New stadium blog

[Uter]

Martins Stadium Blog: Stadium Funding | Brighton and Hove Albion | News | Stadium Diary

Doesn't reveal anything new on the funding, but does explain why the field has been ploughed...

 

[Lord Bracknell]

It's in two parts


PART ONE

Martin's Stadium Blog: Stadium Funding

Posted on: Fri 10 Oct 2008

By Martin Perry, Stadium Project Manager

Last Saturday The Sun ran a story saying the club's stadium project had been delayed for a year because of funding issues. Those of you who have followed the story will know that this is not the reason for the delay.

It has been caused by the time it will take to get our planning application for the stadium changes required by new legislation cleared, and the need to minimise the disruption to the University of Brighton when we take possession of their land.

With regard to the club's funding plan, if I could divulge the information it would set a lot of minds at rest, but at the present time it is too commercially sensitive.

We are in negotiations with a number of potential funding partners and we simply cannot commit this information to the public domain in the middle of these discussions.

Last week BBC South East reported that the money was not in place. Strictly speaking they were correct, the money isn't just sitting there, buried in the bottom of Dick Knight's garden as one caller to the fans' phone-in suggested.

But importantly, we do not need it at present, so this is another non-story by the BBC. Why can't they get behind the stadium? It is not just our new home; it will bring huge economic and social benefits to the area and they just can't see it.

What we do have in place is a very strong business plan, which will give us full access to the required funding. The plan does include a mortgage, but the borrowing is at a level which is affordable and realistic even in the current extraordinary conditions in the financial markets.

Even in these difficult times deals are being completed - the refinancing of Wembley was completed last week and there is another stadium deal that is about to close. We remain totally confident about the funding and are finalising the legal agreements that we need to be able to start in December.




PART TWO

Martin's Stadium Blog: Argus Letters

Posted on: Fri 10 Oct 2008

By Martin Perry, Stadium Project Manager

In response to the letter by Eric Witherden (thanks for your kind words Eric), which appeared in the Argus this week, I would like to clarify how the club is able to begin work on site before the revised planning application is heard by the council's planning committee.

There were four separate applications which were approved by the Secretary of State in 2007. The planning application the club has submitted to make the necessary changes to the stadium building alters only one of those four applications.

The work we will begin in December relates to the widening of Village Way which is covered by two of the other three applications. Work on the stadium itself won't start until April, by which time we expect the changes application to have been cleared.

And to answer the letter from John Hawes who I think somewhat wistfully thinks that because the field has been ploughed what we have been saying is all a con and the farmer is about to sow a crop.

Sorry to disappoint you Mr Hawes but we asked the farmer to plough the field before he vacated it because it makes it easier for the archaeologists to do their initial survey. It was ploughed deliberately for us and thanks to the farmer for helping us!

7 weeks to go and counting!

 

[Uter]

Martin's Stadium Blog: Stadium Funding

Posted on: Fri 10 Oct 2008

By Martin Perry, Stadium Project Manager

Last Saturday The Sun ran a story saying the club's stadium project had been delayed for a year because of funding issues. Those of you who have followed the story will know that this is not the reason for the delay.

It has been caused by the time it will take to get our planning application for the stadium changes required by new legislation cleared, and the need to minimise the disruption to the University of Brighton when we take possession of their land.

With regard to the club's funding plan, if I could divulge the information it would set a lot of minds at rest, but at the present time it is too commercially sensitive.

We are in negotiations with a number of potential funding partners and we simply cannot commit this information to the public domain in the middle of these discussions.

Last week BBC South East reported that the money was not in place. Strictly speaking they were correct, the money isn't just sitting there, buried in the bottom of Dick Knight's garden as one caller to the fans' phone-in suggested.

But importantly, we do not need it at present, so this is another non-story by the BBC. Why can't they get behind the stadium? It is not just our new home; it will bring huge economic and social benefits to the area and they just can't see it.

What we do have in place is a very strong business plan, which will give us full access to the required funding. The plan does include a mortgage, but the borrowing is at a level which is affordable and realistic even in the current extraordinary conditions in the financial markets.

Even in these difficult times deals are being completed - the refinancing of Wembley was completed last week and there is another stadium deal that is about to close. We remain totally confident about the funding and are finalising the legal agreements that we need to be able to start in December.

OK either you are a very fast typist, or you managed to select the text and copy it. Why am I unable to do that? Some setting is stopping me from selecting anything on the Website.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Right click - and export to Excel. Then copy column A and paste.

Magic.

 

[Uter]

Right click - and export to Excel. Then copy column A and paste.

Magic.

Cheers!

 

[Scoffers]

What I want to know is why the funding is STILL not in place. If it was always intended to be at this stage at this time then fair enough, but we got permission in 15 months ago and it just seems to my uneducated mind that we would have tried to tie up the finance long before now.

