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The Takeover Thread - Duchatelet Finally Sells (Jan 2020)

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  • Cafc43v3r said:

    Russian billionaire, owner of Bournemouth, lives in sandbanks. I would suggest he chose that club as he lives there?

    Secondly 100% premium on Charlton over Wigan purley on corporate hospitality is fanciful I agree.

    To use your first point more billionaires live in London than Wigan so the resale in my previous point, would be easier to achieve?

    Also to suggest that it is 100% on that basis alone, would be to agree everything else between the 2 is equal, it clearly isn't.

    Lastly if you were say, Australian, and you want a club near a big expat community, London would be preferable ;-)

    I am not saying the club is worth £40 million, or even close, I am saying I can see how you could argue it is and that "normal business valuation" doesn't fit football.

    I am interested in a rational business valuation. There's a difference. It looks like you agree that £40m isn't rational. That's probably a good way to close this particular dialogue.

  • I buy and sell businesses for a living. Put simply, businesses for sale are only worth what someone is prepared to pay for them. Although there is a technical definition of ‘ enterprise value’ to include debt etc - if there is no willing buyer at the price then the seller has to decide whether to sell at a lower price than ‘ enterprise value’. An example would be that we just tried to buy Gaucho Restaurants, the fact that it had millions of accumulated debt didn’t stop us offering a price that meant that the sellers were going to have to write off most of that debt.
    The same is true with Roland, he has funded c £64m so far which includes his original cost of acquisition and annual operating losses. He has somehow secured a valuation ( probably from a firm of surveyors/ commercial agents) that the underlying property assets are worth £40m - therefore he is prepared to carry on funding the annual operating losses of c £8-10m but he is holding out for the perceived value of the property.
    In reality, in order to secure a sale he is going to have to write off some of his debt and accept a lower price than £40m. Despite the flimflam club announcements about price agreement it appears fairly clear that neither of the interested parties are prepared to pay his asking price and by the way they are right not to pay £40m or anywhere near that.

    Glad you are here on this thread, what kept you?

    Bit of buyin and a bit of sellin, probly guvnor

    :-)
  • edited September 2018
    I buy and sell businesses for a living. Put simply, businesses for sale are only worth what someone is prepared to pay for them. Although there is a technical definition of ‘ enterprise value’ to include debt etc - if there is no willing buyer at the price then the seller has to decide whether to sell at a lower price than ‘ enterprise value’. An example would be that we just tried to buy Gaucho Restaurants, the fact that it had millions of accumulated debt didn’t stop us offering a price that meant that the sellers were going to have to write off most of that debt.
    The same is true with Roland, he has funded c £64m so far which includes his original cost of acquisition and annual operating losses. He has somehow secured a valuation ( probably from a firm of surveyors/ commercial agents) that the underlying property assets are worth £40m - therefore he is prepared to carry on funding the annual operating losses of c £8-10m but he is holding out for the perceived value of the property.
    In reality, in order to secure a sale he is going to have to write off some of his debt and accept a lower price than £40m. Despite the flimflam club announcements about price agreement it appears fairly clear that neither of the interested parties are prepared to pay his asking price and by the way they are right not to pay £40m or anywhere near that.


    A friend of mine had a stake in Gaucho.
  • Cafc43v3r said:

    Russian billionaire, owner of Bournemouth, lives in sandbanks. I would suggest he chose that club as he lives there?

    Secondly 100% premium on Charlton over Wigan purley on corporate hospitality is fanciful I agree.

    To use your first point more billionaires live in London than Wigan so the resale in my previous point, would be easier to achieve?

    Also to suggest that it is 100% on that basis alone, would be to agree everything else between the 2 is equal, it clearly isn't.

    Lastly if you were say, Australian, and you want a club near a big expat community, London would be preferable ;-)

    I am not saying the club is worth £40 million, or even close, I am saying I can see how you could argue it is and that "normal business valuation" doesn't fit football.

    I am interested in a rational business valuation. There's a difference. It looks like you agree that £40m isn't rational. That's probably a good way to close this particular dialogue.

