Terms and conditions really WILL apply

I received a further clarification today on the recent deal between Sevco and Close Brothers.

Firstly when the chaps in the Blue Room initially reached out they wanted an unsecured loan.

That is, they didn’t want anything in the basket of assets to be put in danger in case of default.

Of course, the very idea that anyone at Ibrox would fail to pay back monies is preposterous and offensive.

During these discussions, the Close Brothers people stated to the Sevco High Command that they were aware that the six-year-old football club had been approaching other finances houses.

Despite this, the folk at Close Brothers who were dealing with this application rejected it out of hand.

However, after further communications, it was agreed that any loan would be secured.

Some within the Sevco High Command was concerned that their customer base might point to the striking similarity with the Laxey loan in 2014.

Fortunately for the Blue Room fraternity, four years is an awfully long time ago for the collective memory of The People.

Moreover, there wasn’t a chance that the local media would be as undignified as to point out the similarities in both deals.

The senior chap at Close Brothers who objected to even a secured loan being offered to Sevco was told  by his boss that he could write the terms and conditions himself!

The Sevco High Command had promised that they would pay the loan back “between May and August when the season ticket money comes in”.

Despite that, the deal is that the interest for the entire year will have to be paid.

Therefore, my information is that if the loan is paid back in, say June, then there is no benefit in doing so regarding the interest owed.

My understanding is that, in black and white, they have one year to pay (i.e. Feb 2019).

I’m told that the penalties that would result if they were to fail to do wouldn’t be recognised by the Geneva Convention.

However, I’m sure that this loan will be paid back in the timeframe described by the Sevco High Command.

That said, there are many demands on the season ticket monies when they do start to arrive in the summer.

Of course, dear reader the local media should be pointing this out.

Then again, they have high-Level rules to abide by.

Consequently, this loan deal has been successfully sold to The People as a good news story.

I find that rather remarkable.

Although I probably shouldn’t.

62 thoughts on “Terms and conditions really WILL apply”

  1. If they had any sense they would pay it off as soon as possible irrespective of the total cost, you should not have a deal like this hanging over you but we know they don`t have any sense. Sevconian rules apply,LOL.

    Reply
  2. £8m offer for Morelos snubbed on football grounds.
    Regan is pushed out with a £250k pay off and his signature on a confidentiality clause.
    Then the Close Brothers secured loan amount is disclosed a couple if days before the paperwork is lodged at Companies House.
    This is Robertson’s take on the club being well funded?
    What does Regan know that our football authorities would rather remain buried?
    Is this the transparency that the SFA trumpets in it’s mission statement?
    Has the review of licencing procedures delegated to the Compliance Officer been put on hold or cancelled all together?
    How/when will we know?
    Something has happened or is about to of major significance but claims of financial health based on ST monies being raided the minute they come in tells a completely different story.
    Were the auditots aware of the new funding source when they signed off on the accounts?
    Is this loan facility on top of what King promised to fund or is it replacing it?
    Probably have to wait till October and the next accounts for clarity on that.
    As ever there are more questions than answers but hey still time for Morelos to go to China and bring in a much needed £8m less any sell on clause with his previous employer.

    Reply
  3. Given the desperation of the SFA to do all in its power to aid Sevco, it would be no surprise if the next round of the Bettillyoureskint Cup featured a “Clash” worthy of television…

    How are the Celtic fans supposed to access Hunden Park* safely with vehicular access via Aikenhead Rd closed off sine die?

    * Genuinely QPFC fans I know are belatedly running a sort of “let’s all love and save Hampden” campaign. And, yes, the couple I know who are involved truly are 100% genuine Spiders fans.

    FYI

    Reply
  4. LOL – my sympathies are with the guy at CB who didn’t even want to offer them an unsecured loan.

    When a company’s hurtling doon the lav as eagerly as Sevco, it’s gonna be a messy job just retrieving your security from the sewage…

    Reply
  5. Am I correct in thinking that Regan once sent an e-mail to Rangers (IL) for approval…but they knocked it back…then sent him the one he should issue?
    If I’m wrong…then I stand corrected.
    If I’m correct however…why has no one pursued this to the fullest..?
    I’m amazed that it has escaped real scrutiny.
    If ever proof was needed that he is the Govan Club’s lap dog…surely this is it…and is worthy of sacking on its own.
    Only in Scotland !!

