Just to clear a few things & add the odd opinion (ie facts unless I say it is my opinion)
b) personal opinion but those waiting for Wasps to go bust I think are going to be waiting a very long time. CCFC do not have the resources to wait that out.
f) my opinion is that SISU have deliberately created debt in order to make a sale difficult. That points to other objectives other than success on the pitch imo.
g) it is early days for things like TV revenues for rugby, that is just like it was for the Premier League now look at it. Look at how much more coverage the European games are getting this season for instance. Picking on one "fact" does not prove worth or value or size. Like it or not interest in top class Rugby is growing. Also the structure of finance is very different in Rugby to football that will keep losses down. Do you see them paying out massive transfer fees ?
h) Wasps are not reliant on just the Rugby related income - that accounts for 1/3rd of the revenues Wasps holdings have. CCFC & Wasps account for around 1/3rd of the footfall at the stadium too. That insulates the rugby club to some degree from being dependent on crowd numbers. CCFC are entirely dependent on crowd numbers
o) will they ever have to repay the bonds? I do not see why people are so certain they have to find £34m in 5 years time. There are other ways round that problem.
p) interest payments. Yes they have to pay interest on the bonds, but they no longer have to pay interest as a group on other loans. Not to mention part of the bond issue money was put on deposit to meet the first three interest payments
First of all thanks for the time you took on the post, some very interesting and valuable information in there.
Just a few things I wanted to ask/raise about a couple of your points.
b) I think there are very few who want Wasps to go bust, but a lot who would prefer them to be back in their London heartlands, whether that is very unlikely or not. At the moment, not.
f) Why do you believe SISU have deliberately created debt in order to make a sale difficult? What could their other objectives be?
g) Yes European Rugby is on the TV more this season, but that is predominantly due to the new competition and the fact they negotiated a new deal. As a long term Rugby fan, I disgaree that revenues will grow massively for Rugby from things such as TV income. It is still a minority sport, apart from the internationals doesnt command a huge TV audience, and will never do so. The sport is played less at schools, except Public ones, and so todays youth what with all the other interests they have, apart from sport are barely interetesed in the game. It has never and will never have a huge uptake of new fans.
I dont disagree that it has grown in the past few years, but as a long standing Northampton Saints fan, with a knowledge of the game, I dont see it growing a greta deal more than it is now. Attendances will remain pretty similar, and have done so for many years with only slight increases, which eventually will plateau.
As for paying massive transfer fees, they cant as they havent the revenue, and are are also financially goverened. They dont and will never have the pull, appeal, nor spending power of football.
h) I fully agree that Wasps are not solely reliant on match day incomes, but surely they must have made projections as part of their buisness model? I personally think they will be disapointed with figures for this season, and can see, with or without sucess, crowds dwindling further. The City does not seem to have a huge appetite for top Class Rugby that the Council thought it had when selling to Wasps, and due to this I feel that Wasps will be disapointed on their returns on this front. It may not be a huge problem to their finances but it all makes a difference and will have to be covered elsewhere.
o) What do you see as the ways round paying the bonds that Wasps have? Surely the money has to come from somewhere, or just new debt?
p)Whilst it is true that Wasps put part of the bond issue money on deposit to meet the first three interest payments, they also paid a significant sum back to Mr Richardson, which i presume the club will have to find from somewhere?
As with your post, some of this is my own personal opinion, and I am just posting back as I am both interested in your views and also welcome them.