Wasps downward spiral... (44 Viewers)

fernandopartridge

Well-Known Member
They didn't know that in 2013 or 2014 did they though

Perhaps a short term agreement may have been possible but the people looking at what they thought was best for wasps in 2013 and 2014 do not or did not share the same view as this forum. You have to assume that at the time they thought, having far more info than us, that they were making the best decision for their club. It hasn't worked out well so far.

Also just a thought but considering the documented involvement in talks about the ricoh in 2012 to 2014 perhaps Brentford was a fortunate cover for what was actually the target.
Yes, fair point. Their projections though have been absolutely miles out, it's hard not to think that even despite their failure to get a grip on costs that their whole business plan was pie in the sky.
 

SBAndy

Well-Known Member
Yes, fair point. Their projections though have been absolutely miles out, it's hard not to think that even despite their failure to get a grip on costs that their whole business plan was pie in the sky.

And hence why they couldn’t raise finance through traditional means.

Their last decade has been an absolute mess. From struggling to fill Adams Park, what have them the conviction to think a stadium the size of the Ricoh would even half-fill consistently? Considering the price differential between owning and renting, I’d have expected them to take on a ground of similar size to Adams Park to give them a form of financial security. Instead, they’ve bitten off far too much for them to chew.
 

covcity4life

Well-Known Member
When will rugby return? In 2020? May have to be social distanced for a while. Cov getting bored with them anyway

What is the next milestone we are eating for? Dates wise?

And I thought waspa said cov rent doesnt rly.mayter to the
. If true how can it save them. And if it can they lied

I want us back. I doubt a rent will solve their money problems
 

duffer

Well-Known Member
In simple terms, I always thought it was greed that brought Wasps to Coventry, not survival. They couldn’t resist picking up a 110 million stadium and associated leases for an absolute pittance, and then leveraging it to make themselves the ‘richest club in England’ (if not Europe).

They did it regardless of the opinion of their local support, and I’m not convinced that there was any deal in London that would have made them stay once the pound signs lit up for them here.

I feel sorry for the fans they left behind, and the people who will lose their employment when it all come down around their ears, but I’m more convinced than ever that they’re in a financial position now that is beyond salvage.

There are hard times around the corner for a lot of people and businesses, and finance is going get tighter and more expensive where there are clearly higher risks.

I’m struggling to see how they survive with the debt that they’re carrying now, especially given that they can’t turn any kind of profit.

Rugby overall is struggling, and Wasps are exposed more than most, imho. I’m not sure this will end well.
 

slyblue57

Well-Known Member
In simple terms, I always thought it was greed that brought Wasps to Coventry, not survival. They couldn’t resist picking up a 110 million stadium and associated leases for an absolute pittance, and then leveraging it to make themselves the ‘richest club in England’ (if not Europe).

They did it regardless of the opinion of their local support, and I’m not convinced that there was any deal in London that would have made them stay once the pound signs lit up for them here.

I feel sorry for the fans they left behind, and the people who will lose their employment when it all come down around their ears, but I’m more convinced than ever that they’re in a financial position now that is beyond salvage.

There are hard times around the corner for a lot of people and businesses, and finance is going get tighter and more expensive where there are clearly higher risks.

I’m struggling to see how they survive with the debt that they’re carrying now, especially given that they can’t turn any kind of profit.

Rugby overall is struggling, and Wasps are exposed more than most, imho. I’m not sure this will end well.
I really hope it ends badly for the London Franchise, does that make me a bad person ?
pusb
 

CCFC54321

Well-Known Member
It’s clear that W****s will be in administration then possibly liquidation within the next 12 months. I have a feeling that SISU know this and may possibly be content staying at St Andrews next season to speed up W****s demise.

I was talking to somebody today that knew somebody linked to W****s accounts when they were their and said it was an utter mess.
 

CCFC54321

Well-Known Member
I really hope it ends badly for the London Franchise, does that make me a bad person ?
pusb
No. Just human when a greedy sporting franchise has turned up and taken over your ground with no way of paying the borrowed money back to the general public.
 

tisza

Well-Known Member
Just of a case of a deal being too tempting on paper. Property people mentality rather than Rugby business mentality.
Still insist there isn't the mass market appeal for club rugby in England. There's nothing in the North of England. an audience of 200k seems average for a live TV game. It's a struggle to keep 11 professional clubs going across the whole of England. I know there are a few more professional clubs in the Championship but average wages are lower than league 2.

