Telegraph article. Talks today. (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Flying Fokker
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RICOH Arena bosses are meeting with Coventry City’s administrator for the first time today – amid growing frustration over his silence over the club’s future.
Arena Coventry Limited directors, and their appointed lawyer James Powell, will call for clarity from Coventry City Football Club Limited’s administrator Paul Appleton in London today – with the threat of home matches being played outside the city in just three months’ time.
Mr Powell expressed ACL’s frustration that it was the first opportunity for the two sides to sit down and talk – after seven weeks of the debt-ridden company being in administration.
Mr Powell said fans, the club’s prospective purchasers, and creditors including ACL, urgently needed more information – with Sisu-owned Coventry City Football Club (Holdings) Ltd making preparations for the club to play elsewhere, possibly at Walsall’s Bescott stadium.
Thousands of people have signed the Coventry Telegraph’s petition demanding the Sky Blues play their home matches in Coventry.
Mr Powell last week said only the administrator had the power to make such a decision.
Now Mr Powell has expressed frustration over Mr Appleton’s silence, and is requesting clarity that the company in administration constitutes the club, not the Sisu-run Holdings firm where Tim Fisher is in charge.
Mr Powell told the Telegraph: “This time of year is critical for any football club – for everything from renewing principal sponsors and other commercial issues, to players needing to be retained, and the players’ registrations and contracts with the Football League.
“The administrator needs to help us understand the position on that.
“We’ve been seeking discussions with him for some time. We want to help the administrator, but want the administrator to help the football club.
“Any prospective purchasers such as Preston Haskell cannot take the matter forward until there is understanding over what business and assets there are in the football club.”
Mr Powell said it remained likely fans, creditors and any interested takeover parties would have to wait until next Thursday when the administrator’s report into his investigations is due – with the legal deadline to hold a meeting with creditors being May 30.
Mr Powell reiterated his assertion that public Football League documents and the Sky Blues’ last filed accounts showed the club was the CCFC Ltd company now in administration – and that the crucial Football League golden share enabling it to play in the league had rested with CCFC Ltd before administration.
He reiterated if any assets including the share had been moved to Holdings, it needed explanation by Holdings.
Mr Powell added: “The relevant parties are not acknowledging the club is in administration. By that, I mean the administrator.
“We really want to sit around and discuss next season with the relevant parties. But the relevant party is the administrator.
“We’ve sent countless items of correspondence on various points, to which we have not received substantive responses.”
Mr Powell said he would also seek clarity today on the appointment of Mr Appleton as administrator by Sisu-related Cayman Islands-based hedge fund Arvo.
He said the initial administrator’s report to the High Court indicated Holdings was the company which owed Arvo £8.5million of the club’s £60million liabilities – not CCFC Ltd, which was only a guarantor of the debts.
Mr Powell will also request clarity on the “nexus” of related businesses around Holdings – including Arvo and Sisu, both of which Joy Seppala is involved in.
A spokesman for the administrator confirmed the meeting would take place today, but declined to comment further.
Mr Appleton has said he would not conduct business through the media.
Arena Coventry Limited directors, and their appointed lawyer James Powell, will call for clarity from Coventry City Football Club Limited’s administrator Paul Appleton in London today – with the threat of home matches being played outside the city in just three months’ time.
Mr Powell expressed ACL’s frustration that it was the first opportunity for the two sides to sit down and talk – after seven weeks of the debt-ridden company being in administration.
Mr Powell said fans, the club’s prospective purchasers, and creditors including ACL, urgently needed more information – with Sisu-owned Coventry City Football Club (Holdings) Ltd making preparations for the club to play elsewhere, possibly at Walsall’s Bescott stadium.
Thousands of people have signed the Coventry Telegraph’s petition demanding the Sky Blues play their home matches in Coventry.
Mr Powell last week said only the administrator had the power to make such a decision.
Now Mr Powell has expressed frustration over Mr Appleton’s silence, and is requesting clarity that the company in administration constitutes the club, not the Sisu-run Holdings firm where Tim Fisher is in charge.
Mr Powell told the Telegraph: “This time of year is critical for any football club – for everything from renewing principal sponsors and other commercial issues, to players needing to be retained, and the players’ registrations and contracts with the Football League.
“The administrator needs to help us understand the position on that.
“We’ve been seeking discussions with him for some time. We want to help the administrator, but want the administrator to help the football club.
“Any prospective purchasers such as Preston Haskell cannot take the matter forward until there is understanding over what business and assets there are in the football club.”
Mr Powell said it remained likely fans, creditors and any interested takeover parties would have to wait until next Thursday when the administrator’s report into his investigations is due – with the legal deadline to hold a meeting with creditors being May 30.
