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Pompey Takeover Saga

Fitzhugh Fella

By Fitzhugh Fella,
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PES

PES

Posted
Posted
Al Fahim is showing Piers Morgan round Dubai on ITV right now.

 

I really like Al Fahim, I know I shouldn't but I can't help it. He means well, but he's a complete and utter nutter. The way he showed up for the game in that Pompey top 2 sizes too small for him, laughing at the image in my head now. :D

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dubai_phil

dubai_phil

Posted
Posted (edited)

Some of today's stories

 

There is no reason to hope - Avram Grant - oops

 

http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/155919/Avram-Grant-rages-at-Portsmouth-board-/

 

More on Azoughy

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/david-conn-inside-sport-blog/2010/feb/03/portsmouth-mark-jacob-premier-league

 

All of the news

 

http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Sport/Football/Premier+League/Portsmouth

 

 

That Guardian article makes pretty harsh reading TBH

Edited by dubai_phil
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Gingeletiss

Gingeletiss

Posted
Posted
Some of today's stories

 

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/david-conn-inside-sport-blog/2010/feb/03/portsmouth-mark-jacob-premier-league

 

 

That Guardian article makes pretty harsh reading TBH

 

The Hong Kong businessman Balram Chainrai, who has links with the Israeli businessmen connected to Faraj, has loaned what the club said amounted to £20m and has two mortgages over the club. One, registered on 6 October, gives Chainrai's company Portpin, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands tax haven, security over Fratton Park. The other, registered on 7 January, secures for Portpin "the whole of [Portmouth's] undertaking and all its property and assets".

 

Thus, the circle is complete, now we know why there has been no panic stations down Farten way. They have the club and stadium, all parcelled up....'bring on administration' they cry ' liquidate us' they challange, because it matters not, they have it all. It seems that the 10 year cycle is upon us, and MM passed on a few good tips to SG.

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dubai_phil

dubai_phil

Posted
Posted
The Hong Kong businessman Balram Chainrai, who has links with the Israeli businessmen connected to Faraj, has loaned what the club said amounted to £20m and has two mortgages over the club. One, registered on 6 October, gives Chainrai's company Portpin, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands tax haven, security over Fratton Park. The other, registered on 7 January, secures for Portpin "the whole of [Portmouth's] undertaking and all its property and assets".

 

Thus, the circle is complete, now we know why there has been no panic stations down Farten way. They have the club and stadium, all parcelled up....'bring on administration' they cry ' liquidate us' they challange, because it matters not, they have it all. It seems that the 10 year cycle is upon us, and MM passed on a few good tips to SG.

 

 

So, that states quite clearly that the club do not "own" their players as there is a legal charge over them. A similar situation arose with regard to a UAE based investment fund 2 years ago that intended to invest in Football Club academies using a similar vehicle. They were denied a licence

 

So, in other words that charge looks to be in flagrant breach of the FA rules, not as clear cut as the Tevez case with regard to third party ownership, but a VERY good case for an official investigation based on a formal complaint from a rival. Good time for Hull or Wolves or Burnley to come to the party.

 

It also means that the funds raised from the sale of the players in the window have to be paid to the charge holder. So if the PL distribute the money to other clubs, then in theory Chanrai can sue the PL for spending HIS money, which, after the way they have bent over backwards to try and help would be a really funny come-uppance.

 

Our resident accountants and lawyers will love this one.

 

Looking forward to catching up on it all this evening after working at the golf. Should be a good couple of hours reading

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hutch

hutch

Posted
Posted

The second charge appears to have been registered on 7th January (2010, presumably). As this post-dates the issue of the WU petition (on 23rd December 2009, I think), I imagine that there is a very real prospect that it can be set-aside by any duly appointed liquidator.

 

It does, however, explain why Chanrai described the £7m TV money which was withheld by the PL as "his" money.

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hutch

hutch

Posted
Posted (edited)

I was going to post a flippant comment about Stoke, with their cultural background, agreeing to pay part of the fee for Begovic in pots, after learning that there is a shortage of pots at Fratton Park, particularly among its owners.