SISU would have jumped at the terms Wasps got - just were never going to be offered them.

A lot of people have thought they could run the Ricoh better. No problem adding 5 or 6 big concerts in summer months, a few extra major exhibitions etc. Hasn't happened.
 

fernandopartridge

Well-Known Member
.
A lot of people have thought they could run the Ricoh better. No problem adding 5 or 6 big concerts in summer months, a few extra major exhibitions etc. Hasn't happened.

I am not really sure there are sufficient exhibitors or artists requiring this kind of venue. The NEC is down the road, I'm not even sure why the Ricoh was ever conceived as an exhibition hall.

As for the big concerts, there is a limited number of artists who play stadiums and it tends to be on an irregular basis anyway. My understanding of the way these operate is that the concert promoter effectively rents the space and takes in all even revenue itself. I may be wrong though.
 

shepardo01

Well-Known Member
How much money could they make by selling off land at the henley training site to housing developers?
Reading between the lines I think that is what they will do.
What other land could they sell/make money from?
Think this is the route they will go down....
 

Wyken Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
In simple terms, I always thought it was greed that brought Wasps to Coventry, not survival. They couldn’t resist picking up a 110 million stadium and associated leases for an absolute pittance, and then leveraging it to make themselves the ‘richest club in England’ (if not Europe).

They did it regardless of the opinion of their local support, and I’m not convinced that there was any deal in London that would have made them stay once the pound signs lit up for them here.

I feel sorry for the fans they left behind, and the people who will lose their employment when it all come down around their ears, but I’m more convinced than ever that they’re in a financial position now that is beyond salvage.

There are hard times around the corner for a lot of people and businesses, and finance is going get tighter and more expensive where there are clearly higher risks.

I’m struggling to see how they survive with the debt that they’re carrying now, especially given that they can’t turn any kind of profit.

Rugby overall is struggling, and Wasps are exposed more than most, imho. I’m not sure this will end well.
Sounds good to me!

Only people I feel sorry for with the move up to Coventry is the London fans that have supported the club since day one.

The Rugby club, ACL etc - wankers!
 

Sky Blue Harry H

Well-Known Member
From 'Onceawasp' forum

xx.gif

Re: Bonds
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2020, 10:16:01 AM »

Thanks for posting this, I specifically logged in to see if there had been any news, as I noticed that the bond dropped almost another 10% in value yesterday, but as said above, the statement issued was about as positive as it could be given the circumstances. It is difficult to see a way out of the financial mess, but maybe Derek will find a way for wasps to keep the Ricoh stadium (or find a financial partner to invest). It is a pity that things are so sour with Coventry City, otherwise that could have been a possible avenue to pursue.
 

jordan210

Well-Known Member
How much money could they make by selling off land at the henley training site to housing developers?
Reading between the lines I think that is what they will do.
What other land could they sell/make money from?
Think this is the route they will go down....

Do they own the land at Henley or is it all part of a deal that if they get planning they can buy it ?

Its must just be a coincidence that wasps finance director who is the contact on the planning is also a director of Fairview Homes Property in the last year or so.
 

CCFC54321

Well-Known Member
From 'Onceawasp' forum

xx.gif

Re: Bonds
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2020, 10:16:01 AM »

Thanks for posting this, I specifically logged in to see if there had been any news, as I noticed that the bond dropped almost another 10% in value yesterday, but as said above, the statement issued was about as positive as it could be given the circumstances. It is difficult to see a way out of the financial mess, but maybe Derek will find a way for wasps to keep the Ricoh stadium (or find a financial partner to invest). It is a pity that things are so sour with Coventry City, otherwise that could have been a possible avenue to pursue.
I doubt W****will get any partner to join them given the utter mess their in. I still think city will stay away another season to finish wasps off.
 

shepardo01

Well-Known Member
Do they own the land at Henley or is it all part of a deal that if they get planning they can buy it ?

Its must just be a coincidence that wasps finance director who is the contact on the planning is also a director of Fairview Homes Property in the last year or so.
I believe they have purchased the land already. Could be wrong. Could be subject to planning.
Yes, they have submitted an application to modify the facilty.
It is being heavily challenged by locals as they have kicked out a load of community sports teams and clubs.
We know how Wasps work so wheels will have already been greased to get it through...
And yep...there is the housing developer, Fairview, link too.
They will probably make money from this.
 

covcity4life

Well-Known Member
I saw a report that rugby higher chance of covid during rucks. Is thete timetable for it to return?