    Reply
  6. They’ve rumbled you on FascistFascist “Ill Phil”. Pissing myself laughing at the sheer gullibility of the Klan and cant wait for my suicide on that site when it goes tits up.

    Reply
  7. The reaction to your blog on FF is one if incredulity and disbelief. One of the latest statements on why we like we are (making up lies about their beloved club) is as follows:

    ‘They are peasants, always have been, always will be. Socially, culturally and intellectually inferior in every strata of decent society, hence their unhinged and paranoid obsession with their betters.’

    So if you don’t mind, please crawl back to your mud hut and leave the ‘betters’ to get on with restoring their club back to its rightful place at the pinnacle of decent society.
    Thanks

    Reply
  8. By the time Celtic players have tied their boots on Thursday night, Dave King’s legal team will have submitted notes of authorization and case law along with appendix of documentation concerning his appeal agaisnt the Coirt of Session’s decision to enforece the Take Over Panel’s judgement that King must offer 20p per share to all non-concert party sharewholders or man up to the cold shoulder. IMHO, 20p looks more attractive by the day as insolvency looms.

    So as Celtic battle Zenit, Lord Malcolm will peruse the stratagems and ruses King’s men have conjured up to buy time this time. Malcolm may even allow himself a wry smile and a single malt as he recalls the old vignette of girlfriend to boyfriend; “You’re probably wondering whether you’re going to get lucky tonight. I already know!”

    Reply
  9. Excellent revelation of Sevco’s loan shenanigans. Shitloads of obfuscation, smoke and bendy mirrors, with an eagerly complicit media falling over themselves to be the biggest toad.

    Transparency International might be interested in Sevco, why not? One of them is dodgy and it ain’t TI.
    As for media in Scotland , Journalists 4 Transparency should take a look at their lack of transparency, lack of honesty, and their blatant complicity in perpetuating the myth of Sevco continuity.
    Thanks again!

    Reply
  10. Phil,

    with Close Brothers providing a loan to Sevco until season ticket money kicks in and the impending cold shoulder facing The Honest Chairman can they cancel that agreement at any time and ask for any monies owed?

    Got me thinking because it will not look good on Clothes Brothers being associated with The Honest Chairman when the situation facing him gets rather cold.

    Reply
  11. Looks like the tactic is to try keep the light son long enough to try and do some sort of equity funding round. Generate spin and hoodwink the bears again with over priced shares, hyped by Level 5 PR.
    Whether this actually involves giving King the boot, or using the intervening time artfully to come up with some other bent ruse that keeps him board remains to be seen.
    Doubtless the narrative will be sold as ‘giving Rangers £ what is needed to challenge Celtic’ whereas in reality it is ‘Hoping to get enough £ in to pay for Sevco mistakes, and maybe keep the lights on’.

    Reply
  12. I remember a few years ago Sevco ring fenced their season ticket money so that it was spent only on the season to which it related – and there was some legal/accounting reason for that. Something about potential fraud in selling tickets to matches when there was a material uncertainty that Sevco would be able to fulfil them IIRC. Does Rugger Guy have any thoughts on borrowing this season’s working capital against next season’s tickets?

    Reply
  13. Spin it how you like it is a huge chunk of change for a company/club/basket of assets needing £35m per year to keep the lights on.

    I don’t think the softloans will ever be paid. I doubt any of the £3m will be for anything other than to get them through to season end. Alleged maintenance a pipe dream. A chunk of that might be for Pedro’s severance and Alves’s signing on fee. A few new wages from January wont help the stress levels of those who care about the club. King wont lose a minute’s sleep.