Mr Powell reiterated his assertion that public Football League documents and the Sky Blues’ last filed accounts showed the club was the CCFC Ltd company now in administration – and that the crucial Football League golden share enabling it to play in the league had rested with CCFC Ltd before administration.
He reiterated if any assets including the share had been moved to Holdings, it needed explanation by Holdings.
Mr Powell added: “The relevant parties are not acknowledging the club is in administration. By that, I mean the administrator.
“We really want to sit around and discuss next season with the relevant parties. But the relevant party is the administrator.
“We’ve sent countless items of correspondence on various points, to which we have not received substantive responses.”
Mr Powell said he would also seek clarity today on the appointment of Mr Appleton as administrator by Sisu-related Cayman Islands-based hedge fund Arvo.
He said the initial administrator’s report to the High Court indicated Holdings was the company which owed Arvo £8.5million of the club’s £60million liabilities – not CCFC Ltd, which was only a guarantor of the debts.
Mr Powell will also request clarity on the “nexus” of related businesses around Holdings – including Arvo and Sisu, both of which Joy Seppala is involved in.
A spokesman for the administrator confirmed the meeting would take place today, but declined to comment further.
Mr Appleton has said he would not conduct business through the media.
skybluesam66
Well-Known Member
also sounds like ACL are trying to hardball sisu out......just like sisu were trying with ACL
long way to go, and i cant see either side backing down
The worry is that sisu have got the financial clout and backhanded tactics
long way to go, and i cant see either side backing down
The worry is that sisu have got the financial clout and backhanded tactics
rustyredline
New Member
All we know from Appleton since administration: Been on holiday, he's "flabaghasted" with ACL (but not sisu :thinking about
. Maybe he is really busy but it's just hard work trying to make sisu appear as the victim in all this. They have all but destroyed our club in their quest to make a quick buck on the ricoh.
. Maybe he is really busy but it's just hard work trying to make sisu appear as the victim in all this. They have all but destroyed our club in their quest to make a quick buck on the ricoh.SkyblueBazza
Well-Known Member
Anyone considered that he is playing hardball himself? With SISU??? By going public he might be giving them an unfair opportunity to find wriggle factors or discredit his findings...they may be equally frustrated by his silence with them.
It's time someone stopped allowing SISU to set the agenda with this situation. They need to be forced out of their comfort zone.
More fans are thinking that Appleton is not as impartial as he should be and is having his strings pulled by SISU. Hope that ACL can put pressure on him to see the big picture and do the right thing for the future of the club. After all, isn't it the job of the administrator to structure the club so that it can be sold to a new buyer (PH4) ?
More fans are thinking that Appleton is not as impartial as he should be and is having his strings pulled by SISU. Hope that ACL can put pressure on him to see the big picture and do the right thing for the future of the club. After all, isn't it the job of the administrator to structure the club so that it can be sold to a new buyer (PH4) ?
torchomatic
Well-Known Member
Texascowboy
New Member
I'm sure Mr Elliott will have filled ACL in on what they were told at their meeting last week, perhaps they don't like what they have been told!
katzenjammer
New Member
The funniest thing about this is, if ACL are proved wrong, most will believe it's because SISU paid the administrator and not because actually SISU are right.
The administrator is probably the only open minded person involved.
This James Powell fellow is clearly full of shit, he's more PR than lawyer, he has stated that negotiations are ongoing when a member of ACL's board have claimed they're not.
I would also question the legalities of ACL meeting Preston Haskell and trying to sell a company they don't own.
The administrator is probably the only open minded person involved.
This James Powell fellow is clearly full of shit, he's more PR than lawyer, he has stated that negotiations are ongoing when a member of ACL's board have claimed they're not.
I would also question the legalities of ACL meeting Preston Haskell and trying to sell a company they don't own.
maybe not & fair point in a lot of cases im sure....
but a few of us have had good experience in dealing with administrators.. ive had half a dozen of my customers fall into administration, one of whom i tried to buy from the administrator. So id say its fair to say ive got quite a bit of knowledge in the process & the way these sharks ( sorry spelling error , i meant to say ultimate professionals that only have the best interest of the company & its creditors at heart ) work
and in my experience, and thats all i can refer to, id say three things usually happened in pretty much every case i was involved in.
