How have Brighton paid for the new stadium and academy ?

[Seagull on the wing]

A small detail, I know, but ...

The deal to play at Gillingham was a deal between Scally and Archer, rather than Scally and Bellotti. I know this for a fact, because at the time it happened I was involved in organising a local government conference in Eastbourne, where Bellotti was a delegate. He was suddenly summoned by Archer to attend a meeting (in Birmingham) that Archer had arranged with Scally; and Bellotti had to pull out of one of the conference events in order to be there. Part of my job at the conference involved organising transport for the delegates and Bellotti asked me to arrange a taxi to take him home and onwards to Eastbourne Station, so that he could go to Birmingham. I asked him what was going on in Birmingham and he told me that Archer wanted him to join him at the meeting with Scally. Shortly afterwards, the Gillingham groundshare was announced.

PS ... I should also make it clear that Bellotti was told that the taxi journey he wanted me to arrange for him was nothing to do with the business of the conference and he would therefore have to make his own transport arrangements.

I bow to your inside knowledge LB and stand corrected...was not there a do that one was the others best man at a wedding ? All I do know that going to Gillingham for a 'home game' was awful but better than going out the league altogether

 

[Brownstuff]

Another genuine question: what was Tony Bloom doing during 'the troubles' of the 1990s?

There is a small chapter about Tony Bloom in a book called 'Gambling:A Story of Triumph and Disaster' by the cricketer Mike Atherton.
It gives a bit of information about his early years and subsequent rise.

 

[Seagull on the wing]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bellotti
The Weasels history so far....

 

[Stat Brother]

Sorry to repeat what I have previously but although no one can deny the stadium has been built and paid for and the training ground is being built (and will presumably be paid for) by Tony Bloom, the actual source of the money has never been made clear. In the style of Mr Benetez:

Fact - it did not come from his poker winnings
Fact - it did not come from the sale of his online gambling company
Fact - it did not come from his visible business interests in the UK

It may have come from overseas property and venture capital assets but no one on this board has ever identified a single one of these.
Tony Bloom may be a very wealthy individual but again the only evidence of this on this board has been anecdotal.

I have no axe to grind and I am very grateful for the new ground and team but a lot of assumptions are made about Mr Bloom which may or may not be true. I don't know the answers myself.

I don't know how he's stayed under the radar of The Sunday Times Rich List.

 

[Mr Putdown]

Tony Bloom has a lot, lot, lot, lot, lot, lot more than £120m.

Not according to the Football Rich List (which I freely admit could be a pile of guesswork)

61.*Tony Bloom £50m
Brighton & Hove Albion (Last year £50m, 60th)

Exciting times for Brighton fans, with their beloved Albion starting their second-tier season strongly in a brand new £93m, 22,500-seat stadium. Chairman Tony Bloom took over in 2009 and appointed former Chelsea and Spurs star Gus Poyet as manager. Bloom has been reported as injecting £80m into club to fund its new stadium. He has converted £18m of loans to the Seagulls into shares, making him the majority shareholder with a 75.61% stake.
If that level of input sounds like a gamble, Bloom should know what he's doing. He is one of Britain's top poker players, his interest in gambling having started at the age of seven when he lost his pocket money on fruit machines. He later made his real money by launching online-gaming firm Premierbet in 2002. It was taken over in 2005 and Bloom moved into property development in Brighton. His main company Blue Lizard Consulting showed £5.4m net assets in 2009-10. In all four of his companies have £10m net assets. Cautiously we value Bloom at around £50m as any return on the Seagulls investment will depend on the club making it to the top flight.

 

[Bwian]

I don't know how he's stayed under the radar of The Sunday Times Rich List.

Because the STRL only contains details that people want them to publish?

Tony Bloom is clearly a very smart man, a very smart RICH man who doesn't want his business out in the public domain-very sensible decision if you ask me. If we knew how much money he has we'd be on his case to bring in more top name players.

 

[Mellotron]

Not according to the Football Rich List (which I freely admit could be a pile of guesswork)

61.*Tony Bloom £50m
Brighton & Hove Albion (Last year £50m, 60th)

Exciting times for Brighton fans, with their beloved Albion starting their second-tier season strongly in a brand new £93m, 22,500-seat stadium. Chairman Tony Bloom took over in 2009 and appointed former Chelsea and Spurs star Gus Poyet as manager. Bloom has been reported as injecting £80m into club to fund its new stadium. He has converted £18m of loans to the Seagulls into shares, making him the majority shareholder with a 75.61% stake.
If that level of input sounds like a gamble, Bloom should know what he's doing. He is one of Britain's top poker players, his interest in gambling having started at the age of seven when he lost his pocket money on fruit machines. He later made his real money by launching online-gaming firm Premierbet in 2002. It was taken over in 2005 and Bloom moved into property development in Brighton. His main company Blue Lizard Consulting showed £5.4m net assets in 2009-10. In all four of his companies have £10m net assets. Cautiously we value Bloom at around £50m as any return on the Seagulls investment will depend on the club making it to the top flight.