    Reply
  14. Their share of a cup semi final and final gates if Newco go all the way will be very welcomed by the Ibrox Club.
    With King and his concert party exhausting their funding, or deciding enough is enough,only Close Brothers and the fans will be the bank of last resort from here on in.
    Talk of a share issue, with King’s wee concert party issue about to bite him on the bum, is just nonsense.
    Even if King complies with the COS order, chances of which are slim at best, who is going to pony up for the new shares.
    Green brought in £22m through his issue, most of which was provided by City institutions none of whom will come to the table this time around with King on the premises.
    It’s clear that the loans won’t be repaid in the forseeable future and if unsecured could prove costly to the providers.
    It’s interesting that the announcement of the Close Brothers facility made reference to the Albion Car Park and Edmiston House being used as security along with certain other assets.
    Why not go the full transparency hog and reveal exactly the nature of these assets?
    Is it that sensitive that the picture of financial health painted by Robertson would be exposed as a sham that not even Level 5 could turn into a positive?
    Eight players have been added to the 1st team squad, including the 3 returning loanees with two going in the other direction with a significant portion of Pena’s wages still being funded.
    Assuming an average salary of £12k per week the annual cost of the newbies is around £5m less say £1m for Wilson and Pena.
    That’s a £4m hike to payroll plus whatever it cost to get rid of Pedro and his management team.
    Income is already maxed out with full houses so there will be little movement in total revenue from the £30m of the previous financial year.
    Losses will be north of the £6m plus recorded this year as laid out in the accounts by the auditors cash flow shortfall.
    It’s a disaster no matter how you look at it and only CL Group Stage participation will turn the ship around.
    The earliest that would arrive is season 2019/20 with 4 qualifier rounds to overcome and no seeding status.
    They need to sell their top talent, have a very successful share issue and a run to the Group Stages of Europa Cup next season!
    That’s a most unlikely treble.

    Reply
  15. Did I not read last week…that Mr. Robertson said around £3million was also needed for stadium upgrade and repairs ?
    I’m sure I did.

    Reply
  16. Phil; Interesting news and chapeau on doing the work to dig into this.

    Have done some quick maths to point out how precarious a situation they have gotten into. Let’s start with an assumption that they were to repay the loan by August, because we know that if they wait until February they most certainly will have no money and will default. Also, this loan is going to give the auditors nightmares in squaring the accounts and paying it off may soothe them. Most likely it won’t but that is for another day.

    By August then, they would need to repay 4M (at least) to CB from the season ticket monies. But because the ST’s have to have 20% VAT taken out it means that they will actually need 5M worth of ST’s to net the 4M needed to pay off the loan. 5M of ST’s equates to about 12,500 tickets at 400 each and is well over 25% of their ST base.

    That means that they would limp into next season already needing a major cash injection to see Christmas much less the season out. But of course, the man from south of the Limpopo has promised his NOAL group will kick in whatever is needed so I am probably being too pessimistic here in thinking that they are well and truly Friar Tucked! I’m also sure that the SFA will help as needed……

    Reply
    • Great .. what you fail to disclose to the lurking huns is this.

      The season 2018/19 under normal circumstances will lose around 3 -4m under “normal operating conditions when there were no payments due for player acquisition liabilities” ,, (Phil you could ask your rugger chap to confirm my firmly held suspicions). This loan only covers ‘the money King was supposed to inject (and not repay) to cover the “black hole” between income and expenditure. It should remain on the balance sheet never to be returned.

      So for the season 2018/19 the black hole needs a cash injection to balance the books of

      1. Close Brothers repayment – 4m (less the VAT) as per your accounting.
      2. At least 3m (I’m not going to add VAT) the normal deficit.
      3. Repayments on the 7m for liabilities (player purchases) .. say 2.3m (assuming a 3 year repayment schedule?)

      Therefore their income is short or a black hole exists of 9.3m and I reckon that’s a “bear” minimum and I’m being generous here ..

      So the director or some mug investor needs to around 10m to inject into the company just to stand still next season .. frightening if my hypothesis is correct.

      Maybe King has pumped in 7m … but I doubt he has parted with a brass farthing.

      Reply
      • you are spot on. Now if we had a real SFA running the game, someone might just ask them how they can stay solvent long enough to finish the 2018/19 season.

        Reply
    • Oh I forgot the increased wage bill … that was a neutral movement in the forecasting for going concern deficit. So it should easily top 10m and I suspect 11m is more accurate …

      Reply
    • Your forgetting CL money

      Win league win through 4 or 5 qualifiers from Right hand side of the draw

      And bobs your aunties husband.

      winky eye thing

      Reply
  17. If interest is accrued for 12 months regardless, and if the loan isn’t required to be repaid until February 2019, then there is absolutely no incentive for Sevco to pay it any earlier, therefore they certainly won’t.