The admin company certainly took an age to carry out the simplest of tasks, which resulted in some of the most outrageous closing bills ive had a displeasure of reading - where even their junior admin hourly charge out rate was probably more than most heart surgeons get! especially when on the next page it says there is nothing left in the pot for the creditors!
they didnt in my opinion get anywhere near the best out of the sale of assets of the company for the creditors.
and those sales were usually back to the previous owners ( in whichever guise they took under their new entity )
but i do see your point.. and maybe i'll be surprisingly pleased with the outcome in this instance.... lets see
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Moff
Well-Known Member
To be honest I dont care at present who is right and who is wrong.
I support the Club, and want the best for it, and at present it and us the fans, who are the custodians of the club, need the truth. Pure simple facts...THE TRUTH.
I dont want SISU or ACL Spin, nor lawyers, Tim Fisher etc arguing like little babies in the press...I just want facts.
Once we get these, then and only then can we move on, hopefully onwards, hopefully upwards, and hopefully with new owners, who care for the club and not purely the cash.
I support the Club, and want the best for it, and at present it and us the fans, who are the custodians of the club, need the truth. Pure simple facts...THE TRUTH.
I dont want SISU or ACL Spin, nor lawyers, Tim Fisher etc arguing like little babies in the press...I just want facts.
Once we get these, then and only then can we move on, hopefully onwards, hopefully upwards, and hopefully with new owners, who care for the club and not purely the cash.
DazzleTommyDazzle
Well-Known Member
So, no doubt, you'll limit any future posts to only those matters where you're "professionally trained" and have "extensive experience".
This board is going to be quiet!
torchomatic
Well-Known Member
My PA will be in touch.
So, no doubt, you'll limit any future posts to only those matters where you're "professionally trained" and have "extensive experience".
This board is going to be quiet!
olderskyblue
Well-Known Member
Who was the Coventry based professional administrator who was interviewed recently? Didn't he make a comment referring to how long it was taking Appleton?
lordsummerisle
Well-Known Member
Who was the deal made with for the last three games of the season?
If Holdings then a precedent has already been set, if with Limited then surely they have already spoken to the administrator.
If Holdings then a precedent has already been set, if with Limited then surely they have already spoken to the administrator.
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SkyBlueBlood
Member
Taking his time would allow SISU to cover their tracks for all the probably underhanded transactions that would have been found by now by an "independent" administrator.
Would not be surprised to see ACL raise a new challenge against SISU's puppet Appleton after today's meeting and win.
Would not be surprised to see ACL raise a new challenge against SISU's puppet Appleton after today's meeting and win.
Sky Blue Kid
Well-Known Member
As I see it, there was no deal, and no money could/would have changed hands.
ACL/CCC couldn't charge whilst administration is on-going.
lordsummerisle
Well-Known Member
It seems the deal was done between ACL and the administrator of Limited, Paul Appleton.
I assume they must have spoken to him then in order to do the deal?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21956944
NorthernWisdom
Well-Known Member
I'm confused, are we saying administration is bad now, and we should have stayed out of it?
lordsummerisle
Well-Known Member
No, it's good if ACL do it, but if Sisu beat them to it, it's bad.
DazzleTommyDazzle
Well-Known Member
"Proper" administration might have given us a chance to get things sorted out, but what we have here is a special SISU version of administration where several weeks into the process, it's still not clear exactly what is in administration.
Remember the "if Carsberg did....." adverts? Maybe we could have some "if SISU did...." versions
"Proper" administration might have given us a chance to get things sorted out, but what we have here is a special SISU version of administration where several weeks into the process, it's still not clear exactly what is in administration.
Remember the "if Carsberg did....." adverts? Maybe we could have some "if SISU did...." versions
If sisu did football teams...
They'd do em like a 2 bit...
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dongonzalos
Well-Known Member
If that is the case why does he no longer seem to be running the football club?
dongonzalos
Well-Known Member
Pretty significant if you ask me if that deal was done with the administrator as Lord pointed out. May set a legal precedent for the case.
BurbageSkyBlues
New Member
Dear Mr Appleton,
Do you know the purpose of the business that you are administrating?
Simple question, is it a football club or not?
One would think that these would be the first terms of reference, exactly what business are you the administrator for. Otherwise, what can you do to move the business forward?
Do you know the purpose of the business that you are administrating?
Simple question, is it a football club or not?
One would think that these would be the first terms of reference, exactly what business are you the administrator for. Otherwise, what can you do to move the business forward?
dongonzalos
Well-Known Member
I know mate
bigfatronssba
Well-Known Member
Simple question for him, if the Golden Share isn't in Ltd, why has he not just liquidated the company?
NorthernWisdom
Well-Known Member
True, but we could do with at least trying to sell some season tickets.
BurbageSkyBlues
New Member
Exactly.
No business, no staff, no income streams......just debts. What is there to do? Answer, nothing.