That list is hilarious. You really think Tony Bloom has spent ALL his money on the Albion and is now about £80m in debt? OK then.

Bloom's a billionnaire. I don't pretend to be ITK about pretty much anything on this site, but in this instance I have a pretty good source.

 

[reigate]

As far as I am aware, the only person to have anything written off was Bill Archer when he signed over his share (49.5%) of the club. How much he made from the eventual sale/redevelopment of the Goldstone and interest/fines on the loans he engineered is anyones guess.

I'm not sure building infrastructure to secure the future of the club could be described as 'a la Abramovich'. If you are referring to the losses, then that covers over 90% of the professional clubs.

I may be wrong, but i'm sure I remember the club (under Knight) paid Archer £2m some years after taking over, so that he had no further connection with the club and could not benefit from the stadium etc?

 

[Bwian]

Not according to the Football Rich List (which I freely admit could be a pile of guesswork)

61.*Tony Bloom £50m
Brighton & Hove Albion (Last year £50m, 60th)

Exciting times for Brighton fans, with their beloved Albion starting their second-tier season strongly in a brand new £93m, 22,500-seat stadium. Chairman Tony Bloom took over in 2009 and appointed former Chelsea and Spurs star Gus Poyet as manager. Bloom has been reported as injecting £80m into club to fund its new stadium. He has converted £18m of loans to the Seagulls into shares, making him the majority shareholder with a 75.61% stake.
If that level of input sounds like a gamble, Bloom should know what he's doing. He is one of Britain's top poker players, his interest in gambling having started at the age of seven when he lost his pocket money on fruit machines. He later made his real money by launching online-gaming firm Premierbet in 2002. It was taken over in 2005 and Bloom moved into property development in Brighton. His main company Blue Lizard Consulting showed £5.4m net assets in 2009-10. In all four of his companies have £10m net assets. Cautiously we value Bloom at around £50m as any return on the Seagulls investment will depend on the club making it to the top flight.

Nobody is going to put in the amount of cash TB has if they are only worth 50M.

 

[Daffy Duck]

I may be wrong, but i'm sure I remember the club (under Knight) paid Archer £2m some years after taking over, so that he had no further connection with the club and could not benefit from the stadium etc?

I seem to remember a figure of about £400,000 or thereabouts.

We needed to get rid of the b*****d forever.

 

[The Large One]

I may be wrong, but i'm sure I remember the club (under Knight) paid Archer £2m some years after taking over, so that he had no further connection with the club and could not benefit from the stadium etc?

He was due £1.4m.

He received £700,000.

 

[Stat Brother]

Because the STRL only contains details that people want them to publish?

Tony Bloom is clearly a very smart man, a very smart RICH man who doesn't want his business out in the public domain-very sensible decision if you ask me. If we knew how much money he has we'd be on his case to bring in more top name players.

I'm sure we are pretty close to the last reason why TB is smart enough to keep his wealth from the lime light.

But surely club accounts etc are in the public domain, it's not possible for TB to be worth 'only' £50m.

 

[Common as Mook]

That list is hilarious. You really think Tony Bloom has spent ALL his money on the Albion and is now about £80m in debt? OK then.

Bloom's a billionnaire. I don't pretend to be ITK about pretty much anything on this site, but in this instance I have a pretty good source.

This.

 

[Mr Putdown]

That list is hilarious. You really think Tony Bloom has spent ALL his money on the Albion and is now about £80m in debt? OK then.

Bloom's a billionnaire. I don't pretend to be ITK about pretty much anything on this site, but in this instance I have a pretty good source.

I haven't made any comment whatsoever about those figures other than to suggest they may be complete guesswork. That quote came from the Football Rich List, not me. Indeed his ability to fund the stadium is unquestionable, he's done it!

Mind you, from a business perspective, I'd be fascinated to see any evidence that he is a billionaire and how he became one.

 

[Stat Brother]

He was due £1.4m.

He received £700,000.

Should have paid in 1p coins.

 

[jonsey]

Reading Holloway's comments when he was appointed, it suggests they are only going to invest in a new stadium if they regularly fill selhurst.

Wont happen then...............................

 

[reigate]

He was due £1.4m.

He received £700,000.

Thanks, how generous he was!

To this day I can't believe neither him or Bellotti didn't get a serious kicking (or more) at the time it was all kicking off

 

[CPFC G]

How the hell did Archer,Stanley and Bellotti not end up being thrown off beachy head? Stitched you lot right up.

TB seems a decent bloke and owner but I suppose it would be more reassuring if you knew exactly where the cash was coming from.

 

[Easy 10]

Thanks, how generous he was!

To this day I can't believe neither him or Bellotti didn't get a serious kicking (or more) at the time it was all kicking off

It wasn't through the lack of trying.

That boardroom door at the Goldstone must've been reinforced that afternoon...

 

[reigate]

It wasn't through the lack of trying.

That boardroom door at the Goldstone must've been reinforced that afternoon...

I meant more on a quiet night away from plod and cameras! You would think there would have been at least one head case/someone with connections the with balls to do something serious to him.