Investment

[+snorbens_caleyman]

3 minutes ago, bdu98196 said:

Other than the 2k fans (a percentage of whom no longer even reside in the HC area) would there actually be any real objections if it went to public consultation within the city for a change of use especially if its bringing higher incomes to the council?

At the back of my mind all through this has been the thought that the club's failure to engage more with the local community - especially in recent years - may have the consequence that few people in a position to do anything about this will actually lift a hand to do so. 

Yes I know that there are women's and youth teams, the Community Trust, and so on. But we've also upset local businesses with the concert company shambles, we're at loggerheads with the Council over the battery park, we were going to move the first team to Kelty....

Just how many would be bothered - would even notice - if the club disappeared?

[Starscape]

Personally, I doubt Ketan is thinking of running the club down and developing the ground. What comes across is a total delusion about how important and realistic his vision is. For very very few, football is a money-maker. For everyone else, from Real Madrid down, it's a debt pit. I think that's where he's not seeing reality.

[Robert]

The Courier have put their interview with Ketan on line. My phone is not letting me copy the link but it’s not behind a paywall.

 

[IBM]

8 minutes ago, Robert said:

The Courier have put their interview with Ketan on line. My phone is not letting me copy the link but it’s not behind a paywall.

 

You will just have to wait till Friday  

[Robert]

1 minute ago, IBM said:

You will just have to wait till Friday  

I’ve read it but for some reason can’t copy it here.

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

Significantly adding to the mystery

https://fina-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/SC732789

Have also posted that link on the Battery Storage topic.

 

[IBM]

1 hour ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

At the back of my mind all through this has been the thought that the club's failure to engage more with the local community - especially in recent years - may have the consequence that few people in a position to do anything about this will actually lift a hand to do so. 

Yes I know that there are women's and youth teams, the Community Trust, and so on. But we've also upset local businesses with the concert company shambles, we're at loggerheads with the Council over the battery park, we were going to move the first team to Kelty....

Just how many would be bothered - would even notice - if the club disappeared?

You are right snorbens the folk in Inverness are a funny lot 

[Scotty]

If only the Courier had asked the question about who the "we" is. If that includes Scot Gardiner then its pissing against the wind. 

This interview gives a few more high-level details and is more positive than anything that has gone before   

A few select excerpts. 

Quote

“I am trying to move swiftly,” he said. “A lot of my communication internally has always been, we want to conduct our business swiftly, efficiently and we don’t want to waste time: the club’s situation is a ticking time bomb. The minute we get towards the end of the month there are dues and the club does not have the capacity to make those payments then we are struggling to keep the whole deal alive. This should all be done by the end of August and we should be looking to go into September under this new situation and direction.

Quote

Mr Makwana said he understands those who have questioned what is going on after concerns emerged from some fans about the actual value of his company Seventy7 Ventures. He said: “I completely appreciate the position of the fans, we come completely out of nowhere, we make this bid and it was unanimously accepted by the board and then everyone is asking, who are these people, where is their money from? This was bound to come up and the longer we go without making some statement the more conspiracies start to dig up. I read the press, I read the views of people - people have been looking up Companies House so let me put the record straight. He explained about Seventy7 Ventures: When we talk about finances we are an asset based company, we have very confident assets in the UK, London, internationally, we take equity in different companies and have exit strategies. We use our assets as a way to monetise our next moves and what we want to do so when this opportunity arose we immediately knew that this was something I wanted to target and I have been very stubborn about it. I thought by hook or by crook I am going to do this deal which is why, before I even started talking to the club, I started liquidising assets to make sure I have got the right capital to do this deal.

Quote

“As we started the conversations I felt compelled to get more of our assets liquidated to make sure that we could also come in and inject not just positivity but also to rehabilitate and stabilise this club - that is why I am doing what I am doing.”

 

Quote

I am fully committed to this club and what we are doing. I am going on the record right now that even though we haven’t signed a deal, I have already sent out letters of intention for all creditors that are owed money by the club and that this will be rectified during this period of contracting. So we will come to an arrangement or settlement with all trade creditors by the end of August. We will also be covering the club’s wage bill at the end of August so the club doesn’t have to worry and scramble around should the deal be delayed for any reason. I am doing this to safeguard the integrity of the club so it doesn’t fall into an insolvency event. I have read a lot about people saying put your money where your mouth is or show us that you are really committed - so there is me putting my hands out right now without a deal with the risk that if the deal doesn’t go through for any reason and the club goes into administration I will lose everything that I am putting in right now. I am not waiting for this club to fail so I can ‘buy it for £1’ as some others have gone out and publicly said.

