Ricoh bosses say Sky Blues rejected new rent offer
RENT deal talks between Ricoh Arena bosses and Coventry City Football Club owners Sisu have “collapsed“.
Arena Coventry Limited issued a strongly-worded statement yesterday afternoon saying: “Make no mistake, now is the time for Sisu to pay up or sell up and get out of Coventry“.
ACL, the company equally owned by Coventry City Council and the Alan Edward Higgs Trust, said the Sky Blues had rejected a new improved rent offer * despite them “shaking hands“ on it in face-to-face meetings.
ACL claims the Sky Blues have told them they now intend to build a new stadium.
The latest twist comes after the Sky Blues' rejection of an offer by Ricoh bosses late last year to cut the annual rent for using the stadium, from £1.29million to £400,000.
ACL had also issued a statutory demand for the club to pay back in full more than £1million of rent arrears, accrued since the football club began witholding monthly payments last April.
Talks resumed after Coventry City Council agreed a deal last month to buy out ACL's mortgage with Yorkshire Bank, and become its `banker' on more favourable mortgage payment terms.
Council leaders claimed at the time that alleviated a threat to ACL's financial viability from hedge fund Sisu's withdrawal of rent, and potentially paved the way for a belated rental agreement.
But yesterday's ACL statement read: “The board of Arena Coventry Limited regrets to announce that talks with Sisu, the owners of Coventry City Football Club, in relation to rent arrears and future rent and match day revenue arrangements, have collapsed.’’ The ACL board said an agreement had been reached verbally on January 29 after being discussed “point by point” in a series of meetings with the three directors of CCFC, John Clarke, Tim Fisher and Mark Labovitch.
The statement added: “The club directors, however, then proceeded to renege on this agreement. This is wholly unacceptable to the Board of ACL.” ACL says, as of February 1, the football club owes it £1.347 million in rent arrears. The latest offer to the club would have waived part of this.
ACL said: “The offer set the rent payable by CCFC at £400,000 per annum while the club remains in Football League 1.
“It included agreement from ACL to waive more than £300,000 of the £1.347 million rent arrears, with a generous approach to clearing the balance. It also agreed the principle of ACL matchday revenues benefitting CCFC, and ACL paying
a larger share of rates on the stadium.
“Instead of confirming its written acceptance, CCFC then proposed an alternative Heads of Terms, which bore no relation to that agreed. It demanded the waiver by ACL of all rent arrears claims pre-dating 1 January 2013. It demanded also the withdrawal of the statutory demand for the payment of rent arrears issued by ACL against CCFC on 5 December 2012.
“It was accompanied by an emailed statement from Tim Fisher declaring that CCFC has `no option but to build a new venue' and that CCFC's proposals were predicated on playing at the Ricoh Arena for a `run-off period of three years.“
ACL chairman Nicholas Carter said: “To spend many hours engaging in positive and constructive discussions, leading to a detailed point by point discussion of a proposed Heads of Terms Agreement resulting in verbal agreement and handshakes all round, only to then renege when it came to signing the agreement, is truly reprehensible behaviour.
“There’s simply no point in continuing these discussions while the club, under Sisu’s ownership, continues to behave in this manner.
“We will only be prepared to resume these conversations if John Clarke, Tim Fisher and Mark Labovitch (the Sky Blues board) sign up to the deal to which they agreed. If the club directors can’t or won’t follow through on the agreement they participated in creating, then we suggest to them that the time has come to consider offering ownership of CCFC to an outside buyer better placed to run the club’s financial operations. Make no mistake, now is the time for Sisu to pay up or sell up and get out of Coventry.” ACL’s statement added: “The board of ACL believes that Sisu have no intention of entering into a meaningful dialogue to resolve this issue.’’ A club spokesman said they were planning to release a statement today.
RENT deal talks between Ricoh Arena bosses and Coventry City Football Club owners Sisu have “collapsed“.
Arena Coventry Limited issued a strongly-worded statement yesterday afternoon saying: “Make no mistake, now is the time for Sisu to pay up or sell up and get out of Coventry“.
ACL, the company equally owned by Coventry City Council and the Alan Edward Higgs Trust, said the Sky Blues had rejected a new improved rent offer * despite them “shaking hands“ on it in face-to-face meetings.
ACL claims the Sky Blues have told them they now intend to build a new stadium.
The latest twist comes after the Sky Blues' rejection of an offer by Ricoh bosses late last year to cut the annual rent for using the stadium, from £1.29million to £400,000.
ACL had also issued a statutory demand for the club to pay back in full more than £1million of rent arrears, accrued since the football club began witholding monthly payments last April.
Talks resumed after Coventry City Council agreed a deal last month to buy out ACL's mortgage with Yorkshire Bank, and become its `banker' on more favourable mortgage payment terms.
Council leaders claimed at the time that alleviated a threat to ACL's financial viability from hedge fund Sisu's withdrawal of rent, and potentially paved the way for a belated rental agreement.
But yesterday's ACL statement read: “The board of Arena Coventry Limited regrets to announce that talks with Sisu, the owners of Coventry City Football Club, in relation to rent arrears and future rent and match day revenue arrangements, have collapsed.’’ The ACL board said an agreement had been reached verbally on January 29 after being discussed “point by point” in a series of meetings with the three directors of CCFC, John Clarke, Tim Fisher and Mark Labovitch.
The statement added: “The club directors, however, then proceeded to renege on this agreement. This is wholly unacceptable to the Board of ACL.” ACL says, as of February 1, the football club owes it £1.347 million in rent arrears. The latest offer to the club would have waived part of this.
ACL said: “The offer set the rent payable by CCFC at £400,000 per annum while the club remains in Football League 1.
“It included agreement from ACL to waive more than £300,000 of the £1.347 million rent arrears, with a generous approach to clearing the balance. It also agreed the principle of ACL matchday revenues benefitting CCFC, and ACL paying
a larger share of rates on the stadium.
“Instead of confirming its written acceptance, CCFC then proposed an alternative Heads of Terms, which bore no relation to that agreed. It demanded the waiver by ACL of all rent arrears claims pre-dating 1 January 2013. It demanded also the withdrawal of the statutory demand for the payment of rent arrears issued by ACL against CCFC on 5 December 2012.
“It was accompanied by an emailed statement from Tim Fisher declaring that CCFC has `no option but to build a new venue' and that CCFC's proposals were predicated on playing at the Ricoh Arena for a `run-off period of three years.“
ACL chairman Nicholas Carter said: “To spend many hours engaging in positive and constructive discussions, leading to a detailed point by point discussion of a proposed Heads of Terms Agreement resulting in verbal agreement and handshakes all round, only to then renege when it came to signing the agreement, is truly reprehensible behaviour.
“There’s simply no point in continuing these discussions while the club, under Sisu’s ownership, continues to behave in this manner.
“We will only be prepared to resume these conversations if John Clarke, Tim Fisher and Mark Labovitch (the Sky Blues board) sign up to the deal to which they agreed. If the club directors can’t or won’t follow through on the agreement they participated in creating, then we suggest to them that the time has come to consider offering ownership of CCFC to an outside buyer better placed to run the club’s financial operations. Make no mistake, now is the time for Sisu to pay up or sell up and get out of Coventry.” ACL’s statement added: “The board of ACL believes that Sisu have no intention of entering into a meaningful dialogue to resolve this issue.’’ A club spokesman said they were planning to release a statement today.
