In terms of potential, I think we tick all the boxes! There is a shortcut out of League One as long as you have a manager who knows what he is doing. The Championship is full of basket cases like Derby who spend silly money, so it is more of a challenge. Although they will implode at some point if they can't get promotion. There are also premiership clubs with parachute money to contend with. But it is possible.
Another thing is the money that can be made in Australia, if Charlton become quasi Australian. I think there is great potential to link a club with a nation - China would be my first thought. Bring in 2or 3 players from there and promote the club in that country. China probably is more potentially lucrative than Australia, but I'm sure getting 3 or 4 high end Championship players from Oz is more than possible. Get the publicity and public around what you are trying to achieve and you have something that Derby and their ilk do not have!
And with the pound so weak it is a great opportunity to buy us!
Trust me, we don't want to become "quasi australian" mate, and I'm married to an Aussie with both my children born here!
They do do some good things here, but as I posted on the other thread, I really don't want them anywhere near my Charlton! (The other half better not see this!)
Seriously though, I don't mean to be bitter about aussie's or neither do I want RD & KM to remain. Not one iota. I really do think that we have to be cautious about these recent developments, especially regarding The Valley.
Sport here is a strange experience, hence the reason I have no interest in it. My only sporting pleasure is still back in SE7 in the middle of the night, on the few and far occasions that has been recently!
Speaking after 8 years of living here, if there is one lot of people I wouldn't trust with my club, other than the current incumbents in place, it would be the people that run sports in Australia.
I asked Rick what the state of play was with Varney this morning and was met with eerie silence.
I can't speak for Peter on this, but as far as I know he has no current involvement.
I suppose if I was a rich potential investor, wanted to buy the club using PV but realised they wouldn't deal with him, I would use a different intermediary and pretend PV wasn't involved.
I asked Rick what the state of play was with Varney this morning and was met with eerie silence.
I can't speak for Peter on this, but as far as I know he has no current involvement.
I suppose if I was a rich potential investor, wanted to buy the club using PV but realised they wouldn't deal with him, I would use a different intermediary and pretend PV wasn't involved.
If I was an investor in a consortium, I would want success and I would want it ASAP. I would want decisions made to bring that success. If that involved bringing back on board people who not only had valuable knowledge, but also a proven history of success, then they would be high on my list of potential appointments. If there is anything good to take away from this regime, it is that they have taught any potential new owners, how not to run a football club. Without ambition and a desire to move higher, you inevitably eventually go lower. RD never had that ambition, for him it was just a case of maintaining the status quo, whilst hopefully producing the odd Lookman along the way.
No mention now of being in final negotiations with the owner.
I see he has tried to make the page more professional looking. However it still has the classic one-man show web page mistake of veering between first person and third person.
Australian Football Consortium Ltd is in final negotiations with the current owner of the Club and is seeking commitments from cornerstone investors during March 2017. Henslow Pty Ltd is managing Australian Football Consortium Ltd's capital raise process and interested parties are encouraged to contact Chris Tait regarding the opportunity.
No mention now of being in final negotiations with the owner.
I'm sure they are not. This is just the first play ... our new owners are unlikely to be the Aussies.
The game has just begun.
When I first heard about this, I of course believed what my friend had told me. However I never expected it to become public knowledge because I assumed it would have been just one of many bids. The excitement for me, stemmed from the fact that finally there was conclusive evidence that he was willing to sell and that talks had actually taken place.
It worries me that this lot could be loads of different investers all with their own ideas. Right now there's nothing about them that makes me have any more faith than I do in Roland and Katie.
I can't see the final negotiation quote so I assume some of you are seeing a cached version.
This was what it said "Australian Football Consortium Ltd is in final negotiations with the current owner of the Club and is seeking commitments from cornerstone investors during March 2017. Henslow Pty Ltd is managing Australian Football Consortium Ltd's capital raise process and interested parties are encouraged to contact Chris Tait regarding the opportunity." Appears to have been removed...
I can't see the final negotiation quote so I assume some of you are seeing a cached version.
This was what it said "Australian Football Consortium Ltd is in final negotiations with the current owner of the Club and is seeking commitments from cornerstone investors during March 2017. Henslow Pty Ltd is managing Australian Football Consortium Ltd's capital raise process and interested parties are encouraged to contact Chris Tait regarding the opportunity." Appears to have been removed...