    Whilst this may leave them a little more working capital from STs than would otherwise have been the case, they’ll pay almost £1m to borrow £3m for a year. With security involved, their control over an insolvency has loosened.

    £4m doesn’t give Close Bros the 25% required to block a CVA but it could make the difference if somebody colludes with them. Who would your money be on?

    Reply
    • They might want the loan off the books before the audited accounts are released:
      A) To avoid angering Ra Peepul and by extension Club 1690,the second largest shareholder.
      B) To meet FFP requirements for a UEFA license and European football next season. I’m not sure their level of debt would allow for this even without the Close Brothers loan, not that the SFA would be too worried.

      Reply
    • They’ll pay it off as early as possible so that it isn’t shown in their accounts.

      Unlike their soft loans, this loan will be subject to FFP implications.

      Reply
  18. When are they going to be brought to task with all the unlawful wrong doings of the past the football authorities in the Scottish football association and Scottish premier league carry out there responsibility with honesty and integrity they should be open and transparent it is blatantly obviously that they are not capable of doing this just think if the club that was rangers had to play on a level play field just how many trophies would they have won without the assistance of the Scottish football authorities the new club is treated as if it is rangers the authorities should put an end to this myth.What have they got to lose if they have a public investigation open and transparent and clear all the outstanding issues with Rangers football club old and new for the better of Scottish football

    Reply
    • What a lot of them have to lose is not just their job or damage to their reputation ( I Know haha…), but for some of them, they could lose their liberty. it wasn’t just pochlin cup draws or referee bias that was going on. Several clubs including Celtic were defrauded of significant sums of money based on final league positions or access to European competitions. This also meant that individual shareholders in these clubs were defrauded of dividends. The fans too were cheated. They were paying for access to games and competitiond that were rigged.
      This issue is not just about sour grapes from Celtic and their fans, in all probability they lost the most revenue, however this corruption, for that is what it is, cost every club in the country over a ten year period at least.
      It is impossible to “move on” knowing that this injustice has not been penalised and equally as important is how can fans have faith in future that their teams are competing on a level playing field. If these issues are not addressed then Scottish Football is finished. Fans and Sponsors will disappear never to return. There are too many alternative sport / leisure opportunities out there.

      Reply
    • What have they got to lose? A majority of the fans would walk away, bargaining power for sponsorship/TV deals would be weaker, etc. Hence, the reason of the continuation myth.

      They prefer the £ to honesty.

      Reply
  19. When is a loan not a loan? When you’re pulling the wool over the eyes of the gullabillies it’s a ‘cash injection’. Indeed injections are needed and the hypodermic should carry a double dose of reality! Shareholders of the Chuckle, sorry Close Bros must be flicking through their yacht catalogues as we speak. In another few months they’ll offer the dead club a loan to pay off the loan and so it goes on. It’s called buying money and sevco will pay through their bluenoses – sooner or later. HH

    Reply
  20. Evidence for financial plight
    No ability to sign any players in the January window even on hire purchase.
    No money for Florida airfares.
    Not signing a full time manager and not paying off the sacked ones.
    Emergency loan of $3,000,000 to cover operating costs due to lack of funds to pay Feb wages

    Evidence for financial strength. They claim it.

    Football clubs income is seasonal and the money generated in May-August has to last till the following May. The Bears have maxxed out on giving away money. I’m not surprised that Close Brothers saw the chance to leverage a quick $700,000 and ensure that they get first dibs on the season ticket money.
    For Sevco to survive they have to make income exceed expenditure. Options – sell any players that could generate a fee in August and drop the monthly salary bill. Replace them with lowly paid players. That helps with lowering expenditure but lower paid players tend in general to have commensurate talent. A poorly performing team reduces income. I’m a businessman and cannot make a case for financial and football success for Sevco ever taking place.