 

[Huisdean]

3 hours ago, forthefanssubstack said:

Not on Saturday, that’s for sure

That's the spirit eh, don't support your team when they really need you. Ownership of the club, board  membership will be sorted out one way or another but do many of our "fans" actually want the club to survive. Will you be one of the fans watching from the bridge again?.

I really do wonder if many fans care whether we survive or not but as long as "they" win the argument and get the board and CEO out, club fail to find a new owner thst they like, they will be happy as they have won.

[Achfary]

37 minutes ago, Starscape said:

Personally, I doubt Ketan is thinking of running the club down and developing the ground. What comes across is a total delusion about how important and realistic his vision is. For very very few, football is a money-maker. For everyone else, from Real Madrid down, it's a debt pit. I think that's where he's not seeing reality.

I 100% agree that Ketan's own plan/vision is limited to becoming a very well-known, feted successful owner of a(ny) football club, which will lead him to greater fame and repute, and more than S7V alone would have.

The board are basically engineering everything in their power, straining collective sinews, to get S7V a majority shareholding. That means the offer must be attractive to them, and it must have come with the pre-condition from S7V that it must reach a majority.  S7V has no money as of its accounts, but there must be something the board likes about it.

Obviously, there's something attractive that isn't visible to us yet, but is to the ICT board/panel.

Need a timeline:

• 05 June: ICT state publicly they are in talks with investors/looking for new investors
• 28 June: FACTORTECH FUNDING II CELL A1 PC gets involved with S7V.  This entity is a spin off from a huge (huge), global massive wealth management group
• 04 July: a S7V shareholder sets up a new PLC and on 31 July moves S7V shares from own name into new PLC
• July 26: ICT board state past few weeks Ketan has been actively courting ICT and they've accepted.
• 01 Aug: a new confirmation statement made for S7V:  changes TBD (takes 10 days)

It's amazing that until a few weeks ago Ketan had no idea who ICT were, and his company had no money, but has now had an offer accepted and the board are pushing to make it a majority shareholder deal.  

As he said on his LinkedIn, this would not have been possible unless Paul Nelson (sports finance professional) Laurie Pinto (hedge funds, private equity, acquisitions and debt provision expert), John Colquhoun (ex-Hearts Sports Agent and Contracts expert) and Scot Gardiner had all helped him...

What a helpful world we live in.

[+snorbens_caleyman]

He basically says that he will set up a trade creditors' relief scheme by the end of August.  And also pay all salaries at the end of August - money which he could lose if the deal doesn't go through.

As to how much it's all worth:  "There was only one area that he could not discuss and that was the total value of the deal and future investment because both sides have signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) as lawyers pour over contracts."

Basically, it doesn't tell us any more that we had already worked out, and the hard questions are either not asked or are ducked.

There is at least a lack of the BS which you find on his website and social media.

I may have more to say once I have read it more carefully....

[+Fraz]

1 hour ago, Robert said:

The Courier have put their interview with Ketan on line. My phone is not letting me copy the link but it’s not behind a paywall.

 

https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/exclusive-interview-with-caley-thistle-s-potential-saviour-357174/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

 

[Dargo20]

INVERNESS COURIER

Inverness Caledonian Thistle should be under the control of new owner Ketan Makwana by the end of the month – and he has said that even before penning the final contract he would look at potential transfers on a “case by case basis”.

He also confirmed, in an exclusive interview with The Inverness Courier, that he will pay the wages of club staff – including coaching staff and players – in August to “safeguard the integrity of the club so it doesn’t fall into an insolvency event”.

Seventy7 Ventures’ Makwana is well aware about the speculation about him and his motives by those who are sceptical of the move, as he admits there is too little information available for fans but that is something that he hopes to rectify.

But with Caley Jags fans eyeing all developments closely, he said that he has been in contact with George Moodie of the ICT Supporters Trust whom he offered to meet the next time he is in Inverness.

