We're so lucky to have Tony Bloom, Birmingham's deputy chairman has just

[seagullsovergrimsby]

He put £16 million in to keep the club afloat when we were at withdean.

So with the academy TB will have invested roughly £135M ? I dont think we'll ever see the CPFC2010 consortium splashing out anywhere near that amount of dosh.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

So with the academy TB will have invested roughly £135M ? I dont think we'll ever see the CPFC2010 consortium splashing out anywhere near that amount of dosh.

"invested"?

 

[beorhthelm]

I do sometimes wonder where his money was during the Withdean years.

i would imagine it was invested in what ever it was that made him so wealthy. i believe he held back in the background because either he didnt have the cash all those years and/or they (Bloom, Knight, other directors) kept it a low profile to see what other funding was available. we will never know if there hadnt been banking liquidity problem he would have stepped in.

"invested"?

yes, spent primarily on capital assets of a stadium and training, investing in the long term future of the club.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

"invested"?

TB is a shrewd businessman , he knows this is an investment he can hand down to future generations of the Bloom family. If the interest free loan isn't all paid back by the due date he can convert what is outstanding into shares. As a gambler he knows there is always the chance of hitting the big time which will bring in fantastic revenue streams we cant imagine at present.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

He put £16 million in to keep the club afloat when we were at withdean.

£16.9M and that was only until year end 2008/2009 (June?), when this was converted into shares and TB became the majority shareholder.
Since, on becoming Chairman, he committed to funding the ongoing losses associated with playing at Withdean then he's into a tad more. Loans to the club from him increased by £6M from 2007/8-2008/9 and, with the annual loss in 2008/9 being £4.6M, it could well be nearer £30M if you project using these figures. From memory, I think the "initial" covertible loan note was for 30M x £1 shares.

 

[Whitterz]

If we got into the Premier League, thats £90m, almost enough to pay TB off, Id accept getting relegated immediately by keeping transfers/ wages to a minimum , just for the parachute payments, then rebuild with a new ground and next to nothing owed. Then have a real stab at it.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

yes, spent primarily on capital assets of a stadium and training, investing in the long term future of the club.

TB is a shrewd businessman , he knows this is an investment he can hand down to future generations of the Bloom family. If the interest free loan isn't all paid back by the due date he can convert what is outstanding into shares. As a gambler he knows there is always the chance of hitting the big time which will bring in fantastic revenue streams we cant imagine at present.

Investment is just the wrong description imo. Other than selling the Club (which would blow the TB's ethos out of the water), is there any potential for a return on the £130M (or whatever the figure is) - isn't a return, and therefore a profitable business, a pre-requisite of describing TB's generous financial support for the club as such?
As El Pres posts regularly, BHA hasn't recorded a profit in 35 years - I wonder if the chairman back in 1974/5 was successful in business, a fan or maybe both?

 

[zfleas]

Tony bloom is a hero, true albion fan. Puts all us to shame! lol

 

[NMH]

...........loaned the club £10 mill at 12% interest.

Tony has spunked over £100 mill and wants nothing back

I was just on a flight the other day sat next to a Birmingham City fan.
We chatted about their old chairmen and the way an excellent manager (Steve Bruce) was poorly treated while they romanced a rather dodgy foreigner to sell the club.

Principals? As soon as the connection was made with our club and Gold&Sullivan, they didn't stand up well to scrutiny.

Having chats with some of TB's personal friends, and they themselves also come over as quality characters - they are effusive in praise.
The proof of the pudding as far as we as Albion fans is concerned, has been laid out for consumption and we are able to taste the wealth of the banquet before us.
It really is a feast - not by the standard we have been sorry to get used to, but by any standards it's a shared wealth.

Do we all know how good we've now got it?
"go compare!" - well you might see other grounds with high standards and comforts too, yes. However, this Falmer Stadium aka Amex is OURS, we don't feasibly need to worry about any foreign businessman collecting on it, selling us down the creek without a paddle, or dropping us into administration.

Celebrate.

 

[NMH]

If we got into the Premier League, thats £90m, almost enough to pay TB off, Id accept getting relegated immediately by keeping transfers/ wages to a minimum , just for the parachute payments, then rebuild with a new ground and next to nothing owed. Then have a real stab at it.

That could work in theory, depending on managers and our ability to survive a roller-coaster ride and keep players around.
However as a business ideal, it isn't. I think you can probably say with confidence that a good businessman is going to take out on his investment here on a longer term, and maintain the club as a profitable concern throughout.
The record so far suggests that we are poised for a long-term successful rise, with all the right sporting ambitions.

We could look at Man City and how they want to just buy the league title, but somehow as flair and exciting as they are to watch - I worry about their home-grown make-up. 'Instant' success can be bought with the millions/billions, but so can longer-term foundations give rise to enduring rewards.