....as has Chris Tait's name. Odd. I wonder if the statement about final negotiations has been deemed to be a breach of the NDA, even though the club was not specifically named. Or it was perhaps just wrong.
Just a thought. Would it not be worth CAST contacting the AFC people via Henslow and offering to put forward a "fan's view" on Charlton. Would give the opportunity to stress the importance of the club to the fanbase, the history, the Valley and to emphasize to them that - done properly - many fans would be likely to return on a regular basis.
Considering we're in the undisputed best city in the World, I still personally think that the Club should be an attractive prospect to anyone with enough dough and enough knowledge and the best intentions.
I have my doubts whether this particular group has the money, upfront to do it and I'm not so keen on the "Feeder club" label either.
Out of interest, does anyone know around how much Bloom has invested in BHA, not including the ground?
It worries me that this lot could be loads of different investers all with their own ideas. Right now there's nothing about them that makes me have any more faith than I do in Roland and Katie.
Don't think that's how it works to be honest. The consortium put forward their blueprint to attract investors and if people decide to invest their money they do so without having any hands on involvement in the project. They either have faith that the opportunity offered will be worth them putting in money or they don't.
The Australian Football Consortium Ltd is an unlisted public company that has been established to acquire an underperforming English football team and elevate it to the English Premier League.
How we will achieve it
Australian Football Consortium Ltd brings together elite practices found in Australia's world-leading sporting codes and teams, including specialties in player performance, culture development, team management, supporter engagement, stadium operations and match day experience. Driven by an expert advisory team, Australian Football Consortium Ltd will implement:
A high-performance, cohesive team culture A strong Club brand in both the UK and Australia Australian best-in-class sport psychology and science Investment in the Club's training academy and facilities Management techniques designed to maximise performance Investment overview
In 2016 Australian Football Consortium Ltd commissioned Deloitte Football Business Group in Manchester, UK to undertake a feasibility study.
Australian Football Consortium Ltd is now conducting a confidential capital raise and is seeking investors to contribute a total A$55m in return for a shareholding in Australian Football Consortium Ltd.
Attractive returns on investment are expected to result from promotion to the Premier League where the earnings profile of clubs increases dramatically as a result of lucrative media rights arrangements. Upon achieving Australian Football Consortium Ltd's vision of promoting the Club to the Premier League, all investors will share in the value created. It is envisaged that liquidity will be provided through an IPO at that stage.
Process
Australian Football Consortium Ltd is in final negotiations with the current owner of the Club and is seeking commitments from cornerstone investors during March 2017. Henslow Pty Ltd is managing Australian Football Consortium Ltd's capital raise process and interested parties are encouraged to contact Chris Tait regarding the opportunity.
Chris Tait Principal Henslow +61 438 862 355 ctait@henslow.com
I really don't understand where the £55M comes from. Anyone looking to attract that kind of high risk investment based on eventual promotion to the PL would, to me, seem way off the mark, unless the plan was to seek further investment if and when in the PL (sorry @Scoham - I don't know what an IPO is).
Firstly, the Championship is probably a much harder league than the PL: look at the likes of Derby, Norwich, Wolves... it seems to me that to get to the top 3 and, therefore, the PL, you need a fair chunk of money, a very good closely knit squad (à la Bournemouth, or us under Curbs), a good manager and, an enormous slice of luck.
£55M to me, and assuming £30M+ is used up buying the brand (with, or without The Valley), doesn't add up. In any event, £55M is way too much to spend for a L1 club that's 16th in the table and in freefall. We're not Man City (who had 40k+ for their home games in L1 fifteen years ago); we're not Newcastle or Sunderland: we're a club - a product (I hate that term) - and in London there's too much competition: a day out in Bluewater is, apparently, becoming as popular as going to see a match at The Valley: if not a non-league game, or rugby, or cricket, or even West Ham.
Go back to the Championship and look at the former PL clubs festering there - Villa, Leeds, Forest, Cardiff: all with crackpot owners or no financial stability. My fear is that, with this Australian connection, there won't be any stability: either because the numbers have to add up and there's a risk of long-term debt to the investors; or there'll be too much interference with the manager/playing staff.