Makwana was not able to state exactly how much he is putting into the club because of a non-disclosure agreement as the lawyers make their way through highly commercially sensitive contract work. But after a string of poor results, winning just once in July, and the Scottish transfer window closing on August 30 at about the same time that the final contracts are due to be signed, he refused to rule out bolstering the side despite not owning the club.Makwana said: “I have got a very good relationship with the internal team at Inverness, we have formed almost a unity of trust and transparency - I am coming in and I am trying to keep the bricks in the foundation while we move along.

“Let’s say there is a situation where the club is needing to make specific transfers, there is no reason the board can’t come to me and discuss that with me internally and if we feel that it is the right business decision we will advance. We just have to do it in a sensible way.

“We also have to make sure we do it in a way that is not going to impact our future strategy and the way we want to for the club moving forward, so it will be on a case by case basis.”

Makwana underlined that not only from a financial perspective, but in the interests of transparency, fans would know much more before the deal is sealed.

He did go on record to say that with the board, a further announcement will be made prior to the final signing of a contract which grants him a 50.48 per cent majority stake with more details about investments.

“But one of the things that I can promise, as we get closer to the deal being completed, is that I am going to be speaking to the new interim chairman to see if we can do further media to provide a little bit more context,” he said.

“I just want to go on the record to say that I am fully aware of everyone’s desire to know exactly what we are doing and I make assurances that before the deal is officially signed then both sides will come forward in unity to give a bit more detail.”

He added: “So just hold on for a few more weeks.”

One thing he was able to confirm outwith the NDA was that he has secured enough assets to not just take control of the club but to invest in it once he does have control and he did that by starting early.

He said: “When we came to the conversation initially - and this was before I even spoke to [ICT’s outgoing chief executive] Scot Gardiner for the first time - we had already started to liquidate assets within the company to put forward for a potential purchase.

“We have actually got two schedules of assets for liquidation, the first is primarily to meet the capital requirements for the club acquisition and the takeover of 50.48 per cent shares.

“And the second liquidation is to actually then have more capital in reserves ready for us to invest in to the football club.

“We have got to consider what the club’s ambitions will be, where we want to be, and furnish the requirements the manager would need.”

 

 

 

[Charles Bannerman]

2 hours ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

"There was only one area that he could not discuss and that was the total value of the deal and future investment because both sides have signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) as lawyers pour over contracts."

OK then, so let’s try and work some of this out for ourselves. Unless they are going to reduce the value of existing shares - which I don’t think would be possible without a potentially contentious general meeting - I’m going to assume that he aims to get to his 50.48% by some combination of direct purchase of new shares and acquiring some existing shares from their current owners. These figures are also based on the ST’s 10% voting power being part of the 49.52% that Mr Makwana wouldn’t have. On that basis:-

To get his 50.48% with all the current shares (totalling 4.002 million) remaining with their present owners, he would need to buy £5.1M worth of new shares. Moving down the scale..

If he were to put in £4M, he would need also to acquire 486,000 existing shares. A £3M payment would  further require 935,000 existing shares. £2M would have him looking for a further 1.364 million and a £1M uptake would have him looking for current shareholders to part with 1.803 million shares.

Let’s now look at current share ownership. If you take the 8 or 9 participants in Muirfield Mills as a single entity (???) they have 820,000. The Charitable Trust has 729,000, the McGilvrays have 487,000, Alan Savage/Orion (whom we can presumably take as a definite “NO”) has 467,000, the Sutherland family has 300,000, David Cameron has 175,000 and Roddy Ross has 170,000. Thereafter, it falls away rapidly through over 500 individuals to the most common holding which is 250. It’s interesting to try to reconcile the numbers of shares he would need to acquire for the various options in the previous paragraph with the numbers stated in this one. There’s also the question of how many shares remain unsold from previous issues and are hence available for immediate purchase without recourse to a general meeting. Around 2M is in the back of my head, but that may not be correct.

It’s also interesting to reconcile the various examples of money that might come from Mr Makwana as exemplified above, before we even think about additional ongoing sums, with the sheer magnitude of the club’s plight. And however much he’s putting in… where is it coming from?

 

Edited August 1 by Charles Bannerman

[+snorbens_caleyman]

I'd love to know what these "assets" are that he keeps banging on about "liquidising" to fund the deal.  He didn't have any to speak of in his accounts as of 30 September last year.

