ADVER: Fitton Back In Uk to Finish Takeover

[pumbaa]

Directors on there include Sandy Gray, Bob Holt and James Seton Wills. Others may be something to do with St. Modwen who IIRC were involved in the failed Shaw tip plan.

IIRC, isn't SPD a joint venture between the CLub and St Modwen?

[BANGKOK RED]

Just like domino rally, you knock over the first domino and the rest just fall into place!

In regards to my understanding of the situation I mean.

[OneAndrewFitton]

Directors on there include Sandy Gray, Bob Holt and James Seton Wills. Others may be something to do with St. Modwen who IIRC were involved in the failed Shaw tip plan.

IIRC, isn't SPD a joint venture between the CLub and St Modwen?

Yes i think you are correct.

[Dazzza]

SPD are registered up in Brum and have a St Modwen director on the board.  They're currently developing the Marina on the old piggeries site in Hungerford, which was/is SSW's land.

If I remember rightly some of the loans are through SPD.

[pumbaa]

So Dazzza, would it be fair to say that this 'technicality' could be the 'fault' of the club, indirectly through their relationship with SPD. Hypothetically.

Does our favorite GM have anything to do with SPD?

[OneAndrewFitton]

Is this situation likely to scupper the takeover? our time is running out even banbury has said we only have until next week surely this cannot go on much longer.

[Dazzza]

So Dazzza, would it be fair to say that this 'technicality' could be the 'fault' of the club, indirectly through their relationship with SPD. Hypothetically.

Does our favorite GM have anything to do with SPD?

Last time I looked Not directly or even through a proxy but if Bob and Sandy are listed they're usually under his control.  Both originally came from Dunwoody and usually represent his interests on the board of his companies.

If you go back a bit Dunwoody always had the development rights for the new stadium.  Even back in the days of Shaw park.

It hasn’t really been mentioned much since the last development went belly up and there was the reported “lovers tiff” (Bob’s words) a few years back to boot.

Bit naughty really if the board and SSW’s haven’t divulged that information as it’s certainly never been publicly reported that those rights had been terminated.

[Batch]

Is this situation likely to scupper the takeover? our time is running out even banbury has said we only have until next week surely this cannot go on much longer.

Listening to Fitton the impression is,  if they don't resolve it no deal. And it seems they have until the end of next weeek, if I read Fitton right.

Do St Modwen have a debenture in this company?

[wheretherealredsare]

So if Hungerford FC decided to build a new stadium in/near Swindon and invited STFC to groundshare or leased it to STFC for say 999 years ... would that circumvent the technicality?

[OneAndrewFitton]

I'm sorry to be negative but i cannot see this takeover going through as it's upto other people as well as seton wills etc, as i said above banbury has said we have until next week, fitton's not going to hang around forever and as he said he goes off abroad next weekend so he will want it done by then.
I can see it collapsing though unfortunately and then it leave's us with no club as we cannot continue with this board and creditors are going to take matters into their own hands.

[Ardiles]

You have to keep hoping, but this does sound like a complex legal issue.  And issues like this do not, on the whole, resolve themselves in the timescale we need.  This could be with the lawyers for months...and we simply do not have that much time.  I'm hoping, but not enormously optimistic.

[OneAndrewFitton]

You have to keep hoping, but this does sound like a complex legal issue.  And issues like this do not, on the whole, resolve themselves in the timescale we need.  This could be with the lawyers for months...and we simply do not have that much time.  I'm hoping, but not enormously optimistic.

I agree, there is not enough time for this, it's just not going to happen, what i can't understand is shouldn't the board have done something about this a long time ago?

[pauld]

Directors on there include Sandy Gray, Bob Holt and James Seton Wills. Others may be something to do with St. Modwen who IIRC were involved in the failed Shaw tip plan.

IIRC, isn't SPD a joint venture between the CLub and St Modwen?

Not directly, it's the Holding Co and St Modwen. The other directors are all St Modwen

[OneAndrewFitton]

So what do you think of the situation paul? do you think it is likely to be resolved? or is this issue going to scupper the takeover? i know it's a fairly big legal issue but how much of a problem is it?

[pauld]

So what do you think of the situation paul? do you think it is likely to be resolved? or is this issue going to scupper the takeover? i know it's a fairly big legal issue but how much of a problem is it?

Until we establish exactly what the nature of the problem is, it's very difficult to tell. The claim that SPD/Holding Co hold some form of rights to do ANY ground redev has always seemed extremely tenuous, but Fitton clearly wants to buy the club unencumbered by any residual problems or anyone stomping up and saying "Aha, I see you're planning on doing a ground redevelopment, we'll have £25m for that, ta". They might not have such rights, but it may be a question of wishing to avoid any prospect of a legal tussle in the future. Most likely, the current incumbents are waving the SPD claim around in an attempt to secure a pay-off, rather than there being any hard and fast black and white certainty over it. The problem is as others have pointed out that any such issue may be complex and hence timeconsuming to unravel and determine the full legal position. And time is not something we have here. Hence the current lot are holding this over Fitton's head - either give us the payoff and you're guaranteed not to have any trouble down the line on this or we'll sell you the club without it and you run the risk of a complex legal battle in the future if you try to redevelop when we turn up again and try to stick our snouts in the trough again.