Ricoh Arena - Stand off goes into exra time (5 Viewers)

ccfcway · Dec 28, 2012

THE wait over the future of Coventry City has gone into extra-time with the club still refusing to pay unpaid Ricoh Arena rent.

Stadium bosses are still “considering their legal options” over the £1.1million rent arrears after the Boxing Day deadline passed for the Sky Blues to pay up.

Arena Coventry Ltd (ACL) had issued a statutory demand giving the club 21 days to pay or face a winding up order. The 21 days expired on Wednesday.

ACL – jointly owned by the Higgs Charity and Coventry City Council – has until the courts re-open on January 2 to announce its next move.

If Coventry City – owned by hedge fund Sisu – still refuse to pay, the club could be forced to put itself in to administration or face a winding up order

It comes after ACL released a statement on Christmas Eve which said: “No agreement has been reached with CCFC owners Joy Seppala and her Mayfair-based hedge fund SISU over the outstanding rent issue.

“Arena Coventry Ltd is disappointed at this and will be considering its legal options and the appropriate course of action.”

Covstu · Dec 28, 2012

lets face it they only have one option if they refuse to pay.... see you in court.

Lord_Nampil · Dec 28, 2012

Interesting its gone from facing winding up order at the start of the month, to consider legal options and the appropriate course of action at the end of the month, think there's more than meets the eye when it comes to winding the club up! The link to the original article is below,

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/co...y-unpaid-rent-or-face-closure-92746-32370027/

Nick · Dec 28, 2012

It just all seems like a PR willy waving contest.

Lord_Nampil · Dec 28, 2012

Nick said:
It just all seems like a PR willy waving contest.

I agree with this!

Big_Ben · Dec 28, 2012

ccfcway said:
THE wait over the future of Coventry City has gone into extra-time with the club still refusing to pay unpaid Ricoh Arena rent.

Stadium bosses are still “considering their legal options” over the £1.1million rent arrears after the Boxing Day deadline passed for the Sky Blues to pay up.

Arena Coventry Ltd (ACL) had issued a statutory demand giving the club 21 days to pay or face a winding up order. The 21 days expired on Wednesday.

ACL – jointly owned by the Higgs Charity and Coventry City Council – has until the courts re-open on January 2 to announce its next move.

If Coventry City – owned by hedge fund Sisu – still refuse to pay, the club could be forced to put itself in to administration or face a winding up order

It comes after ACL released a statement on Christmas Eve which said: “No agreement has been reached with CCFC owners Joy Seppala and her Mayfair-based hedge fund SISU over the outstanding rent issue.

“Arena Coventry Ltd is disappointed at this and will be considering its legal options and the appropriate course of action.”

Originally Posted by ccfcway
mods, should this not be on "finance" board, along with all of the "rent" threads that are still on this board ?

Shouldn't you be practising what you preach !!

ccfc92 · Dec 28, 2012

What a surprise, announcement due today, and that was it Ffs

Otis · Dec 28, 2012

ccfc92 said:
What a surprise, announcement due today, and that was it Ffs

What else were you expecting?

Pretty much exactly what I thought would happen. hinted at yesterday when it was said they were considering their options.

Think this is just putting it in writing.

ccfc92 · Dec 28, 2012

An actual announcement lol? Not something we've heard everyday reprinted

ashbyjan · Dec 28, 2012

This is typical pathetic coverage fron CT - just regurgitating PR that was released on Boxing Day and padding it out with history. No one from club was available to comment? Wonder if they even bothered making a call?

Sub · Dec 28, 2012

ccfc92 said:
An actual announcement lol? Not something we've heard everyday reprinted

you will have to wait till next thursday as that is the offical CCFC news day !!

ccfc92 · Dec 28, 2012

Doh can someone clarify what a winding up order is? As it how serious is it?

Otis · Dec 28, 2012

Is this article just the CT then and not a statement from ACL?

ccfc92 · Dec 28, 2012

Otis said:
Is this article just the CT then and not a statement from ACL?

