The Blackburn Rovers Supporters Investment Trust

[Stubbs]

I'm sure you've all heard either in the press or on sites like Roverstalk about the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Investment Trust, a group lead by Dan Grabko & Wayne Wild who's aim is to purchase the club, and put it under control of the fans.

I'm here today to raise awareness of the Trust if need be, answer any questions you might have, and to ask that you show your support by pledging today.

Details of the trust can be found on our website, http://www.brsit.co.uk, and the pledge form is also online: http://www.brsit.co.uk/expression-of-interest-form/

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask, or send me a PM, and if it's not something I can answer myself, I'll pass the question on to Wayne & Dan.

[Rover the Top]

How much are Venky's asking for?

[Ethiaa]

Ah Simon, you're a card

[Rover Ryan]

I wasn't aware the club was for sale

[Stubbs]

How much are Venky's asking for?

I wasn't aware the club was for sale

This is from the Q&A published on http://www.brsit.co.uk/2012/04/your-questions-answered/ :

What is the target fundraising?
As much as will be required to meet a realistic valuation of the club at the time of sale – An initial target of £10 million has been publicised to give supporters an idea of the sums that are likely to be involved.

So in a word, no-one knows how much it will take to buy the club, but the target has been set to illustrate the size of the task ...

[Rover Ryan]

So the clubs not for sale and your basing this takeover on something that may not happen?

[Rovertheseas]

How does the Trust, assuming it can purchase the club, envisage being able to consistently raise enough capital to invest in player transfers and wages?

[Rover the Top]

Call me crazy, but surely the first thing to do when considering a purchase of this magnitude should be to make preliminary enquiries as to whether the item is for sale and how much it will cost? You can't talk about what's 'likely' to be involved with a number plucked from nothing. Why the assumption that Venky's will be happy to write off millions of pounds? What do BRSIT propose to use as collateral to cover the club's debts? As said above, where's the money going to come from to invest in the playing staff, or even just plug the gaps in the finances when the club runs over budget? Who's going to pay Steve Kean's compensation?

[iamarover]

"It is not true, none of that. We have no plans to sell Blackburn Rovers, none at all. Even if the club got relegated, which is not in our thoughts, we are not planning to sell," Rao told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph on Monday.

[Stubbs]

If I can, I'll answer these questions with quote from the FAQ (http://www.brsit.co.uk/2012/04/your-questions-answered/)

So the clubs not for sale and your basing this takeover on something that may not happen?

We cover this in a section early in the FAQ:

How do you know the current owners want to sell?
We don’t. However, we do believe the current owners will want to explore their options at the end of the 2011/12 season based solely on the financial performance of the club during their tenure, regardless of league status and position.
The knowledge they have a willing buyer in BRSIT can only benefit them when they decide whether to sell or retain ownership.

How does the Trust, assuming it can purchase the club, envisage being able to consistently raise enough capital to invest in player transfers and wages?

There is a whole section on the running of the club in the FAQ, but the bits that answer your question are:

How will the day-to-day management be undertaken?
The intention of the BRSIT is to recruit a highly professional, experienced and respected Board of Directors to run the club on a day-to-day basis, form recommendations for the financial and operational strategies for all areas of the club with both short and long term goals as a basis, and present these for discussion with and approval by BRSIT.
BRSIT will be a supporter’s ownership group that will have the power to decide on some of the key decisions in the club, such as transfer strategies, borrowing levels, season ticket prices, the composition of the Board of Directors, etc. However, it would be up to the Board of Directors to make footballing decisions such as which players were bought and sold and who was managing the team.

This next bit is from a section called "What if the club loses money", but also covers your question:

BRSIT’s intention is to run the club as a business, within the boundaries of its ability to generate turnover. BRSIT would strive to ensure the club diversifies and expands its income in all areas to facilitate growth and success. There are currently debt and overdraft provisions in place to facilitate the day-to-day running of the club. BRSIT, as new owners, would seek to renew or renegotiate these items in the event that the club loses money on a short-term or temporary basis.

and finally Rover The Top:

Call me crazy, but surely the first thing to do when considering a purchase of this magnitude should be to make preliminary enquiries as to whether the item is for sale and how much it will cost? You can't talk about what's 'likely' to be involved with a number plucked from nothing. Why the assumption that Venky's will be happy to write off millions of pounds? What do BRSIT propose to use as collateral to cover the club's debts? As said above, where's the money going to come from to invest in the playing staff, or even just plug the gaps in the finances when the club runs over budget? Who's going to pay Steve Kean's compensation?

To cover the first part of your question, the current owners are extraordinarily difficult to contact, but here's a quote from the FAQ:

Has BRSIT made an offer for the club
Not yet. BRSIT is seeking dialogue with the current owners directly and through intermediaries.

I think the 2nd part of your question is covered above? IE, Rovers would be run as a business, within it's own ability to generate revenue, and existing overdraft facilities to cover any short term losses, just like any other business.

Thanks for the questions everyone, keep them coming!