    You won't get a rational valuation in a nonrational business. That was my point.
  • could it be as simple as the fact the club (CAFC) think that the Aussies need to submit paperwork to the EFL, whereas its actually the club (CAFC) who sends the FAPT papers.

    Brilliant. I reckon whilst there is very strong competition that must make your top 10.
  • Covered End - tbh I’d have to do a bit more homework,but I would have thought that c £20- 25m in the current market would be about right, but valuing football clubs is certainly an anomaly- after all the buyers are paying £20-25m to buy the right to lose another c £10m a year which is totally bizarre.
    In most business purchases, in order to justify a price of £20-25m you’d expect the business to be actually making a profit !! of probably c £2m to £3m a year.
    Football club purchases generally defy any business logic because they are a relatively quick way to become poor or broke.

    Thanks @alburyaddick for the insightful and professional information.

    You mentioned that "He has somehow secured a valuation ( probably from a firm of surveyors/ commercial agents) that the underlying property assets are worth £40m".

    That's an interesting take on things if he is valuing the club just by its property assets (tangible and easier to make comparisons with the market) and not as a football club (how much is a piece of string worth?).

    Any property agents or surveyors out there able to value the Valley and Sparrows Lane with and without planning permission for housing?
    I've said all along the value is in the freeholds, but not many agreed with me.

    It's not essential to be able to redevelop.
    If the land value continues to rise (it will long term), you have a very valuable asset, increasing in value, so long as there is always a willing buyer.
  • Covered End - tbh I’d have to do a bit more homework,but I would have thought that c £20- 25m in the current market would be about right, but valuing football clubs is certainly an anomaly- after all the buyers are paying £20-25m to buy the right to lose another c £10m a year which is totally bizarre.
    In most business purchases, in order to justify a price of £20-25m you’d expect the business to be actually making a profit !! of probably c £2m to £3m a year.
    Football club purchases generally defy any business logic because they are a relatively quick way to become poor or broke.

    Thanks @alburyaddick for the insightful and professional information.

    You mentioned that "He has somehow secured a valuation ( probably from a firm of surveyors/ commercial agents) that the underlying property assets are worth £40m".

    That's an interesting take on things if he is valuing the club just by its property assets (tangible and easier to make comparisons with the market) and not as a football club (how much is a piece of string worth?).

    Any property agents or surveyors out there able to value the Valley and Sparrows Lane with and without planning permission for housing?
    I've said all along the value is in the freeholds, but not many agreed with me.

    It's not essential to be able to redevelop.
    If the land value continues to rise (it will long term), you have a very valuable asset, increasing in value, so long as there is always a willing buyer.
    Its not a valuable asset if you can do sod all with it. One day the council may change its mind & allow development but until then thw value is only as a sports stadium & very little else ( the council reduced the usage of the proposed bowling alley back in the Prem years when we were looking to expand)
  • I still say an offer of around £32,500,000 would clinch it.

    im up for a whip round? got £12.67 to add right now? if we can get 2.6m charlton fans we could all put in the same and still have enough money to buy water for the academy!! whos in?
  • I buy and sell businesses for a living. Put simply, businesses for sale are only worth what someone is prepared to pay for them. Although there is a technical definition of ‘ enterprise value’ to include debt etc - if there is no willing buyer at the price then the seller has to decide whether to sell at a lower price than ‘ enterprise value’. An example would be that we just tried to buy Gaucho Restaurants, the fact that it had millions of accumulated debt didn’t stop us offering a price that meant that the sellers were going to have to write off most of that debt.
    The same is true with Roland, he has funded c £64m so far which includes his original cost of acquisition and annual operating losses. He has somehow secured a valuation ( probably from a firm of surveyors/ commercial agents) that the underlying property assets are worth £40m - therefore he is prepared to carry on funding the annual operating losses of c £8-10m but he is holding out for the perceived value of the property.
    In reality, in order to secure a sale he is going to have to write off some of his debt and accept a lower price than £40m. Despite the flimflam club announcements about price agreement it appears fairly clear that neither of the interested parties are prepared to pay his asking price and by the way they are right not to pay £40m or anywhere near that.

    Glad you are here on this thread, what kept you?