It's a ct article, with old quotes from ACL :/

kepit 2 yusen · Dec 28, 2012

Sounds like Sisu have called their bluff and ACL don't know what to do. Should it proceed to Court, a Judge may not necessarily grant a winding up order anyway if Sisu's legal rep requested mediation. Whilst there's a hint of a settlement somewhere down the line, ACL would have to be pretty convincing in demonstrating that they had made all reasonable efforts to resolve the dispute and they might struggle.

blueflint · Dec 28, 2012

kepit 2 yusen said:
Sounds like Sisu have called their bluff and ACL don't know what to do. Should it proceed to Court, a Judge may not necessarily grant a winding up order anyway if Sisu's legal rep requested mediation. Whilst there's a hint of a settlement somewhere down the line, ACL would have to be pretty convincing in demonstrating that they had made all reasonable efforts to resolve the dispute and they might struggle.

it wont be ACL in the dock m8 its up to sisu or ccfc to prove they have met all legal requirements and we all know the havn't

GaryPendrysEyes · Dec 28, 2012

Lets face it we are being run by a bunch of cowboys, who don't even care that they publically flaunt the rule of law.

ashbyjan · Dec 28, 2012

ACL are in a pickle - obviously they want to sort out the rent going forward but SISU appear not to want to reach a settlement. If they issue the winding up order then it will be very serious for CCFC - either the court will declare them insolvent and finish the club or SISU will react by putting the club into some form of pre-pack administration, again serious for the club.

The council realise the importance of the club to the community (as is shown by the clubs desperate attempts after 5 years to appear to be finally acknowledging their responsibility to the community) and the last thing they want to do is cause the death of the club but really how far can they allow themselves to be pushed before they react? As things stand they are in control but as the situation carrys on without resolution I expect Yorkshire bank to put further pressure on council to act.

However as has been pointed out by numerous posters this is not about the rent its about SISU getting control of the Arena for their own good and nothing to do with CCFC's welfare. The council /ACL has to tread very carefully to ensure they don't play into SISU's grubby hands after all SISU do this sort of thing everyday, the council/ACL are relative novices when dealing with such sharks. One wrong move and they could lose control of a prize community asset and put it in the hands of a hedge fund who's intentions are unlikely to be for the best of the city or the club, just its investors.

mattylad · Dec 28, 2012

There is no issue of judgement to be made that was done some time ago in favour of ACL, the only question is can ACL afford to wind up CCFC or do they have to deal with the devil....

For example you guarantee that the Higgs Trust will be waving goodbye to its chance of getting its money as CCFC would no longer exoist and the formula in place would be worthless. They would be left with 50% of an unused stadium.

I am not sure that ACL has the will or the position to follow through with winding the club up while it is performing so well and there is a general air of positivity..but then this is what SISU do, they push to the last minute to get what they want.

mattylad · Dec 28, 2012

ashbyjan said:
ACL are in a pickle - obviously they want to sort out the rent going forward but SISU appear not to want to reach a settlement. If they issue the winding up order then it will be very serious for CCFC - either the court will declare them insolvent and finish the club or SISU will react by putting the club into some form of pre-pack administration, again serious for the club.

The council realise the importance of the club to the community (as is shown by the clubs desperate attempts after 5 years to appear to be finally acknowledging their responsibility to the community) and the last thing they want to do is cause the death of the club but really how far can they allow themselves to be pushed before they react? As things stand they are in control but as the situation carrys on without resolution I expect Yorkshire bank to put further pressure on council to act.

However as has been pointed out by numerous posters this is not about the rent its about SISU getting control of the Arena for their own good and nothing to do with CCFC's welfare. The council /ACL has to tread very carefully to ensure they don't play into SISU's grubby hands after all SISU do this sort of thing everyday, the council/ACL are relative novices when dealing with such sharks. One wrong move and they could lose control of a prize community asset and put it in the hands of a hedge fund who's intentions are unlikely to be for the best of the city or the club, just its investors.

I keep hearing about Yorkshire bank but have we had confirmation from any source that ACL are failing to pay the mortgage because the rent portion of the football clubs payments are not being made? If the bank is being paid it wont give a jot about whether ACL are or not...worst case scenario they take over the ground so they are not going to lose in the long run.

ashbyjan · Dec 28, 2012

In the Trust meetings with ACL they have told us that no payments have been missed to Yorkshire Bank but the bank is rightfully concerned about their loan and the loan to value ratio, with the anchor tenant refusing to pay rent and seemingly unwilling to come to any agreement?

Grendel · Dec 28, 2012

ashbyjan said:
In the Trust meetings with ACL they have told us that no payments have been missed to Yorkshire Bank but the bank is rightfully concerned about their loan and the loan to value ratio, with the anchor tenant refusing to pay rent and seemingly unwilling to come to any agreement?

Strange. Thought they could make a business case to replace out revenue. Have an open air concert at Christmas, perhaps steal Crufts from the NEC.

Your not suggesting they need the football club to pay their main creditor are you?