 

But in the light of the Grauniad article (if it's true), particularly the second charge that Portpin have registered on 7th January, it is now all over for PFC, so that would be in bad taste.

 

There is absolutely no chance of them getting their hands on any of the cash. It will either be diverted by the PL to pay other clubs, and perhaps the VAT portion of the incoming fees directly to HMRC, or grabbed by Chanrai. If the charge is what Conn says it is (and he quotes the date it was registered and even quotes from the content, so it seems likely), it's game over. They'll either go into liquidation very soon, probably next week, or if they're very lucky administration before that.

 

Unless an exiled Israeli-Russian arms dealer has a quiet word in the ear of a Hong Kong businessman.

 

I believe that the real truth, although we will never know it, lies in the true beneficial ownership of Falcondrone, which is coincidentally (another one?) registered in the same jurisdiction as Portpin.

 

All just IMHO, of course.

Edited by hutch
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pedg

pedg

Posted
Posted
Hmm there's another one.

 

9th Jan - when did Sasha go quiet?

 

All the assets are now tied up to Chanrai and Sasha has about as much chance of ever seeing his money back as the blue few have of playing in the Champions League next season..

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/02/alexandre-gaydamak-portsmouth-administration

 

Not trying to call in his loan and force admin anyway.

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Fowllyd

Fowllyd

Posted
Posted

 

It certainly does - a very good article indeed, from a journalist with an excellent reputation for digging into the murkier side of sport. Here's another from today's Guardian:

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/02/alexandre-gaydamak-portsmouth-administration

 

Interesting, as Clapham Saint has said before, that Gaydamak hasn't pushed Pompey into administration. Then again, given the mortgages held by Chainrai over FP and the whole of Pompey's assets, maybe it would do him no good anyway. As Phil says, young Sacha can probably kiss goodbye to any money he's owed by Pompey - but, as he still owns all the land around FP, maybe he'll be happy with that.

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pedg

pedg

Posted
Posted (edited)

The Portsmouth "White is black and black is white, honest" teller of the truth is back in the media I see.

 

http://www.tribalfootball.com/portsmouth-chief-jacob-begovic-pushed-stoke-move-618551

chief Mark Jacob insists goalkeeper Asmir Begovic pushed to be sold to
Stoke City
.

Jacob says the decision to leave was entirely down to the 22-year-old and that Begovic ignored pleas to stay at Fratton Park for the remaining 18 months of his contract.

Edited by pedg
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sidthesquid

sidthesquid

Posted
Posted
The Hong Kong businessman Balram Chainrai, who has links with the Israeli businessmen connected to Faraj, has loaned what the club said amounted to £20m and has two mortgages over the club. One, registered on 6 October, gives Chainrai's company Portpin, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands tax haven, security over Fratton Park. The other, registered on 7 January, secures for Portpin "the whole of [Portmouth's] undertaking and all its property and assets".

 

Thus, the circle is complete, now we know why there has been no panic stations down Farten way. They have the club and stadium, all parcelled up....'bring on administration' they cry ' liquidate us' they challange, because it matters not, they have it all. It seems that the 10 year cycle is upon us, and MM passed on a few good tips to SG.

 

I read that bit with alarm, too. Gaydamak gets to square his debt with Chanrai, Pompey get away with shafting all their creditors & carry on as before. The way they have acted is almost as if they know they can't go broke. The only hope is some intervention from the PL, but we all know how brave they are......

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sidthesquid

sidthesquid

Posted
Posted
It certainly does - a very good article indeed, from a journalist with an excellent reputation for digging into the murkier side of sport. Here's another from today's Guardian:

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/02/alexandre-gaydamak-portsmouth-administration

 

Interesting, as Clapham Saint has said before, that Gaydamak hasn't pushed Pompey into administration. Then again, given the mortgages held by Chainrai over FP and the whole of Pompey's assets, maybe it would do him no good anyway. As Phil says, young Sacha can probably kiss goodbye to any money he's owed by Pompey - but, as he still owns all the land around FP, maybe he'll be happy with that.

