Just a few thoughts on the indemnity, which is clearly the thing blocking the CCFC return to the Ricoh. All sides need their heads banging together several times quite frankly. You see for me it all raises lots of questions, and i am fed up of CCFC being used as a punch bag by each and every side
I dont know precisely what the indemnity covers only what SISU put in their statement (in the past their statements have not been wholly reliable when checked against other facts). It includes the phrase "costs and damages". That has been taken to mean the potential EU penalty/settlement, i see no reason why anyone other than wasps should be responsible for that if that is what it relates to. I also wonder if the settlement would be allowed to be passed on under EU rules, and whether what amounts to rewriting the sale contract is actually damages. My question though is what was actually demanded by wasps? we still dont know
Curious isnt it on most of the other issues there have been leaks to the press by one side or the other whether covered by NDA or not but on this not a peep from any side
I am guessing, and would think the terms demanded by wasps relate to all SISU owned companies including CCFC/otium. I can well understand why SISU would not want to sign an open ended indemnity that restricts their or their related companies taking any legal action in the future against wasps - that is simply unreasonable by wasps. The question i have is what was being asked for? I dont know.
Had SISU signed such an agreement that related to or included the EU complaint (signing was never going to happen) then any future legal action that SISU might take would activate the indemnity. Lets face it, if CCC lose the case wasps are sunk unless they have an indemnity against CCC - which you would expect wouldn't you? No way could they find an estimated £28m. That would leave SISU to march in and take over at the stadium wouldn't it? Why would they need to take action against wasps ? because in those circumstances wasps would have no value to go after at all.
If the indemnity were in place as apparently demanded would wasps go after CCFC though ? Everything is secured to ARVO or SBS&L in much the same way that the assets were secured in the 2013 administration - the one where SISU retained ownership despite insolvency but engineered the lease break. CCFC is not where the money or value is because of the charges on assets. Nor is SBS&L. If the indemnity had stood then if activated wasps would chase the money from other SISU group companies. That could have left SISU the decision between CCFC liquidation or sale - you wouldnt liquidate because of the potential funds to be raised on a sale - that is not the same as CCFC having funds btw. The decision, though forced, between the options would be SISU's So was the demand more than just an end to the legals ? Was it a potential for regime change if SISU didnt meet the indemnity terms? Is that what is meant by the threat SISU refer to? In any case it wasnt signed so its academic but the wasps demand remains a massive stumbling block in discussions between the owners to a return to Coventry and rightly pressure has to be applied in their (wasps) direction.
Sisu had the right to make the complaint but more so it appears to me to be a deliberate strategy. It had to include CCFC/Otium to be a valid complaint because EU fine print expects the complaint to involve an entity directly affected. However i refuse to believe they sat in their office and said, i know lets make a complaint to the EU just on the off chance. There are some extremely clever people involved at SISU, despite their court loses, and they understood the case they put together, they understood the process and the likely repercussions. Having made the complaint the SISU must have known that it could not be stopped, all they had to do was sit back and let process take its course. As SISU had a right to complain so to wasps had a right to defend their position, the indemnity, which they had to know would block a return, was probably their only card to play, from their side of things assuming they can rejig their finances it works, but not from ours
Then there is the guarantee given SISU about legals on the stadium sale etc in late April 2019. Is it still in force or did it collapse when the deal collapsed? Was the guarantee dependent on a deal being done or was it as suggested simply to get around the table, why would you give up that right if the talks could fail, simply just to sit and talk?
I am sure certain people are going to accuse me of taking wasps side, they would be totally incorrect it is nothing of the sort. I am trying, after looking at the timelines on this, to understand what has gone on to see if there is any hope of a reconciliation that will bring us back. Sadly nothing we can do really puts pressure on wasps, CCC or SISU so i dont see a return any time soon. However that doesnt mean we should not try and that does mean at this point most pressure has to be on wasps. The work Pete and few others have done i think is excellent. There are so many things that to me do not add up from either side
Bottomline is unless Seppala and Richardson reach an agreement or compromise CCFC is not coming back soon. Sadly neither are in a position to back down I fear