Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

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jgriffin
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Re: Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

Post by jgriffin »

Unlike Mrs G's reaction, for me this has been on the cards since Tom Scott took nearly 50% of the shares several years ago. I expected when Mr Scott caught a cold so would Tigers, and thus it has come to pass. Unless we get a Nigel Wray or Simon Orange interested I suspect we are ripe (given the real estate) for a corporate buy - don't mention 'offshore' as Scott and Tom have been off-shore for years!
BTW the chances are we might get a leveraged buy backed by loans from equity sited in Hong Kong, Virgin Isles or the fiefdom of the City of London. Or even Japan!!!!
I do feel better that we were unable to purchase STs this year...................not a lot better, but a bit. :smt009
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johnthegriff
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Re: Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

Post by johnthegriff »

Peter Tom played for the club in the 1960's he was a committee member after his playing days and when the game went proffessional and we became a PLC he invested heavily in the club and was no doubt a guarantor behind loans as we purchasec our ground and land around it and invested heavily in improving facilities. He hs served sa Chairman for about 20 years during which we have won many trophies, there has been no dividends paid on investment, this decision by the Tigers is not a way of turning a fast buck as some suggest.
I view the possible sale with some trepidation we vave all seen what has happened at some football clubs, Leiceter City before the present owners are an example, the current owner show what is possible. Tigers are different to some other rugby teams in that we possess real asssets, Bath for instance owned very little when taken over. I am concerned by this development, despite recent playing success or lack of it I prefer us not to be run at the whim of a very rich single owner but I will not be giving up my season ticket yet, I will wait and see what happens and just how it affects me and of course my team.
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Re: Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

Post by strawclearer »

You either compete with the big boys in the real world - and have the money to do so - or you settle for nostalgic mediocrity. Tigers have seemingly made their choice.

If, like me, you've been upset at how Peter Tom has thwarted the Executive and rugby board then this is another positive as his ability to do so will evaporate, irrespective of whether he keeps the title.

Our Thai neighbours were interested before that awful helicopter crash apparently - maybe they will be so again. Maybe we'll get a handful of 10%-15% shareholders rather than one large shareholder. Maybe it'll be a corporate - or maybe a family/sugar daddy.

The times sure are a-changin'!
Happy days clearing straw from the pitch before the Baa-Baas games! KBO
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kend
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Re: Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

Post by kend »

Truthfully, Tigers have had an ownership model since Tom and Scott took more than 50% shareholding and acted in concert. My question is whether this is a planned move or a reaction to external factors. My sense is the latter; it seems unlikely that they would have spent time and money on development plans if they had been planning to sell up.

The announcement must throw the car park and hotel plans into doubt - anyone know the level of commitment on those contracts?

Unless the club is bought by a real fan with very deep pockets, I also suspect Tigers time at Welford Road is up. The obvious win for anyone wanting to make a return is the land. There are obvious synergies to be leveraged with LCFC plans for the expansion of the King Power.

Well, many of us did ask for change......
MurphysLaw
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Re: Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

Post by MurphysLaw »

[quote=jgriffin post_id=721095 time=1561456902 user_id=9496]
Unlike Mrs G's reaction, for me this has been on the cards since Tom Scott took nearly 50% of the shares several years ago. I expected when Mr Scott caught a cold so would Tigers, and thus it has come to pass. Unless we get a Nigel Wray or Simon Orange interested I suspect we are ripe (given the real estate) for a corporate buy - don't mention 'offshore' as Scott and Tom have been off-shore for years!
BTW the chances are we might get a leveraged buy backed by loans from equity sited in Hong Kong, Virgin Isles or the fiefdom of the City of London. Or even Japan!!!!
I do feel better that we were unable to purchase STs this year...................not a lot better, but a bit. :smt009
[/quote]