 

The whole point is that he knew he'd never see that cash anyway (& it's probably debatable whether he is truly owed it) but he and his dad will have cleared their debt to Chanrai when he takes possession of the club. Only the taxman and all the other creditors will lose out. I remain to be convinced that Al-Faraj even exists - even Jacob said he's never met him, only Storrie teller allegedly has - and the whole saga has been about the Gaydamaks and their financial woes.

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Fowllyd

Fowllyd

Posted
Posted
I read that bit with alarm, too. Gaydamak gets to square his debt with Chanrai, Pompey get away with shafting all their creditors & carry on as before. The way they have acted is almost as if they know they can't go broke. The only hope is some intervention from the PL, but we all know how brave they are......

 

I can see where you're coming from, but I can't see how a functioning football club remains in place at the end of that process. Pompey can't simply carry on if they can't pay the wages - and without money coming in they can't do that. If they're liquidated and a new club is formed (owned by Gaydamak?) it will still be in the position of having outgoings which are much higher than its income. I think an asset-stripping exercise is also a highly plausible explanation.

 

Like the avatar, btw!

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rallyboy

rallyboy

Posted
Posted

the fog is lifting and the plot is a little clearer.

 

So they don't intend to pay off debt (didn't fool us on that one), they will go into admin (ditto), but the club and ground will be protected as one item,

 

IF the latest agreement isn't thrown out by the winding up order.

 

The only thing to decide will be the size of penalties for the offences that will be committed - there will be tax and football creditors unsatisfied, so no cva.

 

For a Pompey fan who just wants survival, I think (!) this is good news, in fact it might make everyone happy because if they do survive and Chanrai actually wants a football club and not a leisure/industrial development, they will be starting next season with little chance of promotion from whatever division they are shuffled down to.

Best scenario - Championship with minus 15?

More likely - Championship with minus 30/League One with minus 10....which would be an interesting place to start a rebuild.

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pedg

pedg

Posted
Posted

IF the latest agreement isn't thrown out by the winding up order.

 

Given it postdates the winding up order there must be a strong chance that it would be thrown out I would guess if it prejudices other parties owed money getting their fair share?

 

If it leaves HMRC with less than they might expect one would assume they would not be happy about it.

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hutch

hutch

Posted
Posted
The whole point is that he knew he'd never see that cash anyway ...

Unless you know the true relationship between Falcondrone & Portpin (if there is one), you don't know that.

 

I can see where you're coming from, but I can't see how a functioning football club remains in place at the end of that process...

It doesn't.

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saintbletch

saintbletch

Posted
Posted
the fog is lifting and the plot is a little clearer.

 

So they don't intend to pay off debt (didn't fool us on that one), they will go into admin (ditto), but the club and ground will be protected as one item,

 

IF the latest agreement isn't thrown out by the winding up order.

 

The only thing to decide will be the size of penalties for the offences that will be committed - there will be tax and football creditors unsatisfied, so no cva.

 

For a Pompey fan who just wants survival, I think (!) this is good news, in fact it might make everyone happy because if they do survive and Chanrai actually wants a football club and not a leisure/industrial development, they will be starting next season with little chance of promotion from whatever division they are shuffled down to.

Best scenario - Championship with minus 15?

More likely - Championship with minus 30/League One with minus 10....which would be an interesting place to start a rebuild.

 

I didn't read it this way.

 

I thought the point that Hutch made was that Chenrai's loan is secured against the entire PFC operation. i.e. if they default on that loan then he gets to pick over the bones. (subject to this agreement being enforceable as it post-dates the WUO and also subject to whether player's registrations can be transferred to an individual in this way).

 

And as such this is not good news for Pompey as it means their main creditor doesn't expect or even want to be paid.

 

Did I get the wrong end of the stick? Hutch?