The Factortech fund specialises in short-term (<5 year) loans to SMEs (in this case Seventy7), secured on the SME's assets and on their receivables.  So ICTFC's assets will be the security for the loan.  I doubt very much if there are "receivables" - ie money owed to ICTFC - in the short term.  But note that future transfer fees received, prize money, TV money, etc, could all go (via Seventy7) to Factortech if that's what's required to pay back the loan.

The Factortech fund details are here:   https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/64f7c0e377d181192992983c/6601ccf202de094025ac1a10_Factortech Cell A factsheet_22.03.24 PB (1).pdf      If that doesn't work, go to https://www.factortech.com/   , scroll down and click on "factsheet" under "02 Jersey Longer Term Vehicle".

You'll see that the target return, to Factortech and its investors, is 18%-20% pa.  The management fee is 2% pa.  The performance fee is 35% pa - not sure how this would be worked out - based on the increase in valuation of the business to which the loan has been made?    So it's difficult to see how Makwana could make money out of this - and it shows that there will be plenty of money going into other people's pockets should the club ever be profitable.

 

Now that I have thought about it, the Courier interview and the article quoted above are greatly disappointing.         

First of all, they could and should have gone to town on where the money is coming from - and how it gets paid back.  I'd also have asked for details of other things that he is currently involved in, and of past involvements.

If the reporter didn't feel capable of asking business questions, then he could have gone for the "human aspect" angle.  "Why do you want to own a football club?  Especially one more than 500 miles from your home?  How often will we see you?  How long are you in it for?".

And the clincher: "Can you explain the offside rule?"  

[BroadstoneParkJag]

Has anyone heard that the company that own Norbord, West Fraser is behind the Takeover or they are financing it?

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

At least the Courier managed to get him talking but maybe he loves his own voice. Legal contracts do take a lot of time to finalise so 31 August 2024 may be optimistic. There seem many key issues to tie up.

Everything still seems too good to be true.

[CaleyCanary]

I thought his answers were a mix of delusional and corporate BS - I can only see asset stripping as the end goal here and the only tangible asset is the land.

[CaleyCanary]

…and still no confirmation that SG is oot the door asap!

[+DoofersDad]

It is interesting that Makwana said: “I have got a very good relationship with the internal team at Inverness, we have formed almost a unity of trust and transparency".  He needs to appraise himself of their track record and remember that it is their incompetence that has got the club into the mess that it is currently in.

[Jack Waddington]

1 hour ago, BroadstoneParkJag said:

Has anyone heard that the company that own Norbord, West Fraser is behind the Takeover or they are financing it?

Cloud Factory themed away kit?

[RiG]

Amazing this guy has read all the criticism online and his reply is "trust me, I'm brilliant at liquidating assets"

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

4 hours ago, RiG said:

Amazing this guy has read all the criticism online and his reply is "trust me, I'm brilliant at liquidating assets"

.....and now working with Acting Chairman Panos who has previous experience of a football club takeover at Watford!

[+DoofersDad]

More from the Courier interview,

 

One of the big questions that people have asked is how the deal will benefit the club: What will the new investors bring to the table? The answer on the face of it is a hugely ambitious plan to redevelop the land around Caledonian Stadium.

Taking as a cue the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - among others - the ground and the area around it will be brought under total club control for the first time, allowing for a major redevelopment that could impact more than just the club.

Looking at the economic context of the green freeport as well as burgeoning tourism in the region, Seven7 Ventures’ Ketan Makwana wants to create “a hotbed for events, activities, entertainment and leisure”.

That will be “not just for the people of Inverness to enjoy but also for people who come and visit and give people a reason to come and visit Inverness” so as to “bring people into the environment and let people fall in love with football”.

Attractive as that ambition is, one thing lays behind it according to Mr Makwana: “The club, as I have said, is paramount - it is the first thing.

“But the irony of this is that the club is actually situated in the centre of land that sits around it and for the last 18 years that land has been separated from the club.

“Well, we are about to make history because we are going to put that land back under the club’s ownership and that is the first line of rehabilitation to stabilisation and what goes on that land will have a financial impact and reward to the club that can be reinvested back in.

“The other side is our background is in entertainment, leisure and sport. We have a phenomenal amount of expertise in building these types of eco-systems.

“So if you look at a lot of the football clubs in the UK right now some of the bigger clubs are now transitioning to have leisure and entertainment attached to sports - it is becoming a common theme.

