to distance from SISU and vice versa haven't they?
 

Monners

Well-Known Member
This won't make SISU drop legal action, although I wish it would. I think Don summed it up well.
It isn't blackmail, it's common sense.
 

chiefdave

Well-Known Member
The costs owed to us
Has their actually been a final ruling on this? Won't costs only be owed once the legal options have been exhausted?
The money to fund the council’s legal defence, which started in 2013, has been taken out of reserves. Although the council currently has more than £84.4m in cash reserves, the local authority insists this is money that could have been included in its budget forecasts and potentially allocated for other projects in the three years it has spent tied up in legal fees.
Why do the CT let the council get away with saying things that make absolutely no sense? There's £84.4m in the reserves, which they had no problem using to bail out ACL, yet the budget for services will have to be cut if SISU don't pay immediately. Its complete bollocks that doesn't stand up to any scrutiny yet the Telegraph publish it unchallenged and it will now be thrown around as fact.
 

chiefdave

Well-Known Member
There is certainly something bigger going on here, and people are trying to push things. Same with Kev and his academy stuff the other day.
What is interesting, or should that be depressing, is that since Anderson has come in his tone has generally been more conciliatory. Yes we can question why he didn't turn up to that meeting but generally he's not been shooting his mouth off in the way we've seen in recent years.

That's coincided with a shift from CCC, Higgs, ACL and Wasps who now seem to put putting an increasing number of obstacles in the way that in many cases are out of the direct control of the club.
 

Nick

Administrator
Because now SISU will be the baddies for kids services and the libraries closing won't they? Kev Monks is already off spinning the crap out of it saying SISU owe the tax payer.
 

Nick

Administrator
What is interesting, or should that be depressing, is that since Anderson has come in his tone has generally been more conciliatory. Yes we can question why he didn't turn up to that meeting but generally he's not been shooting his mouth off in the way we've seen in recent years.

That's coincided with a shift from CCC, Higgs, ACL and Wasps who now seem to put putting an increasing number of obstacles in the way that in many cases are out of the direct control of the club.

Do you mean like their bluff is being called a bit?
 

chiefdave

Well-Known Member
Do you mean like their bluff is being called a bit?
Pretty much. Anderson did say when he came in all options were on the table and that he wanted to look at everything and then move forward. Seems like he has, at least to a certain extent, done that at which point the other parties involved have had to become a bit more obvious in their treatment of the club.

Problem is it only takes a little bit of spin and the focus is back on SISU.
 

Nick

Administrator
I like this comment:

sisu do not care about this city or its football fans. why is there no way to get them away from Coventry. They have destroyed our football club full stop. As for match day revenue, they must be making more than the club is worth, £5 for a pie,£5 for a bottle of warm beer, £2.50 for a cup of tea. who is fooling who here.
 

Nick

Administrator
Problem is it only takes a little bit of spin and the focus is back on SISU.

Yep, sad as it is.

As I said on the other thread, fans groups and the trust should at least be asking questions that he can come out and say things like that. Simple fact is, I doubt he gives a shit as he just shouts "SISU" and all is merry.
 

Monners

Well-Known Member
Because now SISU will be the baddies for kids services and the libraries closing won't they? Kev Monks is already off spinning the crap out of it saying SISU owe the tax payer.
I know Kev Monks well - you are way off the mark Nick.
 

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