    Bit of buyin and a bit of sellin, probly guvnor

    :-)
    I did say it in my blog a while back - all readers and non abusive comments welcome !
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  • Appreciate your insight @alburyaddick

    There’s been a number of interesting posts on this in the last 24hrs
  • CAFCDAZ said:

    I still say an offer of around £32,500,000 would clinch it.

    im up for a whip round? got £12.67 to add right now? if we can get 2.6m charlton fans we could all put in the same and still have enough money to buy water for the academy!! whos in?
    Even then it’s at least £12.67 too much for me.
    I wouldn’t want to be saddled with a company like Charlton and it’s liabilities.

  • Covered End - tbh I’d have to do a bit more homework,but I would have thought that c £20- 25m in the current market would be about right, but valuing football clubs is certainly an anomaly- after all the buyers are paying £20-25m to buy the right to lose another c £10m a year which is totally bizarre.
    In most business purchases, in order to justify a price of £20-25m you’d expect the business to be actually making a profit !! of probably c £2m to £3m a year.
    Football club purchases generally defy any business logic because they are a relatively quick way to become poor or broke.

    Thanks @alburyaddick for the insightful and professional information.

    You mentioned that "He has somehow secured a valuation ( probably from a firm of surveyors/ commercial agents) that the underlying property assets are worth £40m".

    That's an interesting take on things if he is valuing the club just by its property assets (tangible and easier to make comparisons with the market) and not as a football club (how much is a piece of string worth?).

    Any property agents or surveyors out there able to value the Valley and Sparrows Lane with and without planning permission for housing?
    I've said all along the value is in the freeholds, but not many agreed with me.

    It's not essential to be able to redevelop.
    If the land value continues to rise (it will long term), you have a very valuable asset, increasing in value, so long as there is always a willing buyer.
    Its not a valuable asset if you can do sod all with it. One day the council may change its mind & allow development but until then thw value is only as a sports stadium & very little else ( the council reduced the usage of the proposed bowling alley back in the Prem years when we were looking to expand)
    Art appreciates in value, but you can't do anything with it.
    Stamps, wine, etc etc.

    I venture to suggest that the value of the freeholds are worth substantially more than they were in let's say 1992.
    If they are then I suggest I may have a valid point, that the value of the club is mainly in the freeholds.
  • edited September 2018


    He paid £18m, and it looks like the Aussies maybe value it at £25m. That all seems to me to be broadly reasonable, assuming clean title and no undiscovered nonsense surrounding player contracts.

    There is no basis I can see for a £40m sale price, other than that RD desperately needs it in order not to lose face in the Belgian business community. I am afraid that so far you have not argud in sufficient depth to convince me that a figure above circa £25m has any business-based merit.

    I think those numbers sound right. CAFC are worth well north of £18M now. Charlton would be a screaming value at an £18M price in this day and age. Given the large monthly losses, £40M seems wacky, now. But I believe RD will never sell below £30M, even if it means keeping the club 2 more years and losing £5-10M per year (after more player sales.) He just won't. Throw financial logic out the window when it comes to Roland.
  • CAFCDAZ said:

    I buy and sell businesses for a living.

    any chance you could encourage someone to purchase charlton? 😀
    He said he buys businesses for a living, not train wrecks.
  • edited September 2018
    Right now, anyone can waltz into Newcastle and buy it for £400M. I hear Ashley is now willing to sell for £350M.

    That is 2.7x turnover.
    Debt = 1x annual turnover
    For a club making at least £27M profit in 2017-18
    And on pace to make a similar amount this season.
    Already in the PL.
    Selling out 51,000 seats per match.
    In a one club city with nothing else to do.
    And a Champions League manager.