Just like cov wasps may see a hit in attendance when they do return too. Many just want want to risk it

Could see crowds fall to 5k or less

Lets just hope they wont sell it to someone else and this shit starts again

Can the council buy it back? Hope not
 

Terry Gibson's perm

Well-Known Member
If the cricket ball is as dangerous as Johnson says I can’t see how this touchy feely sport has any chance of coming back for months.
 

oldfiver

Well-Known Member
More the scrummage and maul tbf.
And no, there's no timetable as yet for Champ rugby. Couldn't give a shit when the insurgents restart.

Absolutely no decision or guidance coming forward for the Championship restart. CRFC looking at December as the earliest and hoping for sooner
 

Kneeza

Well-Known Member
Absolutely no decision or guidance coming forward for the Championship restart. CRFC looking at December as the earliest and hoping for sooner
A former player reckons December is slated, but given the current slide into further potential restrictions I'd say that's optimistic
Have bought my season ticket more in hope than expectation.
 

jordan210

Well-Known Member
According to some one on the wasps forum

If, as now stated that Wasps Finance plc have breached their bond covenants and if the default results in say the non -payment the next coupon payment of £1m+ in approx 100 days it only requires the holders of a quarter of the nominal amount of the bonds outstanding to give notice to the Trustee requesting an acceleration notice to the issuer of the bonds. The bonds will become immediately due and payable at par plus accrued interest .i.e. £35m plus interest.
Best to hope 75% of the bonds are in safe hands as this remedy applies to any breach of covenant

the remedy for a breach of covenant is as stated in the prospectus to which Wasps Finance plc are bound. There are no circumstances to supersede the covenants the company entered into other than to persuade the major stakeholders to continue their support as happened previously.
There is every chance that the majority of the bond holders will be sympathetic to the financial black hole the company is now in . However there are some investors who only invested for the high coupon and their votes will be cast in a way which is best financially for them not Wasps.
This is the second time there has been a breach of covenant and patience may now be in short supply which will make re-financing the bond incredibly difficult.
 

pipkin73

Well-Known Member
Gallagher Premiership and PRO14 are both due to restart middle/end of August so i would guess if no problems then the championship will restart in September. New playing rules for certain things when they were all in close contact (maybe scrums) but i don't follow the game so pass on the exact new rules. The PRO 14 wants to finish this season but as they have teams all over europe they have decided to change the fixtures and teams from each country will play each other more and not travel abroad. Could mean that next season has real problems for them if Cov19 kicks off again as teams won't be able to travel abroad. Gallagher Premiership should be ok as all teams in England, so apart from local lockdowns (like Leicester have now) they should be fine if teams survive that long with no crowds (or very low crowds) and maybe no European competitions. I'm talking about the leagues surviving not about individual teams. To be honest, i think a good few rugby teams could go and reform lower down the leagues a bit like in Speedway.
 

oldfiver

Well-Known Member
Gallagher Premiership and PRO14 are both due to restart middle/end of August so i would guess if no problems then the championship will restart in September. New playing rules for certain things when they were all in close contact (maybe scrums) but i don't follow the game so pass on the exact new rules. The PRO 14 wants to finish this season but as they have teams all over europe they have decided to change the fixtures and teams from each country will play each other more and not travel abroad. Could mean that next season has real problems for them if Cov19 kicks off again as teams won't be able to travel abroad. Gallagher Premiership should be ok as all teams in England, so apart from local lockdowns (like Leicester have now) they should be fine if teams survive that long with no crowds (or very low crowds) and maybe no European competitions. I'm talking about the leagues surviving not about individual teams. To be honest, i think a good few rugby teams could go and reform lower down the leagues a bit like in Speedway.


The English Championship teams are still in a muddle following COVID and the RFU actions. Cov and other Clubs are discussing a way forward as some teams are saying the current set up is not viable. I doubt August is likely and it will take a strong wind to make September
 

steveo1987

Well-Known Member
The posts on Drunken Wasps forum ref: Bond announcement are hilarious. Someone called Blanchefleur sort of spelt it out for the happy clappers and they think he's on the wind up..Finally the penny drops but Kentwasps take on it is comedy
 

jordan210

Well-Known Member
The posts on Drunken Wasps forum ref: Bond announcement are hilarious. Someone called Blanchefleur sort of spelt it out for the happy clappers and they think he's on the wind up..Finally the penny drops but Kentwasps take on it is comedy

Dint they accuse him/her of being a Cov fan.
 

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