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GenevaSaint

GenevaSaint

Posted
Posted
Chatinari(sp?) may own the ground and club, but it's the registration that counts (as we found out) which is held by the League....

 

Absolutely, if they do go down this approach with no debt being paid up I can't see them getting the "golden share" to play in the league. From a fans perspective the best thing to happen would be admin, and soon, otherwise we could really see AFC Pompey playing in the Wessex league!

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carljack

carljack

Posted
Posted
the fog is lifting and the plot is a little clearer.

 

So they don't intend to pay off debt (didn't fool us on that one), they will go into admin (ditto), but the club and ground will be protected as one item,

 

IF the latest agreement isn't thrown out by the winding up order.

 

The only thing to decide will be the size of penalties for the offences that will be committed - there will be tax and football creditors unsatisfied, so no cva.

 

For a Pompey fan who just wants survival, I think (!) this is good news, in fact it might make everyone happy because if they do survive and Chanrai actually wants a football club and not a leisure/industrial development, they will be starting next season with little chance of promotion from whatever division they are shuffled down to.

Best scenario - Championship with minus 15?

More likely - Championship with minus 30/League One with minus 10....which would be an interesting place to start a rebuild.

 

 

With the "Mortgage" being signed to Chanrai at the time a convicted Fraudster and a Fake Sheik nobody seems to have ever seen became involved,It is my opinion that there may well be a lot of Time spent in court argueing who owed what to who when!

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Gemmel

Gemmel

Posted
Posted

Will Marc Jackson try and buy the club for a pound, before or after they go into admin. I thought he would have been on the scene by now, may be he is negotiating whilst we type, but if he doesn't turn up, it goes to show that things must be even worse down there, than we thought..... I mean fook me igmagine a south coast team that not even he is interested in.

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Crab Lungs

Crab Lungs

Posted
Posted
Will Marc Jackson try and buy the club for a pound, before or after they go into admin. I thought he would have been on the scene by now, may be he is negotiating whilst we type, but if he doesn't turn up, it goes to show that things must be even worse down there, than we thought..... I mean fook me igmagine a south coast team that not even he is interested in.

 

At least they will get a monkey petting zoo if MJ does purchase them :-(

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gaz

gaz

Posted
Posted (edited)

I think the only person that'll come out of this with any shred of dignity and reputation is Avram.

 

If they go belly up (which they will), then it had nothing to do with him, and he only could work with whatever wasn't sold last month. If they stay up, then it'll be down to his coaching and management ability.

 

Everyone else at the club has a degree of blame (Players for not offering to forfeit wages for a month or two like other sides have done in the past, Storrie/Jacob/everyone else at a high level for gross financial mis-management etc).

 

Oh, not the normal club staff, but they are Skates though. :)

Edited by gaz
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Gingeletiss

Gingeletiss

Posted
Posted (edited)

 

Now this below, is one of the replies to the above article....very well thought out. A Crap Lungs moment!!!!!

 

2010, 1:34AM I disagree with the description of "haemorrhaging spending" that David Conn uses to describe the finances of Portsmouth Football Club.

This requires context. In August 2009, PFC paid the outstanding monies owed to Standard Bank which was in the region of £30m using transfer income, sky money and season ticket income. This had the effect of hollowing out the finances of the club and meant that the business had a cashflow problem. Any purchaser of the club would (or should) have been aware of that from any due diligence on the club. There were income streams but the timing of these were not conducive to running a business smoothly. Anybody aware of running a business knows that cashflow problems can easily kill a business.

So when Al Fahim took control of PFC, there was around £50m of debt. Half of which was owed to Sacha Gaydamak (£28m) which was agreed to be paid in two instalments: January 2010 then the rest in 2012. The club had an overdraft facility with Barclays at £10m which was guaranteed by Gaydamak with agreed payment schedules. HMRC were owed around £10m, mostly generated by the transfer sales which had kept the club above water. In August 2009, HMRC would have agreed to a payment schedule which could be timed with the income streams of PFC.