 

[El Presidente]

I was just on a flight the other day sat next to a Birmingham City fan.
We chatted about their old chairmen and the way an excellent manager (Steve Bruce) was poorly treated while they romanced a rather dodgy foreigner to sell the club.

Principals? As soon as the connection was made with our club and Gold&Sullivan, they didn't stand up well to scrutiny.

Having chats with some of TB's personal friends, and they themselves also come over as quality characters - they are effusive in praise.
The proof of the pudding as far as we as Albion fans is concerned, has been laid out for consumption and we are able to taste the wealth of the banquet before us.
It really is a feast - not by the standard we have been sorry to get used to, but by any standards it's a shared wealth.

Do we all know how good we've now got it?
"go compare!" - well you might see other grounds with high standards and comforts too, yes. However, this Falmer Stadium aka Amex is OURS, we don't feasibly need to worry about any foreign businessman collecting on it, selling us down the creek without a paddle, or dropping us into administration.

Celebrate.

Agree 100%

I had done some BIG SUMS prior to TB taking control, and we could not have financed the Amex at a cost of £50 million from borrowings, let alone the final amount that TB spent on the stadium.

He is definitely our favourite UNCLE (apart from Hiney of course).

 

[El Presidente]

That could work in theory, depending on managers and our ability to survive a roller-coaster ride and keep players around.
However as a business ideal, it isn't. I think you can probably say with confidence that a good businessman is going to take out on his investment here on a longer term, and maintain the club as a profitable concern throughout.
The record so far suggests that we are poised for a long-term successful rise, with all the right sporting ambitions.

We could look at Man City and how they want to just buy the league title, but somehow as flair and exciting as they are to watch - I worry about their home-grown make-up. 'Instant' success can be bought with the millions/billions, but so can longer-term foundations give rise to enduring rewards.

I think we have to be realistic about the extent of those ambitions too though. Stoke have probably shown the way it should be done, the Albion can never hope to be competing for CL places, but there is the infrastructure to go up a league and stay there.

Whether that will be enough for all fans I am not so sure.

 

[Acker79]

How much of the not making a profit was due to 'creative accounting' if any?

There was news a few months back about how one of the Harry Potter movies that took almost a billion dollars was officially not profitable. This is because Warner paid themselves to advertise it, so effectively moving money from the 'warner bros harry potter' account to the 'warner bros advertising acount', meaning warner still had all that money, it was just not credited as being a harry potter profit. (Apparently this is common practice in an effort to reduce payments based on net profits).

Was there any of that going on, where the club has to pay the chairman* for something that he didn't actually need paying for, so it looks like the club has less money. (As for why - to make money on an individual basis, i.e. the chairman making money, while still appearing the good guy if people aren't aware. I mean a chairman who appears to keep investing in a debt ridden club is well liked, one who only invests a fragment of what he takes out, isn't, if he can do the latter, while making it appear like the former, he's made.

*I'm not saying Bloom is doing this, but those 35 previous years would include the likes of Archer who I wouldn't put it past.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

Agree 100%

I had done some BIG SUMS prior to TB taking control, and we could not have financed the Amex at a cost of £50 million from borrowings, let alone the final amount that TB spent on the stadium.

He is definitely our favourite UNCLE (apart from Hiney of course).

Didn't you estimate our max borrowing potential (pre-financial crisis) was likely to be £25-30M? Or is my memory now as bad as my eyesight (cf earlier inability to read general sale date conditions for Leeds/Palace tkts)?

 

[houlio]

i heard the deal with amex build was full payback in 10 years or interest gets added albeit at a low rate.T.B funded some of the withdean years and without him there would be no amex

 

[NMH]

I think we have to be realistic about the extent of those ambitions too though. Stoke have probably shown the way it should be done, the Albion can never hope to be competing for CL places, but there is the infrastructure to go up a league and stay there.

Whether that will be enough for all fans I am not so sure.

Okay - I understand the flat ground you are on with that opinion - don't mind me floating a little bit like Major Tom outside of the tin can though, because I have a daydream that we really can make it all the way to the top, and thumb our little striped noses at the best of Britain. Alright so it will probably be a pipedream and with a mostly-foreign team like everyone else up there, but I like a bit of daydreamin' anyway

 

[El Presidente]

i heard the deal with amex build was full payback in 10 years or interest gets added albeit at a low rate.T.B funded some of the withdean years and without him there would be no amex

There is no way there will be payback in ten years.

The Albion currently owe TB about £122 million(£91m stadium, £15m for training facilities and £16m for covering losses at Withers).

Our total REVENUE for the last ten years was £36 million, and we lost money in each of those years.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

I'm not surprised we lost money , in 1992 Greg Stanley made a £200k loan to the club , with interest payments paid back at an annual cost of £40k. There was also a £250k late payment penalty clause in the loan deal which was incurred on one occasion as the club missed the deadline on a monthly repayment.