    Or... buy CAFC

    at 3.3x turnover
    Debt = 5x annual turnover
    For a club in League One
    With 5 clubs in that city-area already in the Premier League
    A stadium that can probably never be developed past 30,000 anymore
    Losing a million per month
    Sold off its best players
    No CEO

    I want CAFC to get out from RD, but frankly, any Saudis that are looking to buy CAFC when Newcastle is just sitting there must be 50th distant cousins in the royal family and not so rich.
  • Appreciate your insight @alburyaddick

    There’s been a number of interesting posts on this in the last 24hrs

    Shit, in the last 4 hours we have seen...
    Aussies out of negotiations
    Aussies with a bid of £40.5M
    Another bidder at £40.5M
    For most clubs, that's a busy year. For us, its a standard 4 hours.
  • Appreciate your insight @alburyaddick

    There’s been a number of interesting posts on this in the last 24hrs

    Yes I have liked the road puns as well
  • CAFCDAZ said:

    I still say an offer of around £32,500,000 would clinch it.

    im up for a whip round? got £12.67 to add right now? if we can get 2.6m charlton fans we could all put in the same and still have enough money to buy water for the academy!! whos in?
    Great idea! can you Sub us?, as im waiting for my Giro to come in.
  • @Cafc43v3r

    Let's forget about the advertising agency analogy :-)

    There are two reasons why someone might insist on buying a London based club. One is that the owner might live there. The Ukrainian oligarch in late 2013 was an example. But more commonly London clubs are presumed to attract a premium simply because they are generally presumed to be better revenue-earners than say Middleborough or Sunderland, but mainly in the corporate hospitality area. Thats what RM explained to me a while ago, and is the key reason why the porn merchants wanted the Olympic Stadium. The Valley is relatively light on corporate capacity, and, I'm told, difficult to build more into it.

    So if the thinking of the owner is hard commercial, then he will know what his London premium is worth. Given that Wigan went for £20m, and are now a division higher, you are implying that the premium is 100%. Pretty heroic assumption that. If you ask the quiet Russian owner of Bournemouth (capacity 11,000) what he thinks of your premium, he will probably reply with the Russian version of "good luck with that one, mate". TV money is location-blind.

    Bournemouth not exactly a poor part of the world either and I'm sure they can attract the locals in from Sandbanks to watch a game or two.
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  • edited September 2018

    Right now, anyone can waltz into Newcastle and buy it for £400M. I hear Ashley is now willing to sell for £350M.

    That is 2.7x turnover.
    Debt = 1x annual turnover
    For a club making at least £27M profit in 2017-18
    And on pace to make a similar amount this season.
    Already in the PL.
    Selling out 51,000 seats per match.
    In a one club city with nothing else to do.
    And a Champions League manager.

    Or... buy CAFC

    at 3.3x turnover
    Debt = 5x annual turnover
    For a club in League One
    With 5 clubs in that city-area already in the Premier League
    A stadium that can probably never be developed past 30,000 anymore
    Losing a million per month
    Sold off its best players
    No CEO

    I want CAFC to get out from RD, but frankly, any Saudis that are looking to buy CAFC when Newcastle is just sitting there must be 50th distant cousins in the royal family and not so rich.

    Maybe a fair business analysis although I think you miss the ‘London’ factor in the above.

    If you are a billionaire from Saudi you will fly to London to go look at your properties you own and not want to bother with a trip oopNorth to Newcastle.

    Charlton is a stones throw away, that if any, is our pull for the mega wealthy like the Saudi Royals.

  • I've heard that Steve Claridge has given a tour of his ground to some Russian Oligarchs who had flown over.

    Possible big investment or just a day trip?
  • Right now, anyone can waltz into Newcastle and buy it for £400M. I hear Ashley is now willing to sell for £350M.

    That is 2.7x turnover.
    Debt = 1x annual turnover
    For a club making at least £27M profit in 2017-18
    And on pace to make a similar amount this season.
    Already in the PL.
    Selling out 51,000 seats per match.
    In a one club city with nothing else to do.
    And a Champions League manager.

    Or... buy CAFC

    at 3.3x turnover
    Debt = 5x annual turnover
    For a club in League One
    With 5 clubs in that city-area already in the Premier League
    A stadium that can probably never be developed past 30,000 anymore
    Losing a million per month
    Sold off its best players
    No CEO

    I want CAFC to get out from RD, but frankly, any Saudis that are looking to buy CAFC when Newcastle is just sitting there must be 50th distant cousins in the royal family and not so rich.