    Reply
    • The financial case was obvoius several years ago
      Cash rich from share investment they really should have trusted in youth and a few older heads at the end of their careers, put them on modest salaries with a decent promotion bonus and began their ‘journey’ sensibly
      A three, five and ten year financial plan with KPIs related to league and fiscal performance that was reviewed and adjusted with each milestone hit or missed
      Utilising income earned each year and a modest portion of their cash reserves should have seen them promoted ‘back’ to the top flight in similar timescales to how it panned out – they do have a ‘world wide’ fan base after all
      Instead look what happened and is happening
      It truly beggars belief

      Reply
    • The Pay Day Loan is n the form of a legally binding contract that must be serviced.
      The “Cauld Shouder”, is a prohibition on any new business, assistance, loans etc from the Financial sector. This even means hiring auditors, accountants, bookkeepers. Anyone in tje Financial sector who helps them or works for them will basicaly be shunned themselves.

      Reply
  21. Just listened to SSB whereon a plucky ‘gers-man waxed on, in a manner most lyrical, about the light at the end of the tunnel that was now shining on his team’s prospects. Clearly Phil, you have it all wrong! Money isn’t everything. You seem to forget, up there in your ivory tower, that things like organisation and goals and what they call The Beautiful Match will always mean the bad days are over and things will never be bad again!
    It’s getting so that I don’t know WHO to believe !

    Reply
  22. As I understand it, Fans who use a Credit card company for season tickets, the money doesn’t get released in a lump sum, but in tranches as the season progresses. That is IF they can find a credit card company to even advance them the money. So those who pay in cash will find their money going straight to pay off this LOAN. This will impact on how much cash in hand the club has at the start of season ticket income.
    I would think that there is a very large number who can’t pay the full ticket price in cash, and must use a credit company to fund their ticket.
    Should the cold shoulder kick in, then credit companies may not even want to deal with Sevco so there is no guarantee they will get the same number of ticket sales as before.

    Reply
    • The credit card companies are not dealing with sevco they are dealing with card holder. If CB lend money before the cold shoulder it will not affect them being renumerated from sevco.However if they lend further monies while cold shouldering is in effect then thats a different matter.

      Reply
      • I think Jim Thomas is confusing an Accounting practice with the real-life transfer of cash. The credit card company will transfer the sum to Sevco and the balance plus interest is then owned by the supporter purchasing the ticket – notwithstanding many fans pay for season tickets in tranches, which is entirely different from credit companies “not releasing funds”.

        I think what Jim is referring to is the way Accounts are prepared – the detail of which is beyond me – but as I understand is something to do with season ticket income not being recorded as received until each match is played. This is about the recording of income rather when money is actually physically received so doesn’t reflect cash flow.

        Reply
  23. It sounds like an insurance job is the only way out…I can see it now, some sectarian slogans sprayed about the place to apportion blame elsewhere then it’s crack out the swan vestas and chuck some of it on the accounts, instant solvency, just hope they have kept on top of their premiums..

    I wonder where does this leave the Europ4an football people when they cannot show themselves as a company able to stay in profit?

    Reply
  24. Brilliant Phil.
    If the headcases at Ibrox decide to take up the full 12 month loan period they will be putting another round in the chamber.

    Reply
    • I’m surprised that £3M will be sufficient now.

      The wage bill has gone up, has it not?

      I guess the money put in by AJ and BS will have helped somewhat, however, there has to be payback somewhere along the line.

      The long term sustainability plan, according to Chairman King, is regular participation in UEFA competition.

      How do you achieve that or pay for it if you’re spending the season ticket money before it arrives? ?

      Reply
  25. A year long unsecured loan for a company that’s playing footsie with insolvency – as documented in their own accounts – oh dear – such a sense of entitlement. The Wonga Brothers, if at all competent, will have ensured that any security remains secure in the event of Administration.

    If Sevco follows the path of its predessor, the Wonga Brothers will control key assets, that anyone wishing to start a The The Rangers continuation myth will need to pay handsomely for, long into the future.

    The Wonga Brothers aren’t just lenders of last resort – they are also shorting RIFC plc – punting that they can create a long term revenue stream from a company that numerous other professionals have rejected.

    Blood is in the corporate finance water, but even some sharks can be choosier than other sharks.

    Reply
    • Yes section 6.10 of the Standard Security document ensures admin/receivership is an “event of default” and the remedial action available to Close Brothers is governed by the Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

error: Content is protected !!

Discover more from Phil Mac Giolla Bháin

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading