A New Beginning ? (Begins!)

I have thought about the situation and how things have developed over the last year or so, the following is partly tongue in cheek and partly serious. I will leave it you to you to decide which if any is plausible and whether this is more Inspector Clouseau or Miss Marple. The timeline is how I remember it so happy to be corrected.

In summer of 2014, fresh from relegation to the fifth tier for the first time ever and knowing how Sainsbury’s where behaving, NH was under pressure to have some good news. After a poor start to life in non league football, he struggled with even a basic interview with GT on Radio Bristol. Becoming desperate now he agreed to an interview with a former Post journalist based in the Gulf.

This article was read, either directly or indirectly by the investor (it may be the Jordanian gentleman who was following Fan Boy on Twitter or even the Malaysian business, YTL Utilities, who have just bought Filton Airfield) and they became interested and started to look deeper.

They realised the potential of not just the team and its fan base (sharing a population of over 1m people with only one other club) but also the UWE, their plans for expansion and the local area in general. This is where Henbury’s suggestion of Icon Group becoming interested fits in as they may be the ones who run the whole event once the agreements are reached. After some tentative talks through a mediator, they were knocked back and getting nowhere whilst the court case was pending.

The board chose to take out the commercial loan rather than the directors funding it privately as it would become a secured debt on the club/stadium which would have to be repaid as part of buying the club rather than a private loan which would be converted into shares. I am not too sure of the significance here but think it was more deliberate rather than desperate (although Barclays pulling out would have added to the urgency).

NH brought in Colin Sexstone to help. This may be for the potential Plan B which would be a part owned or wholly leased reduced stadium, possibly with a running track and would be more a UWE ran community facility rather than a dedicated football ground.

Fearing losing the investment opportunity of the whole site (not just the stadium), the investors or a member (or former member) of the board let it be known through a well regarded fan of their interest.

Think of this as a move in chess where a piece is strategically placed so movement by the other player is merely restricted, rather than a crude attempt to undermine NH directly. This allows NH to deny the consortium exist until he was ready and for the appeal to be held without prejudice. It also allows time to complete initial negotiations and due diligence requirements.

My personal view (well, more hope really) based on what I have read here and in the Post, is that I think we are just a small part of an overall investment in the area, but a significant one in that it opens up development. If the stadium does not go ahead then the whole project, such as they envision it, will not work financially.

Until we know the result of the appeal, no final agreement on value can be reached so expect no news other than the odd “keep the faith” article.

Looking at the fixture list, it seems to me that the 6 weeks from mid January to the end of February will be massive for us both on and off the pitch. 2014 was awful. 2015 was great. 2016?

Have a good New Year.

Unfortunately, there's no real evidence of a rich arab looking to invest millions or of Icon's involvement, other than vague hints by HG about the latter but even he seems to losing interest lately.

Just for clarification, Tony Watola does not own a carrot of the Memorial Stadium. He has no shares whatsoever. The fact that he is listed as secretary at Companies House does not confer ownership rights on him. 

His job title is also referred to as Financial Director, which is also a misnomer. He is not even a director. Basically he is the company accountant. Remember ? The guy who said we were only in the relegation zone for a few minutes, so we didn't have to make provision for possible demotion into the non league abyss.

What is interesting though is all the intertwining of all the different companies and its directors, what a tangled web we weave.
I still believe.UTG

Or is it just fans trying to make a story out of nothing ie A Jordanian following a Rovers fan on Twitter doesn't mean he's about to invest £50m in Rovers?

As I keep saying after months of rumours there's not even been a hint of a name of anybody actually interested in investing millions in the UWE.

Breaking news...


Louis Carey is not part of the consortium, but he was watching the Gas today.