Then you have the running costs associated with a premier league club. The playing staff wage bill had been considerably reduced by departures and although there were still a few players earning exceptional wages, the squad salary total was more in line with the lower half of the Premier League and the quality considerably reduced.

So although the playing side of the squad was compromised by the delay in the takeover, the financial side wasn't as desperate as journalists made it out to be. It required some investment and liquidity to survive as a club. However that never occurred.

The six/seven weeks under the control of Al Fahim can only be described as bizarre. Despite the obvious problem of cashflow, Al Fahim never addressed it. He went round the world looking for £50m when I believe that £10m would have allowed the club breathing room up to the January window. So the cashflow problem resulted in September's wages not being paid. This allowed Falcondrone to get a foothold in PFC through a £5m loan and with the help of Peter Storrie stirring up the supporters, Al Fahim was forced to sell 90% of the club in October.

What has happened since beggars belief.

One of the more interesting pieces of information that has come out is that between the takeover in October and today, the club has received in excess of £50m of income. Mark Jacob confirmed that prior to the January Sky monies and sales of Kaboul and Begovic, the club has received £40m of income. Half of which is the Chainrai loans - charged against the club as David Conn wrote, the rest have come though gate receipts, transfer fees payments etc.

So where has the money been going? Not to outgoing transfer fees as the Premier League have had to freeze money in order to pay these. Some £4m has been paid to HMRC according to Jacob. Some £7.5m went to Barclays (more on this below). Wages have been paid eventually (approx £8m I think). However other running costs haven't been paid on time and creditors have only received money through legal action or camping themselves out in the reception room at Fratton Park.

The Barclays Bank case is particularly curious. As I said above, the bank had a guarantee from Sacha Gaydamak using assets worth £2.5m as collateral. One of the first actions of Falcondrone ownership was to default the schedule of payments on the overdraft. The assets used by Gaydamak were seized by the bank and the account facilities frozen. Falcondrone paid the remaining £7.5m but PFC do not have an overdraft facility. The winding up order from HMRC have placed further restrictions on the bank account which creates further cashflow problems.

The club have been cutting costs - for example the academy have seen its satellite facilities removed, staff sacked, bills have not been paid. The youth team coaches were repossessed last month. The training ground kitchen facilities have also been repossessed due to non-payment. The finance director resigned her directorship and become an employee. She was complaining last week of not being given money to pay day-to-day bills in her new role as finance manager.

In short, the club is being driven into the ground and is operating as a zombie club while Daniel Azougy, the three times convicted fraudster, operates as the de facto owner of PFC.

And then there is the maths. If the club has received £50m in the 13 weeks since the takeover, why is it in the crises it is where day-to-day payments can't be made? Something stinks rotten at the heart of PFC. David Conn, your article merely touches the surface.

 

 

 

One more reply that is interesting and needs a 'bump'

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/jan/10/portsmouth-wages-waste-of-money

"Utaka...is an ongoing liability who arguably represents the worst piece of transfer business ever conducted by Portsmouth's chief executive Peter Storrie and the club's former manager Harry Redknapp."

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/tax-authorities-to-grill-redknapp-over-payments-from-portsmouth-1797791.html

Redknapp received a sum of around £100,000. He said: "I got a percentage of sell-on [fees] in my contract if I sold a player.

Ever wondered why Rednapp is always looking to buy more and more players?

Speculate to accumulate.

Or accumulate to speculate.

Edited by Gingeletiss
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gaz

gaz

Posted
Posted

Re: Azougy.... are Pompy lying to the PL? Can the PL request to see his contract?

 

''Under the Premier League's fit and proper person test, nobody convicted of dishonesty offences can act as a club director, but the league does not believe Azougy's position can be classed as that senior, so it is powerless to act. "We have asked numerous times for clarification of Mr Azougy's role," a Premier League spokesman said. "Each time the board has said he is a consultant on a short-term contract."

