Get out of this toonAccording to a statement the club made to The Journal, Ashley’s £100m asking price has been met and ‘all parties are at the sale and purchase stage‘, which sounds a bit different to any parties I’ve been to.
The Journal then goes on to speculate that it could still be some time before the takeover situation is resolved and they quote ‘sources’ who say the club has just renegotiated a £25m overdraft with Barclays, reduced from last seasons £39m facility.
The Journal further speculates that Barry Moat is behind the £100m offer but that Barclays are not prepared to offer him the same £25m overdraft facility they’ll offer to Ashley.
‘Sources’ have apparently also confirmed that 2 overseas parties are also still interested in the club and have progressed beyond the due diligence phase, although they haven’t yet made formal offers.
So what can we make of this? I suspect our decent start to the season has encouraged Ashley to think about the possibilities of promotion. If he hangs onto the club and we do get promoted, he’ll probably be able to at least double his asking price. Although he’ll be taking a risk in doing that – we might not get promoted and the club may then be worth less than it is now and his potential buyers might have disappeared. (more…)
40,000 crowds help MoatThe 40,000 crowds we’ve been getting at home games could help Barry Moat’s attempts to take over Newcastle United Football Club.
According to a recent article in The Journal, Moat’s original business plan was based on the Toon attracting 25,000 for home games. I have no idea how The Journal knows that but if we assume it’s true for a minute then the 15,000 additional fans we’ve been attracting could provide leverage for Moat in his negotiations with Barclays about the overdraft.
To be honest, I still wonder what the actual cost of the club will be to Moat or any other potential buyer. We know Ashley’s asking £100m and it has been suggested that the club has drawn £20m on it’s £40m overdraft facility but it’s still not clear to me what happens about the £100m Ashley loaned to the club to clear the debts. (more…)
Harris talks but says littleAccording to previous press reports, Newcastle United’s £39m overdraft facility with Barclays Bank ended on the 31st August and unless some other agreement was reached it was going to be renewed with only a £10m limit, in line with Barclays’ policy for Championship clubs.
If reports that the club owed £20m on that overdraft facility are true, then Ashley would have needed to pay off the other £10m by August 31st.
Barry Moat was apparently in the process of trying to negotiate some sort of deal with Barclays, which would allow the club to maintain a working overdraft facility higher than £10m and thus put him in a better position to take over the club.
I therefore wonder what happened with that, not that I’m expecting to hear anything from the club about it. (more…)
The bank that might like to say noMuch speculation has ensued after yesterday’s announcement that the club is giving Barry Moat more time to negotiate an overdraft facility with Barclays Bank.
Our favourite mackem Louise Taylor demonstrates surprising knowledge of the club’s confidential banking details, which form the crux of her latest article in The Guardian.
According to Ms Taylor and her inevitable ‘sources’, we have a £40m overdraft facility, on which we currently owe £20m. On Tuesday Barclays were planning to renew that facility but with only a £10m limit, which is in line with what they usually allow for Championship clubs.
Apparently Ashley has the funds to cover the £10m shortfall but – The Guardian claims – Moat does not and if he can’t persuade Barclays to break with their Championship-lending policies and allow him to have a £20m overdraft, then his takeover effort will fail. (more…)