But, back to the £55M... less £30M for the buyout... maybe @AFKABartram / @Airman Brown / @Henry Irving can give some ball park figures of what it actually costs to climb from L1 to (and stay) in the PL? Transfers & player wages combined. I've no idea about player wages (particularly now with all the Sky money), but my guess for transfers would be £1-2M to buy yourself out (bearing in mind FFP) of L1, £20M to win the Championship and then, well, the first season in the PL: the sky's the limit!!!
Finally, in response to @MuttleyCAFC - a good post, but I don't get your reference to the Chinese connection: they've got their own PL now and, apart from over inflating the price of our footballers, I can't see them rushing to The Valley. There must be better potential investments out there?
Sorry - I know this is supposed to be a 'fact' not 'speculation' thread, but that £55M seems a very strange figure to me and, if I were a would-be investor, a very dodgy investment.
It worries me that this lot could be loads of different investers all with their own ideas. Right now there's nothing about them that makes me have any more faith than I do in Roland and Katie.
Don't think that's how it works to be honest. The consortium put forward their blueprint to attract investors and if people decide to invest their money they do so without having any hands on involvement in the project. They either have faith that the opportunity offered will be worth them putting in money or they don't.
Doubt that very much. If they have put millions in they will want a say in how it is spent and where.
The Australian Football Consortium Ltd is an unlisted public company that has been established to acquire an underperforming English football team and elevate it to the English Premier League.
How we will achieve it
Australian Football Consortium Ltd brings together elite practices found in Australia's world-leading sporting codes and teams, including specialties in player performance, culture development, team management, supporter engagement, stadium operations and match day experience. Driven by an expert advisory team, Australian Football Consortium Ltd will implement:
A high-performance, cohesive team culture A strong Club brand in both the UK and Australia Australian best-in-class sport psychology and science Investment in the Club's training academy and facilities Management techniques designed to maximise performance Investment overview
In 2016 Australian Football Consortium Ltd commissioned Deloitte Football Business Group in Manchester, UK to undertake a feasibility study.
Australian Football Consortium Ltd is now conducting a confidential capital raise and is seeking investors to contribute a total A$55m in return for a shareholding in Australian Football Consortium Ltd.
Attractive returns on investment are expected to result from promotion to the Premier League where the earnings profile of clubs increases dramatically as a result of lucrative media rights arrangements. Upon achieving Australian Football Consortium Ltd's vision of promoting the Club to the Premier League, all investors will share in the value created. It is envisaged that liquidity will be provided through an IPO at that stage.
Process
Australian Football Consortium Ltd is in final negotiations with the current owner of the Club and is seeking commitments from cornerstone investors during March 2017. Henslow Pty Ltd is managing Australian Football Consortium Ltd's capital raise process and interested parties are encouraged to contact Chris Tait regarding the opportunity.
Chris Tait Principal Henslow +61 438 862 355 ctait@henslow.com
I really don't understand where the £55M comes from. Anyone looking to attract that kind of high risk investment based on eventual promotion to the PL would, to me, seem way off the mark, unless the plan ws to seek further investment if and when in the PL (sorry @Scoham - I don't know what an IPO is).
Firstly, the Championship is probably a much harder league than the PL: look at the likes of Derby, Norwich, Wolves... it seems to me that to get to the top 3 and, therfore, the PL, you need a fair chunk of money, a very good closely knit squad (à la Bournemouth, or us under Curbs), a good manager and, an enormous slice of luck.
£55M to me, and assuming £30M+ is used up buying the brand (with, or without The Valley), doesn't add up. In any event, £55M is way too much to spend for a L1 club that's 16th in the table and in freefall. We're not Man City (who had 40k+ for their home games in L1 fifteen years ago); we're not Newcastle or Sunderland: we're a club - a product (I hate that term) - and in London there's too much competition: a day out in Bluewater is, apparently, becoming as popular as going to see a match at The Valley: if not a non-league game or rugby or cricket or West Ham.
Go back to the Championship and look at the former PL clubs festering there - Villa, Leeds, Forest, Cardiff: all with crackpot owners or no financial stability. My fear is that, with this Australian connection, there won't be any stability: either because the numbers have to add up, or there'll be too much interference with the manager/playing staff.