Bill Glazier · Dec 28, 2012

ashbyjan said:
However as has been pointed out by numerous posters this is not about the rent its about SISU getting control of the Arena for their own good and nothing to do with CCFC's welfare. The council /ACL has to tread very carefully to ensure they don't play into SISU's grubby hands after all SISU do this sort of thing everyday, the council/ACL are relative novices when dealing with such sharks. One wrong move and they could lose control of a prize community asset and put it in the hands of a hedge fund who's intentions are unlikely to be for the best of the city or the club, just its investors.

I think your analysis is dead on Jan. The other day I publicly wondered if Joy might be getting a heart, but I had just watched the Muppet Christmas Movie. No, she's looking more like old than new Scrooge.

Her apparent interest and investment in the football team is interesting though. Is that merely a PR move to soften the council into believing she is genuinely interested in the club so it'll give her what she wants, but then she'll still liquidate CCFC? Or, is it a sign that she does want the club to succeed as part of a successful stadium complex? I just can't read it.

Wrenstreetcarpark · Dec 28, 2012

Surely ACL can't be expecting Seppala and Fisher to pay? It would be a longer wait than the Club had to wait to win the FA Cup.
Why should they pay when what they want is for ACL to fail, if it means bringing down the Club at the same time they won't care. That would just be a bit of collateral damage on the way to winning the real goal: 100% ownership. It would probably suit them to go down a league for a couple of years whilst they get some planning permissions on the car parks and package the whole site for sale.

mattylad · Dec 28, 2012

Regardless of who owns the Arena it needs a successful football team to a) Get the foot fall to make it profitable on a day to day basis b) make it a saleable asset to a new investor.

To ever think that SISU would get control of the stadium and then liquidate the club is ridiculous and makes no business sense. That does not mean I want them to get it of course although I do feel the rate we pay is clearly to high.

I would also say that I do not at all dispute that the Trust have been told by ACL that the bank is concerned but I would dispute that the bank have said this to ACL, just sounds like more propaganda being fed to the fans.

ashbyjan · Dec 28, 2012

Grendel said:
Strange. Thought they could make a business case to replace out revenue. Have an open air concert at Christmas, perhaps steal Crufts from the NEC.

Your not suggesting they need the football club to pay their main creditor are you?

Long term I have no doubt they could replace the clubs revenue however when has a bank ever looked long term. Also with the club not paying their contractually agreed rent the value of the stadium is affected which in turn affects the loan to value calculation and it is this that makes the bank jittery. Obviously SISU would be aware what effect their non payment would have as its typical hedge fund tactics to drive down the value of a company it wishes to acquire on the cheap - but you have already confirmed that this is their goal and that the whole rent issue is not so much a sideshow but a grubby means to an end - possibly the end of CCFC.

ashbyjan · Dec 28, 2012

Matty - the bank is concerned but hopefully not terminally, even Fisher unprofessionally disclosed this when he revealed that third party restructuring experts had been brought into ACL by the bank to look at ways of restructuring the business and/or the loan.

CJparker · Dec 28, 2012

Grendel said:
Strange. Thought they could make a business case to replace out revenue. Have an open air concert at Christmas, perhaps steal Crufts from the NEC.

Your not suggesting they need the football club to pay their main creditor are you?

Grendel, your attitude seems to be that "ACL have got no chance without CCFC, so CCFC can ask for and get whatever they want as a price for staying" - that's not how it works in the real world.

Grendel · Dec 28, 2012

ashbyjan said:
a grubby means to an end - possibly the end of CCFC.

Emotional nonsense with no foundation.

Grendel · Dec 28, 2012

CJparker said:
Grendel, your attitude seems to be that "ACL have got no chance without CCFC, so CCFC can ask for and get whatever they want as a price for staying" - that's not how it works in the real world.

In my experience that's exactly how it works.

Chipfat · Dec 28, 2012

Do ACL need CCFC yes they do and we all know this, but do they need them that much it would stop them looking for an alternative income.. SISU may think they hold the cards but as time goes by and ACL keep pulling in business and extending the complex the bill for SISU/CCFC is going up....

It is now going to get real dirty, as ACL, Council and the trust now know what SISU are upto, which is why the bank came in and is working with ACL to expand the portfolio.. This is a bad situation for CCFC and the two parties are playing roulette with no care for the fans, as it past a moral obligation.. We all agree how this is being played and all agree SISU want the Ricoh at any cost,, the big question is do we want SISU to get deeper into the club.... For me NO, 5 years has shown me enough to know when im being pissed on and being told its raining......my opinion and mine ill keep until SISU have walked away from the mess they have created....

valiant15 · Dec 28, 2012

Exactly right chipfat. Sisu get there hands on the stadium itll be sisu's not ccfc's.

Ricoh Arena - Stand off goes into exra time (5 Viewers)

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