 

The spokesman added that in regular meetings the Premier League holds with Portsmouth to clarify the club's parlous position, it insists Azougy must not be present. "We are still actively pursuing the precise role Mr Azougy is fulfilling," he said, "to ensure it does fall short of acting as a director or shadow director."''

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GenevaSaint

GenevaSaint

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Posted

"One of the more interesting pieces of information that has come out is that between the takeover in October and today, the club has received in excess of £50m of income. Mark Jacob confirmed that prior to the January Sky monies and sales of Kaboul and Begovic, the club has received £40m of income. Half of which is the Chainrai loans - charged against the club as David Conn wrote, the rest have come though gate receipts, transfer fees payments etc."

 

While I agree that the finances look dodgy to say the least, I wouldn't trust a word Jacob comes out with. Unless the 40m can be accounted for £ by £ it's a throw away comment in my eyes.

 

A full independant review of the finances needs to be done to get to the bottom of this financial cess pit.

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GenevaSaint

GenevaSaint

Posted
Posted
"Utaka...is an ongoing liability who arguably represents the worst piece of transfer business ever conducted by Portsmouth's chief executive Peter Storrie and the club's former manager Harry Redknapp."

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/tax-authorities-to-grill-redknapp-over-payments-from-portsmouth-1797791.html

Redknapp received a sum of around £100,000. He said: "I got a percentage of sell-on [fees] in my contract if I sold a player.

Ever wondered why Rednapp is always looking to buy more and more players?

Speculate to accumulate.

Or accumulate to speculate.

 

The man is rotten to the core. I guess this may have been in his contract at every club he's ever been at. It would be interesting to see the number of players bought/sold over his management career in comparison to other managers.

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gaz

gaz

Posted
Posted
The man is rotten to the core. I guess this may have been in his contract at every club he's ever been at. It would be interesting to see the number of players bought/sold over his management career in comparison to other managers.

 

''Redknapp received a sum of around £100,000. He said: "I got a percentage of sell-on [fees] in my contract if I sold a player. The club paid me five per cent [for Crouch]. I went to Milan because I had signed a new contract that said five per cent but I said, 'No, when I signed Crouch it was 10 per cent, so I want 10 per cent' and Milan said, 'OK.'"''

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/tax-authorities-to-grill-redknapp-over-payments-from-portsmouth-1797791.html

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dronskisaint

dronskisaint

Posted
Posted

 

Half way through the article & a smile on my face I wondered why you had thought it was any more than just another comical nail in the proverbial burial at sea but reading on I see what you mean!

 

Then reading Gingeletiss's follow up I believe now that there is no way back - I'd always feared that with the potential cash flow payments plus a seemingly endless supply of rescheduled payment plans plus player sales & by using every creditor (including their stewards) as a bank that they could ride this out.

 

I'm a day to day businessman, I don't have an intimate knowledge of insolvency law but if Chanrai, Portpin, Falcondrome etc have put themselves in a preferred creditor position (I had not thought that this was possible but I stand to be corrected) then there is no way that they can be continued to be allowed to trade as there is no prospect of any other creditor, including HMRC, being paid so they are more than just technically bankrupt.

 

The biggest issue is the only books that have been seen allegedly emanated from a bin at the ground (I use the expression advisedly with apologies to the trades & descriptions act) but any statutory body that has a fraction of this background information should be investigating as a matter of priority - I believe that there are a number of statutes that prevent the ongoing process of fraud being continued - perhaps a call to the local nick would serve the purpose?

 

I confidently predict (particularly after reading the Exeter director case) that jail terms will be served & directorial bans issued as a result of this. Whether we get to see the FA Cup tie (& I have tickets woohoo!) is really only a matter of how big a smokescreen they can blow on the 10th.

 

Shaking head in disbelief smiley

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warsash saint

warsash saint

Posted
Posted
The man is rotten to the core. I guess this may have been in his contract at every club he's ever been at. It would be interesting to see the number of players bought/sold over his management career in comparison to other managers.

 

 

If Redknapp has this written into his contract, then chances are many more managers are doing the same thing.

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