Most likely 76% of the £11.2 million share purchase price, 76% of the £10 million FPP debt owed, plus what ever he's put in himself since. Certainly £16 million quantifiable.
Yes as far as I understand it, Donald can only lose what he's already put into Madrox. The only way this can cripple him financially is for him to keep plugging the gap to keep us afloat. Frankly he'll only do that until he realises he won't be able to sell to make his money back, which will hopefully be very soon as the alternative is grim. The FPP loan charge will then be our saving grace as it would be the only thing stopping him from taking us into admin.
Well I'm sure someone who believes it will be happy to explain it ... ... and where the first £1m interest payments are coming from
From what I know of it, he didn't desperately need the loan. He certainly wasn't seeking a loan. When we got to the championship he'd have needed one but at that stage , with parachute payments and good attendances, he could have done without. In terms of a why. Basically he didn't appreciate just how excited everyone was going to be by the FPP involvement, it was all people were talking about. He then ****ed the takeover up and FPP walked away (think that was the day he panicked and sacked Ross). FPP still wanted the chance to get involved and potentially own the club at the price they saw as being right. They decided to offer a loan, one which was heavily weighted in their favour and which would ensure they had control over who he could sell to unless he paid it back. The thinking was likely that either Donald would fail and they'd get the club for their price, or he'd use it well, get to the championship, and they could buy it for a price that suited Donald more but with less risk for them. Hell, until Donald completely lost the fans they probably thought if he did well with the loan they'd let him stay on and run the thing, which would be ideal for Donald, especially if he also kept some shares. Donald likely didn't want to take it, he'd be better getting a loan (if he needed one) from a bank or similar that didn't have designs on taking the club from him, that would have no reason to want to turn down other bidders. If, as seems the case, it's about 11% interest then it's not even like it was just a cheap loan and was advantageous that way. But Donald knew the excitement around fpp, he knew that people at the club had been mouthing off to all and sundry about it being a done deal, boasting about how much money we'd have. He knew that if he had to admit it was gone, the pressure would be massive and he'd be ran out of town. So he took the loan to keep them at the table as much as anything, hoping that if he got us up he'd still do well out of it. Of course he failed to get us up, the relationship with the fans soured even further, Covid struck and likely meant he had to start using the loan before he really wanted to (which meant he wasn't just in a position to pay it back). He gambled and lost, and FPP put him in the position to do just that.
Because because, they were investing in his management team, not SAFC, as they live 300000 miles away. The money would only be needed for infrastructure and day to day expenses and not really needed as we are in a solid financial shape due to his stewardship.
Interesting. Thing I've been wondering lately is how much is this actually hurting Donald financially (I know his ego is taking a massive kicking) The money that Donald is having to fork out now. Is he funding it or is it coming from Madrox i.e remnants of parachute money FPP loan and just eating into his potential profits when he does sell
Because because, they were investing in his management team, not SAFC, as they lived 3000 miles away and needed his hands-on football management experience coupled with his successful experienced stewardship to use the loan for infrastructure and day to day expenses but it wasn't really needed because of the excellent solid financial situation he had achieved at the club....or words to that effect or whatever other noises were going on in his head/world iirc
Well, I think he took the loan to keep them at the table but didn't intend spending it until he needed to, giving him the opportunity to repay it if he wanted. Its likely the club is losing about £1.5m a month now, and will have been for a while. So I'd expect that money is now coming from the loan. Way I see it, the longer he holds on, the less he can expect to get for the club. FPP will know that as well, they've got him completely over a barrel. This is why, with no end to the Covid uncertainty in sight and Donald likely to have to start putting additional funds into the club to cover it, I'm fairly certain any delay on selling won't be from the selling side. I think even he knows its time to go. FPP never invested in him though, apparently they have no time for him whatsoever, if they still want the club they'll probably be screwing him down at this point since they backed him into taking a loan that was so heavily weighted in their favour and the circumstances have gone so badly against Donald.
I suspect he still thinks hes in charge and is pulling the strings but looks like FPP have played a blinder Suppose this is what happens when you start playing with the big lads.
Bang on with what I’ve been told But still think he’s trying to hang in, but I give him 3 months tops after yesterday’s government announcement
My take on the loan is it was intended, as was stated at the time, to be used for improvements for the infrastructure of the club i.e. the infamous AOL broken lift, the **** SOL sound system etc. I think the idea was to use the money to fix these, FPP happy to do the loan as they're basically fixing parts of the club that they would eventually buy and would need to do anyway, Donald happy to take the loan as it kept them at the table and also gave him a bit flexibility with the extra money (did any of the above-mentioned items ever get fixed?). I remember at the time the reaction of the fans was initial disappointment and anger at the collapse of a FPP takeover but when the loan was announced a bit of excitement that we could buy a **** load of players and piss the league. Methven in particular **** himself at these views and was quite vocal in playing down the idea of player investment and getting his point across about it being for infrastructure improvements. So in a nutshell I think FPP always had a longer term view of obtaining the club one way or another, the loan being a way of keeping its future assets fit for purpose. Donald taking the loan knowing he could use it in other ways but also keep them at the table to appease fans. None of the these thought processes could account for Covid and the consequences it has brought and Donald has probably had to use the money for day to day running of the club which has probably pissed FPP off as their future assets may not have been fixed/repaired or whatever. So I think they'd be really keen to turn the screw or certainly not overpay for the club, hence the standoff. If FPP (or Fuhrman or whatever) didn't want the club they'd have walked, imo they want it and they're going to screw him into the ground in the process of getting it.
Doubt it'll be as high as that. I'd look at a ballpark of around half of what you've quoted, which will still equate to £9 million per year and quickly becomes unsustainable, in our position.
Not sure. I know the stuff about why the loan was accepted is accurate, what their intentions are now I couldn't say. I've heard enough from people I trust to believe conversations have been taking place but I've also heard that nothing is in any way imminent. Mind, I've not heard anything new on that for a few weeks. I don't think it's at EFL stage or anything. I think one or more of FPP will still have an interest but if they're risk averse then maybe they'd rather see how the Covid situation plays out. I know there's indemnities they could add in but there's no real point. They might as well sit tight, see how it plays out, knowing that they're still absolutely in the driving seat as they can veto other bids (and Donald likely now couldn't even afford to pay the loan back if he wanted to). So they wait, knowing Donald is bleeding money at present and that the price is only going one way. With salary caps and the likes they couldn't even make any big moves, and even less likely part way through a season. If I was them I'd sit back and wait. If we stay down we'd likely be available for a lot less than before. If we go up then happy days, Donald will still need to get out, the price will still be favourable and there's less risk for them. When someone I trust told me he doesn't expect anything imminent I think he's right. That doesn't mean others aren't posting things on in good faith, I'm sure there's regular discussions around it, an agreement might even be very close in terms of just needing final price and sign off, but I doubt they'll be doing it any time soon.
I was told by someone involved, without question, that Donald had the deal done then asked for a supplementary payment for promotion and again from the Championship. Have you heard anything similar.