“The reason they are doing that is because it creates a multi-purpose use of the space which also allows for tourism: sports tourism and leisure tourism.

“So what we are trying to do is build the area around the stadium to become a hotbed for events, activities, entertainment and leisure, not just for the people of Inverness to enjoy but also for people who come and visit and give people a reason to come and visit Inverness.

“Bring people into the environment and let people fall in love with football - that is the way we want to build this, it allows us to produce multiple revenue streams that then allows us to reinvest that into the club, reinvigorate it and be able to put the right amount of money into the right place.

“Furthermore, it future proofs the club so if one line of income happens to fall or fail you have still got another three or four, which allows the businesses to continue while we remedy the one that has failed.”

 

It sounds great on the surface, but this rather attractive vision begs so many questions.  There is nothing that anyone has found out about Makwana and his companies that suggests he is remotely capable of financing and delivering on such a vision.  What land is he talking about?  How can he be sure he  can acquire the surrounding land?  Exactly what developments is he planning?  How do his plans fit in with the requirements of the green freeport zone if, as he implies, some of the development would be on freeport zone land around the stadium?  And where is the money coming from?  This vision will cost vastly more than any assets we know of which he may have liquidated.

He may, of course, be acting as a front man for someone who wishes to remain anonymous at this point.  It could also be so much BS.

I don't think there is much any of us can do just now but wait and watch with our fingers crossed.

[Jack Waddington]

13 minutes ago, DoofersDad said:

More from the Courier interview,

 

One of the big questions that people have asked is how the deal will benefit the club: What will the new investors bring to the table? The answer on the face of it is a hugely ambitious plan to redevelop the land around Caledonian Stadium.

Taking as a cue the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - among others - the ground and the area around it will be brought under total club control for the first time, allowing for a major redevelopment that could impact more than just the club.

Looking at the economic context of the green freeport as well as burgeoning tourism in the region, Seven7 Ventures’ Ketan Makwana wants to create “a hotbed for events, activities, entertainment and leisure”.

That will be “not just for the people of Inverness to enjoy but also for people who come and visit and give people a reason to come and visit Inverness” so as to “bring people into the environment and let people fall in love with football”.

Attractive as that ambition is, one thing lays behind it according to Mr Makwana: “The club, as I have said, is paramount - it is the first thing.

“But the irony of this is that the club is actually situated in the centre of land that sits around it and for the last 18 years that land has been separated from the club.

“Well, we are about to make history because we are going to put that land back under the club’s ownership and that is the first line of rehabilitation to stabilisation and what goes on that land will have a financial impact and reward to the club that can be reinvested back in.

“The other side is our background is in entertainment, leisure and sport. We have a phenomenal amount of expertise in building these types of eco-systems.

“So if you look at a lot of the football clubs in the UK right now some of the bigger clubs are now transitioning to have leisure and entertainment attached to sports - it is becoming a common theme.

“The reason they are doing that is because it creates a multi-purpose use of the space which also allows for tourism: sports tourism and leisure tourism.

“So what we are trying to do is build the area around the stadium to become a hotbed for events, activities, entertainment and leisure, not just for the people of Inverness to enjoy but also for people who come and visit and give people a reason to come and visit Inverness.

“Bring people into the environment and let people fall in love with football - that is the way we want to build this, it allows us to produce multiple revenue streams that then allows us to reinvest that into the club, reinvigorate it and be able to put the right amount of money into the right place.

“Furthermore, it future proofs the club so if one line of income happens to fall or fail you have still got another three or four, which allows the businesses to continue while we remedy the one that has failed.”

 

It sounds great on the surface, but this rather attractive vision begs so many questions.  There is nothing that anyone has found out about Makwana and his companies that suggests he is remotely capable of financing and delivering on such a vision.  What land is he talking about?  How can he be sure he  can acquire the surrounding land?  Exactly what developments is he planning?  How do his plans fit in with the requirements of the green freeport zone if, as he implies, some of the development would be on freeport zone land around the stadium?  And where is the money coming from?  This vision will cost vastly more than any assets we know of which he may have liquidated.

He may, of course, be acting as a front man for someone who wishes to remain anonymous at this point.  It could also be so much BS.

I don't think there is much any of us can do just now but wait and watch with our fingers crossed.

UEFA Category 4 stadium is all he wants. Bring the UEFA Champions League Final to the TCS