But, back to the £55M... less £30M for the buyout... maybe @AFKABartram or @Airman Brown can give some ball park figures of what it actually costs to climb from L1 to (and stay) in the PL? Transfers & player wages combined. I've no idea about player wages (particularly now with all the Sky money), but my guess for transfers would be £2-3M to buy yourself out (bearing in mind FFP) of L1, £20M to win the Chmpionship and then, well, the first season in the PL: the sky's the limit!!!
Finally, in response to @MuttleyCAFC - a good post, but I don't get your reference to the Chinese connection: they've got their own PL now and, apaert from over inflating the price of our footballers, I can't see them rushing to The Valley.
Sorry - I know this is supposed to be a 'fact' not 'speculation' thread, but that £55M seems a very strange figure to me and, if I were a would-be investor - very dodgy investment.
Well the 55mn is Aus Dollars, not pounds. That's about £33mn at current exchange rates. An insufficient amount of money to, first, buy the club (with ground) and, second, build a squad for promotion through the leagues. Particularly taking into account the paucity of adequate playing talent in the existing squad. Then there's a contribution to paying off existing charges on the ground and continuing with phase 28 or whatever we're up to now, of the training ground upgrade. For the purposes of my own sanity, I've ignored the Staprix loans as they would have to be written off by Roland?
Surely, it can only mean then, if this a genuine and serious attempt to acquire the club, that they already have some significant resources in place and are looking for a top-up to give some stability and pay day-to-day running costs?
IPO stands for Initial Public Offering - in other words turning the club back into a publicly listed company. Déjà vu for all of us who invested (and later lost) our money last time.
Comments
*kylie is western aboriginal for boomerang. The other Kylie, couchant, would be a whole different matter.
http://www.australianfc.com.au/
No mention now of being in final negotiations with the owner.
The game has just begun.
"Australian Football Consortium Ltd is in final negotiations with the current owner of the Club."
Reads like a charity appeal.
Appears to have been removed...
Edit: figure includes the ground I believe
Firstly, the Championship is probably a much harder league than the PL: look at the likes of Derby, Norwich, Wolves... it seems to me that to get to the top 3 and, therefore, the PL, you need a fair chunk of money, a very good closely knit squad (à la Bournemouth, or us under Curbs), a good manager and, an enormous slice of luck.
£55M to me, and assuming £30M+ is used up buying the brand (with, or without The Valley), doesn't add up. In any event, £55M is way too much to spend for a L1 club that's 16th in the table and in freefall. We're not Man City (who had 40k+ for their home games in L1 fifteen years ago); we're not Newcastle or Sunderland: we're a club - a product (I hate that term) - and in London there's too much competition: a day out in Bluewater is, apparently, becoming as popular as going to see a match at The Valley: if not a non-league game, or rugby, or cricket, or even West Ham.
Go back to the Championship and look at the former PL clubs festering there - Villa, Leeds, Forest, Cardiff: all with crackpot owners or no financial stability. My fear is that, with this Australian connection, there won't be any stability: either because the numbers have to add up and there's a risk of long-term debt to the investors; or there'll be too much interference with the manager/playing staff.
But, back to the £55M... less £30M for the buyout... maybe @AFKABartram / @Airman Brown / @Henry Irving can give some ball park figures of what it actually costs to climb from L1 to (and stay) in the PL? Transfers & player wages combined. I've no idea about player wages (particularly now with all the Sky money), but my guess for transfers would be £1-2M to buy yourself out (bearing in mind FFP) of L1, £20M to win the Championship and then, well, the first season in the PL: the sky's the limit!!!
Finally, in response to @MuttleyCAFC - a good post, but I don't get your reference to the Chinese connection: they've got their own PL now and, apart from over inflating the price of our footballers, I can't see them rushing to The Valley. There must be better potential investments out there?
Sorry - I know this is supposed to be a 'fact' not 'speculation' thread, but that £55M seems a very strange figure to me and, if I were a would-be investor, a very dodgy investment.
That's about £30M-£35M
Surely, it can only mean then, if this a genuine and serious attempt to acquire the club, that they already have some significant resources in place and are looking for a top-up to give some stability and pay day-to-day running costs?