symyjym
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Will you buy a BHA share from Dick Knight?
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Not Andy Naylor
Well-known member
From today's Guradian Online
Knight's Last Crusade
by Amy Lawrence
Not content with masterminding his club's survival and the construction of a beautiful, modern home nestled in the Sussex downs, the former Brighton and Hove Albion chairman Dick Knight has come up with a legacy designed to protect the club from the dangers of being exclusively owned by any one person.
Knight has decided to sell his shares to Albion's fans. Actually he is more or less giving them away. Financial rules insist they be sold rather than a gift, so any supporter eager to own his or her percentage of their club will need to pay Knight a pound for the privilege.
And that is exactly how he sees it: a privilege. To have the right to a say on how the club is run, to have a chance to fight against the tide of corporate influences in football that present clubs as businesses and fans as consumers, something he loathes, is at the heart of his decision. It is a grand gesture that few chairmen or owners would ever even consider, let alone do.
Knight's new book, Mad Man, which details his life in football and the compulsion of a boyhood fan to step in during the club's hours of greatest need, is concluded by a invitation on the last page, for fans to cut out and send him an "Expression of Interest" in a stake of his shareholding. Any eager party needs to inform Knight not only of their contact details, but there is also a requirement to give "a brief synopsis of your Albion-supporting history". Fans will have to convince him that they would have the best interests of his club at heart. Albion's life president intends to vet all potential new shareholders.
"It goes back to when I first took over the club," he explains. "We had an 18-month struggle to overthrow a guy, Bill Archer, who had run the club into the ground. I pledged to the fans at the time: no one person would control the club again. During my time as chairman I never had a majority shareholding.
"Now, because of the economic situation, and the credit crunch that hit as we were building the new stadium, which we were able to do because of [the current chairman] Tony Bloom's generosity, one person has just over 90% of the shares. I simply feel that the very club where the fans stepped up to save it, future boards should continue the tradition of always having fans involved and listened to. It is important they will always have a voice.
"Generally in football fans are patronised most of the time. This is to make sure that is not the case at our club. It is especially pertinent as without the fans would there even be a Brighton and Hove Albion?"
Knight's move is impassioned and imaginative – the combination of personal resources he drew upon to rescue the club in its desperate days. He has over a million shares, but insists this handover has nothing to do with raising some funds, and everything to do with ensuring a say for Albion fans directly to the board, at annual general meetings.
Mad Man tells of the extraordinary renaissance Knight inspired. The book's subtitle is "From the gutter to the stars" which more or less sums up how Albion were at rock bottom, and fought for years for an even footing. Their plight when he took over – in a homeless, debt-ridden nightmare under the ownership of a DIY tycoon who slowly stripped the club of its assets – and the rebuilding process that took them to a healthy position as thriving club with a terrific stadium and big aspirations, remains a cautionary tale about the perils of bad ownership.
The passing of the baton to the fans in the form of his shares is his way of hoping the club's best values remain intact.
Knight's Last Crusade
by Amy Lawrence
Not content with masterminding his club's survival and the construction of a beautiful, modern home nestled in the Sussex downs, the former Brighton and Hove Albion chairman Dick Knight has come up with a legacy designed to protect the club from the dangers of being exclusively owned by any one person.
Knight has decided to sell his shares to Albion's fans. Actually he is more or less giving them away. Financial rules insist they be sold rather than a gift, so any supporter eager to own his or her percentage of their club will need to pay Knight a pound for the privilege.
And that is exactly how he sees it: a privilege. To have the right to a say on how the club is run, to have a chance to fight against the tide of corporate influences in football that present clubs as businesses and fans as consumers, something he loathes, is at the heart of his decision. It is a grand gesture that few chairmen or owners would ever even consider, let alone do.
Knight's new book, Mad Man, which details his life in football and the compulsion of a boyhood fan to step in during the club's hours of greatest need, is concluded by a invitation on the last page, for fans to cut out and send him an "Expression of Interest" in a stake of his shareholding. Any eager party needs to inform Knight not only of their contact details, but there is also a requirement to give "a brief synopsis of your Albion-supporting history". Fans will have to convince him that they would have the best interests of his club at heart. Albion's life president intends to vet all potential new shareholders.
"It goes back to when I first took over the club," he explains. "We had an 18-month struggle to overthrow a guy, Bill Archer, who had run the club into the ground. I pledged to the fans at the time: no one person would control the club again. During my time as chairman I never had a majority shareholding.
"Now, because of the economic situation, and the credit crunch that hit as we were building the new stadium, which we were able to do because of [the current chairman] Tony Bloom's generosity, one person has just over 90% of the shares. I simply feel that the very club where the fans stepped up to save it, future boards should continue the tradition of always having fans involved and listened to. It is important they will always have a voice.
"Generally in football fans are patronised most of the time. This is to make sure that is not the case at our club. It is especially pertinent as without the fans would there even be a Brighton and Hove Albion?"
Knight's move is impassioned and imaginative – the combination of personal resources he drew upon to rescue the club in its desperate days. He has over a million shares, but insists this handover has nothing to do with raising some funds, and everything to do with ensuring a say for Albion fans directly to the board, at annual general meetings.