    On the other hand there is a significant financial downside with Newcastle if they get relegated (which for a non top 6 side is likely to happen at some point, and could easily happen this season), and the chance of financial upside (Champions League football) is remote. And the club is profitable because they spend bugger all on players for a club of their size, buy a few stars and the wage bill will shoot up.

    By contrast, our revenue is unlikely to go down very much, but could increase significantly if the club is successful on the pitch and promoted. Buy us, get two promotions in say 5 years and kerching.
  • Another factor that I haven't seen discussed reprice.

    If we end up with a no deal or hard Brexit there will be 100s of footballers unable to work in the UK, the top players will get work permits under the current non EU system. The Yanns and Igors of this world won't.

    If that were to happen, let's not discuss Brexit here, wouldnt that place a massive premium on our academy, at least in the short term?
  • The Gov are likely to loosen the rules on visas probably reciprocally for skilled workers
  • It quite telling that even *I* think we should keep Brexit off this thread.
  • I buy and sell businesses for a living. Put simply, businesses for sale are only worth what someone is prepared to pay for them. Although there is a technical definition of ‘ enterprise value’ to include debt etc - if there is no willing buyer at the price then the seller has to decide whether to sell at a lower price than ‘ enterprise value’. An example would be that we just tried to buy Gaucho Restaurants, the fact that it had millions of accumulated debt didn’t stop us offering a price that meant that the sellers were going to have to write off most of that debt.
    The same is true with Roland, he has funded c £64m so far which includes his original cost of acquisition and annual operating losses. He has somehow secured a valuation ( probably from a firm of surveyors/ commercial agents) that the underlying property assets are worth £40m - therefore he is prepared to carry on funding the annual operating losses of c £8-10m but he is holding out for the perceived value of the property.
    In reality, in order to secure a sale he is going to have to write off some of his debt and accept a lower price than £40m. Despite the flimflam club announcements about price agreement it appears fairly clear that neither of the interested parties are prepared to pay his asking price and by the way they are right not to pay £40m or anywhere near that.

    At last. Someone eminently qualified to make a reasoned house buying analogy.

    Let’s hear it @alburyaddick

    Missing one important point, said property is mortgaged to 7 Ex Directors for £7mn . Unless he pays off those Loans he has no real estate assets to sell.
    But their security value is increasing every day so why take a discount , it’s a long game for them.
    Apologies if I sound a bit thick, but are you suggesting the 7million owed to them is a now worth more than 7 million?
    Or have I misunderstood?
  • cafcwill said:

    I buy and sell businesses for a living. Put simply, businesses for sale are only worth what someone is prepared to pay for them. Although there is a technical definition of ‘ enterprise value’ to include debt etc - if there is no willing buyer at the price then the seller has to decide whether to sell at a lower price than ‘ enterprise value’. An example would be that we just tried to buy Gaucho Restaurants, the fact that it had millions of accumulated debt didn’t stop us offering a price that meant that the sellers were going to have to write off most of that debt.
    The same is true with Roland, he has funded c £64m so far which includes his original cost of acquisition and annual operating losses. He has somehow secured a valuation ( probably from a firm of surveyors/ commercial agents) that the underlying property assets are worth £40m - therefore he is prepared to carry on funding the annual operating losses of c £8-10m but he is holding out for the perceived value of the property.
    In reality, in order to secure a sale he is going to have to write off some of his debt and accept a lower price than £40m. Despite the flimflam club announcements about price agreement it appears fairly clear that neither of the interested parties are prepared to pay his asking price and by the way they are right not to pay £40m or anywhere near that.

    At last. Someone eminently qualified to make a reasoned house buying analogy.

    Let’s hear it @alburyaddick

    Missing one important point, said property is mortgaged to 7 Ex Directors for £7mn . Unless he pays off those Loans he has no real estate assets to sell.
    But their security value is increasing every day so why take a discount , it’s a long game for them.
    Apologies if I sound a bit thick, but are you suggesting the 7million owed to them is a now worth more than 7 million?
    Or have I misunderstood?
    I'm sure he doesn't mean that.

    £7 mill secured on an appreciating asset gives greater peace of mind than it being secured on a depreciating asset!
This discussion has been closed.

Roland Out Forever!