Not sure I agree that Scott has caught a cold. For me, something like this became likely when the Prem Clubs voted to accept the CVC cash injection. That has effectively been used to clear much of the debt that clubs have been carrying, thereby making them potentially saleable.
Reportedly, since this payment, there have been several approaches made to Tigers from interested parties. I suspect this has whetted the Board's appetite to formally 'go for it'.
With hindsight, Peter Tom's recent decision to step down from Agg Inds and take his £ms is also a sign of his 'direction of travel'
.
If this venture is deemed successful, I wonder how long it will be before other clubs, particularly those that are potentially profitable, the likes of Saints, Glous, follow suit?
jgriffin
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Re: Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

Post by jgriffin »

kend wrote: Tue Jun 25, 2019 11:52 am Truthfully, Tigers have had an ownership model since Tom and Scott took more than 50% shareholding and acted in concert. My question is whether this is a planned move or a reaction to external factors. My sense is the latter; it seems unlikely that they would have spent time and money on development plans if they had been planning to sell up.

The announcement must throw the car park and hotel plans into doubt - anyone know the level of commitment on those contracts?

Unless the club is bought by a real fan with very deep pockets, I also suspect Tigers time at Welford Road is up. The obvious win for anyone wanting to make a return is the land. There are obvious synergies to be leveraged with LCFC plans for the expansion of the King Power.

Well, many of us did ask for change......
My thoughts tended in this direction too.......
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teds
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Re: Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

Post by teds »

Latecomer wrote: Tue Jun 25, 2019 10:23 am As regards smaller shareholders not being consulted this is simply an announcement to confirm we are open to offers. Should an offer be received and be deemed acceptable by the board it will be put to a vote of all shareholders. Being as Tom Scott and Peter Tom control over 50% and presuming our constitution mandates a simple majority of 50% plus one vote they will duly vote it through and smaller shareholders will simply have to accept it.
Just for clarification, you mean smaller shareholders will just have to accept that Scott and Tom, have put their 55% up for sale? The problem comes when a buyer wants to buy more than 55% but that smaller shareholders don’t wish to sell.

Unfortunately the smaller shareholders are less likely to be able to be able to continually reinvest in Tigers to offset the annual operational losses. Moreover while the club might have used CVC funds to clear debts, this has been done at the price of forgoing future revenue from broadcasting etc.
RagingBull
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Re: Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

Post by RagingBull »

I believe that the small shareholders don't have a say in if they want to sell their shares or not if someone wants to buy the whole thing.
Grumpy of Crumbie
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Re: Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

Post by Grumpy of Crumbie »

I read with interest that the 'sack everybody' brigade who now have every chance of seeing that happen suddenly appear to be getting cold feet!!

The constant remonstrations about the incompetence of the board have now changed to accusations of selling out and profiteering. It's not particularly professional but I'd quite like to think that the abuse hurled from this forum at pretty much every board member has played a part in this decision.

Be careful what you wish for is becoming reality, unfortunately it doesn't seem to be making people any happier!

Well I suppose we'll now have endless threads on who would be the best new owners which will make a change from who would be the best coaching team!

Well we all now have at least another 12 months of turmoil to come when the positive among us could begin to see signs of stability on the horizon.

Enjoy!
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LE18
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Re: Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

Post by LE18 »

kend wrote: Tue Jun 25, 2019 11:52 am Truthfully, Tigers have had an ownership model since Tom and Scott took more than 50% shareholding and acted in concert. My question is whether this is a planned move or a reaction to external factors. My sense is the latter; it seems unlikely that they would have spent time and money on development plans if they had been planning to sell up.

The announcement must throw the car park and hotel plans into doubt - anyone know the level of commitment on those contracts?

Unless the club is bought by a real fan with very deep pockets, I also suspect Tigers time at Welford Road is up. The obvious win for anyone wanting to make a return is the land. There are obvious synergies to be leveraged with LCFC plans for the expansion of the King Power.