Mad Man tells of the extraordinary renaissance Knight inspired. The book's subtitle is "From the gutter to the stars" which more or less sums up how Albion were at rock bottom, and fought for years for an even footing. Their plight when he took over – in a homeless, debt-ridden nightmare under the ownership of a DIY tycoon who slowly stripped the club of its assets – and the rebuilding process that took them to a healthy position as thriving club with a terrific stadium and big aspirations, remains a cautionary tale about the perils of bad ownership.
The passing of the baton to the fans in the form of his shares is his way of hoping the club's best values remain intact.
- Aug 8, 2005
- 27,118
Exactly this.
I think we will find it is typical Dick Knight publicity bullshit. I am sure he knows full well that he cant' sell his shares if the current shreholders want them. I suspect he is using this as firstly a chance to publicise the book and secondly to demonstrate that there is a need for fan shareholding, which may then force the club to do a watered down version of what he is proposing.
Puppet Master
non sequitur
- Aug 14, 2012
- 4,056
Yes.
So can you clarify - is he ACTUALLY suggesting he'll sell his shares at a pound a pop, or is he 'giving away' chunks of his holding to a selected group of fans, for a token £1?
How about the following?
1. Dick Knight offers to sell BHAFC shares to the fans.
(2. In the background, Dick Knight is told "you can't do that, you need to consider existing shareholders first.")
3. Dick Knight announces he would love to sell his shares to the fans but the current board/Tony Bloom has barred him from doing so.
4. Some anti-board sentiment is created amongst the fanbase.
1. Dick Knight offers to sell BHAFC shares to the fans.
(2. In the background, Dick Knight is told "you can't do that, you need to consider existing shareholders first.")
3. Dick Knight announces he would love to sell his shares to the fans but the current board/Tony Bloom has barred him from doing so.
4. Some anti-board sentiment is created amongst the fanbase.
It's three years old so doesn't show the increase in percentage for TB which of course would lower everyone elses percentage. I don't think the list of holders has changed though - just the percent held by each.
EDIT - to clarify, TB's increase in percentage isn't because he's brought shares from other holders. It's because he's converted some of his loans to shares.
MR ANTHONY GRANT BLOOM 77.22%
MR HARRY RICHARD KNIGHT 4.82%
MR WILLIAM JOHN BROWN 4.41%
PIG CITY INC. LTD 3.00%
MR KEVIN RALPH PATRICK GRIFFITHS 2.33%
MR RAYMOND ALEXANDER BLOOM 2.14%
FRIDAY-AD (HOLDINGS) LTD 2.00%
MR DEREK LEONARD CHAPMAN 1.85%
MR MICHAEL JOHN STANLEY HASTILOW 1.00%
MR ROBERT LEONARD PINNOCK 0.57%
MR J. GOLD 0.30%
MR JOHN EDWARD VICKERS 0.20%
MR JOSEPH DAVID HIRSCHEL 0.06%
MR EDWARD NORMAN DAVID 0.04%
MR PETER FLEMING JACKSON MCDONNELL 0.04%
MR JOHN TOWN 0.02%
MR MARTIN JOHN PERRY 0.00% (but 130 shares!, so slightly more than NIL, just!)
That exact thought had crossed my mind. It all depends on what the Articles say; if there are pre-emption rights and the other shareholders haven't been asked if they want to buy the shares first, then this scenario is a likely outcome, whatever DK's original intentions were. It's also an outcome that would be entirely forseeable in advance, thereby bringing into question the whole process.
If however there are no-premption rights, or if there are pre-emption clauses that have already been honoured, then maybe we can take the offer at face value.
As I've said elsewhere, it's pretty easy to check - I just can't be bothered! I'll let it all play out and then decide whether to apply.
symyjym
Banned
That's alright 4.82% for potential fan ownership. DK could still be a representative for the fan shares at board meetings. To have a fan voice it still has to be organised.
Black Rod
Well-known member
- Jan 19, 2013
- 972
It looks like you have to cut a token out of the book that goes with a form at the back to "register your interest" with both being sent off to the publisher.
What this means for electronic copies I don't know.
gripper stebson
Well-known member
- Jul 27, 2004
- 6,685
So we are led to believe that Dick will sit in his comfy arm chair sifting through tens of thousands of 'Why I am a great Albion fan and deserve a share' forms... will he bo**cks!!
jgmcdee
New member
- Mar 25, 2012
- 931
Curiously, a quick look on Amazon suggests that there is no electronic copy of the book.
There is. For some reason, it's not listed with the physical book - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...=B00GMHMTTU&linkCode=as2&tag=northstandcha-21
But it isn't, as those figures are before TB converted £40 million of debt into shares, which will boost his percentage well into the 90's, and have a dilutive impact on that of DK.
jgmcdee
New member
- Mar 25, 2012
- 931
So there is. Thanks for pointing that out. Just picked it up and scanned through it for a form, and none in sight. So looks like if you want to register for the shares you'll have to buy a paper copy.
symyjym
Banned
So what is the current % standing ?
JJ McClure
Go Jags
I'm going to BUY 131 just so I've got more than the LAPDOG Perry.