[Ethiaa]

To reiterate what Wayne Wild emphasised - the investment trust is a safety net. They are aware the club is not for sale but having something on the table which can move into place quickly in the event it is needed is a big step forward from having nothing at all. The figures are going to be wrong and money will be tight. Probably tight to the point of nearly going out of business. However, if the situation is a choice between that and actually going out of business (or letting the club be purchased by an owner like Craig Whyte) then the choice is not that hard.

I'm yet to be completely convinced by Mr Wild on a personal level but I can't argue with his logic.

I think the BRSIT website does not highlight this enough - it's too busy trying to appear professional and serious about running the club to be entirely honest with the fans in my opinion.

[Rover the Top]

The FAQs don't answer the questions, just side-step them. There's far too many hypothetical points. I don't want to know what they intend to do, Venky's gave a similar list when they took over and have been labelled 'liars' for not being able to meet their targets. I want to know what they already know they can achieve. Who are these experienced board members that are better than the experienced board Venky's have appointed? Will they be able to borrow money and what will be used as collateral? If it's an emergency plan to keep the club running should things get desperate at some unspecified point in the future, then fair enough. But if it's a takeover campaign for this summer, as suggested, then there seems to be a lot they still need to research and find solutions for.

[theadore]

If it's an emergency plan to keep the club running should things get desperate at some unspecified point in the future, then fair enough. But if it's a takeover campaign for this summer, as suggested, then there seems to be a lot they still need to research and find solutions for.

This. With respect to Stubbs his comment below compared to Ethiaas account of Wayne Wilds 'should the worst happen' lead me to wonder whether BRSIT inner circle even know what they are signed up for.

a group lead by Dan Grabko & Wayne Wild who's aim is to purchase the club, and put it under control of the fans.

[Ethiaa]

Here are my tweets from the meeting at which Wayne Wild presented for those that haven't read them (in reverse order, first at the bottom). There is some distance between this and the message their website presents. Note, Wild literally saying "this is a disaster plan in case we get relegated" - that's a direct quote.

Wild: "I would never ask anyone not to buy a season ticket. This is all about supporting the club" #rovers

Not much recognition here that well run clubs can do badly on pitch. Assumption that different owners is a panacea for #rovers bit naive.

Odd discussion about taking #rovers owners to court. Not very constructive.

Following burst of self congratulation, sensible discussion about plan being a relegation safety net as Venkys won't sell if #rovers stay up

Garner: "something has to be done to save the club and Wayne had come up with a good plan" #rovers

Wild: Talking about wanting Venkys out "be careful what you wish for" - many bad owners out there who could make things at #rovers worse

Wild: "If Venkys said they were selling #rovers tomorrow that 1 million figure pledged would add a 0 on it"

Wild saying that #rovers will struggle as supporter owned club but will keep it alive as a professional club if it came to that.

Wild "this is a disaster plan in case we get relegated" and "I don't want to own #rovers". Says he has no agenda.

Discussion on cost of shares. Scheme in place to allow people to save to get a share. Current pricing at 1k per share, max 1% per person

1.1 million 'pledged' to the #rovers investment trust so far. Wild says Venkys "will have to sell eventually".

Figure quoted now 20 million. Wild points out that figure a complete guess as #rovers owners won't speak to them. Bit of an issue that.

Detailing financials now. Effectively a loan of 10 million over 20 years. Is that enough? Apparently we'll come back to that #rovers

Wild thinks more ex players would speak out but they have financial ties to club. Ex #rovers Simon Garner here.

W Wild: "bid 100% transparent". Laying into Venkys (with some justification) #rovers

@katie_jayne0 About 30 ppl at the Whitehall hotel. Presentation just starting.

At the BRSIT #rovers bid unveiling. The coffee and buns are nice. Not much else going on yet.

[paulh48]

Wigan fan in peace.

Just wanted to say I'm really pleased that your fans are looking at some sort of collective effort to take your ciub back off the Venkys. I've followed the progress of things like Ebbsfleet and Spirit of Shankly with interest and I'm sure that we'll see more and more of these supporter-led organisations appearing. If we don't we'll see more dodgy business people exploiting the PL and FAs poor "due diligence" procedures, and the greed of previous owners to take on cash and asset rich businesses to exploit.

It's very, very hard to have anything other than sympathy for supporters of clubs like yours or Portsmouth. It's funny when rivals fall on hard times on the pitch. But when a club is systematically asset stripped and bled out like a pig, it's hard to watch. Supporters are ultimately powerless over things like that and anyone who laughs at it does so forgetting that "there but for the grace of God go I". If it can happen to you it can happen to any of us. So no matter what reservations people might have about a supporter led takeover, can I just suggest that you look at it with an open mind? Recent events would suggest that self-determination of groups of fans offers a better solution than letting in ruthless capitalists who just want to exploit for personal gain. Even if they are forced to run a club within its means and without massive transfusions of extra cash. Maybe that way we'll all end up with more local lads playing for our teams, connected again to our communities, and something we can all be proud of.

I just had a thought - I may look like some fifth columnist from the investmenet trust posting under an assumed name. I'll drop one of your mods a line but honestly, I'm just a Wigan Athletic supporter who's coming to Ewood next week and was browing your forum in advance.

All the best - and I mean that.