"Overfried" is probably a better definition, as the refried is a bad/misleading translation of the native (Spanish) method of cooking.
At a "bargain"? You keep repeating this nonsense that there were no credible bids that met the value of the club. Whose value? The Allams. Independent valuers all suggest the club is worth between 15-20m pounds and yet the Allams want double that. Who is the unrealistic one?
It seems well-written because it's all true, but it's nothing that thousands of others haven't said over the last five or six years. The HDM summed it up when they asked what was left as a legacy of our Golden Years, bar memories. Nothing. We don't own our stadium, the training and youth facilities are frankly Conference-standard, and our attendances (Chinese Flu matches excepted) are about half of those when last we were in the fourth-tier, never mind the third. Tough times are a-coming for our beloved soccerball side!
"Fair play to you, Grant, for sticking your head above the parapet; there are plenty of fans who'd love to cut it off tonight" My favourite quote of the season
you are adding words into my posts. I said no credible bids. Not Credible bids that met the “value”. Not one buyer had the proof of funds, made a real offer, and passed the fit and proper test. A few groups tried to get a bid going and failed, and one or two were a publicity stunt. Just so you get what I keep repeating (your post shows you don’t) it does NOT matter what the Allams value it as if no one can even scrape a decent offer together. Most of the interest was hot air generated by the family to keep the fans happy. We had a couple of consortiums who made genuine attempts to negotiate but they were a long way from having proof of funding never mind even getting to the “price” stage. At least two interested groups had no money all, and were trying to talk an offer up in the hope they could then find some. Sole thought the Allams might offload it cheap to get rid, so they sniffed about to test the water. Window shoppers. There really wasn’t a string of bidders who left as they just didn’t quite have enough to meet this over value.
What's a "Decent offer" other than meeting the Allams value? I don't think you quite understand how buying a club works. I could put a "decent offer" together that demonstrates I have the funds to run the club into the future in a sustainable business model, but if I only offer the Allams 15m and they value the club at 40m we obviously aren't going to strike a deal are we?
A someone who is trained in corporate finance I know. No one came close to buying us. At all. Price comes after due diligence, proof of interest, and funds, and then you get to the real discussions. The chancers and time wasters don’t get to the “let’s talk” stage. (name me one group who had the money and the standing needed, who walked due to price. The American bid was advanced but they couldn’t show they had the cash).
As someone trained in corporate finance you would know that a business is worth what someone is willing to pay and what someone is willing to sell at. I'm assuming you're well versed in M&A and know how the valuation process works? So in saying that, saying that the Allams value of the club doesn't matter is ludicrous.
It matters. At the point where you are ready to talk final costs. It did not matter in the case of interest to date as no one got close to even being credible. Course price matters. A parallel would be you walking into a couture boutique in London and having to ask what a hand made suit costs. It’s irrelevant if you have a twenty pound note and a hope you might find a rich girlfriend. It matters only when you walk in ready and equipped to have a genuine go at obtaining one. The genuine buyers do their research and then negotiate when BOTH side know things are credible to continue.
It's amazing how all those that defend the Allam position on here come back to arguing about semantics when the bottom line is the Allams have no genuine interest in selling and this is reflected in both the high asking price and the unwillingness to meeting with potential buyers in any meaningful way. There is no one to blame for the lack of sale but the Allams themselves. Two interested parties now own other Championship clubs. There clearly was proof of funds available and the issue was the high asking price from the Allams well over market valuation.
Didn't the Alarms have it away with about £6 million deposit from the man who owns Nice and Reading...?