Well, many of us did ask for change......
I tend to agree with this, its prime building land, Ground, Hotel/Car Park and Granby Halls site, with planning permission already for Car Park and Hotel makes it very tasty for a property developer, especially as there is such a lack of housing. Someone could come in and promise us a new out of town stadium, or much more likely a move to share King Power stadium.
Tiglon
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Re: Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

Post by Tiglon »

All this sweat the asset quick return prime land is a load of carp.

It's a medium sized plot in the middle of LEICESTER, not Chelsea. Get a grip.

How is anyone going to sweat the asset? Cut costs to make an annual profit? Result would be poor results, reduced value of the club.

The only business reason for buying Tigers would be to IMPROVE the assets, the biggest of which is the brand, through good results and investment, thus increasing the value of the business and being able to sell it off for a profit in future.

Tigers was never your club, not in real terms, and it never will be. The club might get new owners, it might not. They might run the club better, they might not.

Enough of the hyperbolic nonsense.
Bunchy
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Re: Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

Post by Bunchy »

crikey - most glasses on here seem to be half full
A few things I know about this situation and decision
* This was triggered by the CVC investment and the subsequent interests from potential investors
* Tigers are the most attractive club in England to invest in. Why? They own a fantastic stadium and are debt free. They have the most support in every measure (cash, numbers, season ticket holders) and have the highest turnover. They have plans to deliver even more income too. The potential returns from tigers far exceed the potential returns from every other English club. But the way to exploit this and deliver that return is not to asset strip as you decrease the value of the asset you own - the way is to push to deliver even more support and extract more cash from that support base. And this cant be achieved without the correct product on the pitch....
* Peter Tom is of an age where he is choosing to slow down a touch - I think he has earned this right without criticism
* Ground sharing with LCFC cant happen - both clubs require primacy of tenure.

A few things I think
* The way the club has been run behind the scenes has not been successful in terms of the product on the pitch and needs to change
* Many have been calling for change - yet some of those people are criticising this potential change without knowing the details. let it run a bit and see what the options are as the potentials are vast for how this might work. it could be the best thing ever........
Less is more....
rdracup
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Re: Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

Post by rdracup »

I think there are 13.5m issued shares so about £4.40 per share (at £60m price tag)

I think season ticket holders were given 100 shares in the mid 90's - and the chance to buy more.

Maybe a small windfall for them, but still a big change in structure of club. I will await more detail before deciding if it is, on balance, good or bad....
MikeR
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Re: Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

Post by MikeR »

I think you will find that there are other classes of share Capital issued - don't 'count your chickens' yet.
strawclearer
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Re: Leicester Tigers up for sale for £60 Million

Post by strawclearer »

Bunchy wrote: Tue Jun 25, 2019 2:27 pm crikey - most glasses on here seem to be half full
A few things I know about this situation and decision
* This was triggered by the CVC investment and the subsequent interests from potential investors
* Tigers are the most attractive club in England to invest in. Why? They own a fantastic stadium and are debt free. They have the most support in every measure (cash, numbers, season ticket holders) and have the highest turnover. They have plans to deliver even more income too. The potential returns from tigers far exceed the potential returns from every other English club. But the way to exploit this and deliver that return is not to asset strip as you decrease the value of the asset you own - the way is to push to deliver even more support and extract more cash from that support base. And this cant be achieved without the correct product on the pitch....
* Peter Tom is of an age where he is choosing to slow down a touch - I think he has earned this right without criticism
* Ground sharing with LCFC cant happen - both clubs require primacy of tenure.

A few things I think
* The way the club has been run behind the scenes has not been successful in terms of the product on the pitch and needs to change
* Many have been calling for change - yet some of those people are criticising this potential change without knowing the details. let it run a bit and see what the options are as the potentials are vast for how this might work. it could be the best thing ever........
:smt023 ...and Peter Tom has been a 'block' to the executive and rugby board for a while now so...now we'll see.
Happy days clearing straw from the pitch before the Baa-Baas games! KBO
Wear a Mask>Protect The NHS>Save Lives
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