I'm no financial whiz kid or anything but I would have thought the answer to this is blatantly obvious

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The blog makes it quite clear that, thanks to the very strong business plan, we will have full access to the required funding.

That's how lending for projects like this works. Funds are released when they are needed.



With the funding not actually in the club's hands, we can at least take comfort that it hasn't been put on deposit in an Icelandic bank.

 

[Everest]

I wonder if Falmer will send the farmer to Cov for doing something FOR the Albion.

 

[Scoffers]

Well yes, there is an obvious SUSPICION, but the club are only setting themselves up for a massive fall if they maintain the money will come when they know damn well they're struggling to get it. I'm working on the basis that they WILL secure the funding, in which case how do they explain it taking so long?

I'm just trying to decide if it's worth responding or just giving you a text based slap

Ok, I've decided, here goes .........

 

[chimneys]

The blog makes it quite clear that, thanks to the very strong business plan, we will have full access to the required funding.

That's how lending for projects like this works. Funds are released when they are needed.

With the funding not actually in the club's hands, we can at least take comfort that it hasn't been put on deposit in an Icelandic bank.

Sorry to keep banging on about funding and aiming my comments at you Lord B, (its just you seem to me to be one of the closer people to the club who might have a clue), but this is what Martin stated:

"We are in negotiations with a number of potential funding partners and we simply cannot commit this information to the public domain in the middle of these discussions."

Your comment above assumes the facility is in place and its just the funds havent been drawn down. Martin appears to be saying the facility is not in place. 2 very different things in this financial climate.

I do appreciate we will all have to wait but I for one will be furious if it is subsequently proved we have been led down the garden path by our Board. Conversely if the new stadium opens in 2011 then Martin should be "Knight"ed to have pulled off such funding at this time when no business funding proposal without a very strong asset base, let alone as risky a proposal as a lower league football club, is being even considered by funders. The asset value of Falmer, if we go pop, is virtually nothing owing to the very tight planning use on the site.

I guess I just need to learn patience and all will be revealed!

 

[Deleted User X18H]

and we all know who suggested the money was buried at the bottom of Dick Knights garden on the phone in ...............don't we children!!!

 

[Deleted User X18H]

and we all know who suggested the money was buried at the bottom of Dick Knights garden on the phone in ...............don't we children!!!

 

[Deleted User X18H]

I'll say it again ahem...........I forgotten was it was now!!

 

[sully]

Ok, that's fine by me. So with the 'start Dec 08, finish 2010' timescale in mind, when would the funds need to be released? Do we need to have the full £60m in our back pocket by December? Or is it possible this funding issue can drag into next year?

As Lord B said, the funds are drawn down as they are needed, not in a lump sum.

Banks employ people like me to confirm that the cash is being requested at a sensible pace and that they are not overpaying at any time. It's called project monitoring and is actually quite boring most of the time!

 

[vulture]

lets hope they are not from iceland

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The blog makes it quite clear that, thanks to the very strong business plan, we will have full access to the required funding.

That's how lending for projects like this works. Funds are released when they are needed.

Sorry to keep banging on about funding and aiming my comments at you Lord B, (its just you seem to me to be one of the closer people to the club who might have a clue), but this is what Martin stated:

"We are in negotiations with a number of potential funding partners and we simply cannot commit this information to the public domain in the middle of these discussions."

Your comment above assumes the facility is in place and its just the funds havent been drawn down. Martin appears to be saying the facility is not in place. 2 very different things in this financial climate.

It's interesting that you attribute the comment I made to me. And that you then go on to suggest that Martin Perry is saying differently.

In fact, "my" comment comes direct from Martin Perry as well - in the same blog:-

"a very strong business plan, which will give us full access to the required funding".

 

[chimneys]

It's interesting that you attribute the comment I made to me. And that you then go on to suggest that Martin Perry is saying differently.

In fact, "my" comment comes direct from Martin Perry as well - in the same blog:-

"a very strong business plan, which will give us full access to the required funding".

Sorry not to make myself clear, my comment was directed at this quote from you:

"That's how lending for projects like this works. Funds are released when they are needed."

Your quote suggests funding is in place as it can only be drawn down (when needed) once it has been legally contracted. Martin says funding is not in place. You have both stated we dont need to worry though. 9 months ago I wouldnt have but today in this catastrophic financial world I do.

Previously I wouldnt have questioned what Martin/Dick say, but after "suddenly" announcing a year's delay only 2 weeks after saying all was well to me means any future statement cannot be wholly relied upon.

I know people's expectations need managing and sometimes a few vague statements need to be made. However if we are starting in December with the full funding facility in place (would be crazy to start if we havent definitely got the funds to finish), then due diligence on funding should be underway by now and therefore a more categoric statement on the issue should be able to be made.