Is it all about Cash?

Speculation is increasing that elusive millionaire Kevin Cash may be in the background of the Charlton takeover and may even have partially funded the deal. I am indebted to another Addick for some research has undertaken.

TLS Vehicle rentals was to be taken over by a company called Reflex Vehicle Solutions, whose Chairman is none other than Michael Slater the new chairman of Charlton.

A search at Companies House revealed that Reflex were owned by a company called HDSL Nominees Limited which in turn was owned by the Rose Property Corporation registered in the British Virgin Islands. Further digging came up with the very appropriate name of 'Kevin Cash' who is the owner of the 'Rose Property Corporation'. Kevin Cash who is reported to be worth around £500 million.

An article in the Daily Mail said of Cash:-
His name is Kevin Cash, an elusive figure about whom little is known, but who is said to be hugely significant on the London property scene, as well as a major player in the trade of Gulf oil.

Cash is reputed to be worth about £500 million and his substantial property portfolio includes half of an exclusive row of mews houses close to the Dorchester Hotel in Mayfair, homes in Marbella and Miami and a £16million country estate, North Aston Hall, in Bicester, Oxfordshire. Yet he has never been included on any rich list.

He is involved with a company set up to manage property portfolios for Premiership football stars, including the controversial Chelsea defender John Terry.

‘Cash is probably one of the most powerful people in London today,’ says a source. ‘He handles money for many super-rich businessmen and has managed to
make himself more than any of them.’

Despite his enormous wealth, Cash does not appear to have any British-registered companies, but has based his business empire offshore. Rose Properties – which owns his impressive Oxfordshire estate – is registered in the Virgin Islands, where it is neither necessary to file accounts nor name directors. [Ends]

I have no evidence that Cash is actually involved in the Charlton takeover, but it is interesting to speculate that there may be links between him and Slater and possibly Jiminez as well.

Varney reassures on takeover

Talks on the Charlton takeover are at a very advanced stage Peter Varney has told BBC Sport. There are still a few things to iron out, but those involved are working round the clock.

Our forecast is that a deal will be done in time for Addicks to toast the new owners on New Year's Eve.

Read the full BBC report here: Addicks

Sainsbury bid rejected

Charlton have rejected a takeover bid from a group led by Swiss-based fund manager Sebastien Sainsbury: Sainsbury

The club was not satisfied that the necessary funds were in place.

Richard Murray has tweeted that no takeover is imminent and that any bid would have to be right for the club.

It is unclear whether Nectar points would have been offered if the Sainsbury bid had gone ahead.

Several bids on table for Addicks

Peter Ridsdale has formally denied any interest in Charlton, so that is another false lead from the News of the Screws.

Normally reliable sources are indicating that there are multiple bids for Charlton on the table. However, it has been alleged that one of these groups (said to involve Sainsburys) has among its number a Paul Garland who has been convicted of fraud: Garland

It is understood that there was a board meeting yesterday and that the risk of Garland's involvement has receded. The Ridsdale story appears to have been a diversionary tactic.

It is believed that many of the bids would involve borrowing against The Valley to raise additional funds.

Charlton still Plan B

David Gold and David Sullivan are reported to be making a bid for West Ham by the end of the week. Charlton would be Plan B if a price cannot be agreed for the Hampsters: Bid

This is a different line from that being peddled by Pravda which claims that Gold has given the Addicks a six week deadline over a takeover. Here is the story: Takeover

Charlton fans seem to be divided over the issue. It is probable that a Gold/Sullivan takeover would lead to a more hard nosed commercialism at The Valley, but maybe that is what the club needs. Our financial position remains perilous and even if we secure promotion, it will be difficult to fund the kind of squad needed to survive in the Championship.

More takeover speculation

I was in Switzerland yesterday looking for prospective investors in the Addicks. Not really, of course, and I see that while I was away another takeover story has broken, this time involving tax drivers' favourite Dennis Wise.

Other bloggers have dealt with this more than adequately while I was in Switzerland. All I would say that if there is going to be a takeover, I hope it happens soon as all this speculation doesn't help the club.

Breaking news is that Ebbsfleet United may have to share our training ground as their facilities have been deemed 'unfit for purpose'.

Sullivan to buy Charlton?

Make what you will of this report that David Sullivan has decided to buy Charlton as he thinks that it represents better value than West Ham and that he might even bring Curbs back as manager: Takeover

Takeover off

Kiel, Germany: The exciting stuff always happens when I am abroad with an up-and-down WiFi connection, but I gather that the takeover is off. The current board has been restructured, Richard Murray is back in charge and £7m has been put into the club.

It seems to that this is good news. It ends the period of uncertainty, gives the club some stability and allows us to focus on the pitch.

Three boards have been merged into one which makes a lot more sense and the sale of the training ground and other assets is off.

La Brady and co can pursue their interest in Wet Spam, the fish-and-chip shop proprietor can go back to his frying and Dennis Wise is welcome to attend the occasional game. In the longer run we will need more investment, but the immediate crisis and the threat of administration has been averted.

I know nothing

One or two people asked me yesterday whether I knew anything about the state of the takeover. The answer is I don't know any more than anyone else does which is very little.

From what I can piece together the board have received an alternative approach, not exactly an offer, but at least an expression of interest which is worth thinking about. They are understandably reluctant to let a club that looks like a credible promotion possibility to the Championship go for a song. So enough money has been found to keep the club going for a while.

Attendances like that yesterday will help. Deducting 10,000 season ticket holder and 500 freebies that leaves 9,000 paying customers. It's difficult to work out what they would have paid on average given all the concessions, but if we say £18 that equals £162,000. Six gates of that size should cover the business rates.

Which perhaps illustrates the scale of the problem. One of the minor mysteries of current Charlton life, which Inspector Sands and I mulled over when we had a drink together in Toronto, is the retreat of the Rickster to a fastness on the Isle of Thanet. Our first thought was that it was a signal that Margate had at last really arrived as an up market location. However, we concluded that the real attraction was the possibility of travelling to the match on his own Rickshaw.

What is evident from occasional delphic utterances from Thanet is that the present financial situation cannot be maintained indefinitely. There are too many calls on the club's cash (including one of the highest wage bills in the division) for things to be kept afloat by the occasional donation of loose change by the directors.

So at some point there will have to be a restructuring of the existing set up, quite likely involving some new directors, or a more conventional takeover. When we will reach that point is far from clear.

Amid the euphoria

It is probably worth reminding ourselves that the takeover has not been completed and we may find ourselves selling a couple of our best players before the transfer deadline. What has prevented an acquisition is unclear, but there have been persistent but unconfirmed rumours that two directors want the money they loaned to the club paid back (or at least a good part of it). This would use up
money the new board would prefer to invest the team.

As it stands, the business is not viable. We have high infrastructure costs associated with our former status which cannot be brought under control. For example, I understand that the business rates on The Valley alone amount to around
£1m a year. In those circumstances the only way to keep the business going is to provide working capital by selling assets, i.e., players.

I took my nine year old granddaughter for a day out in London yesterday and we saw Tower Bridge raised for a cruise ship (the MV Silver Cloud) leaving the Pool of London which was the first time I have seen this since I was a child. Given that the ship would go down river, I thought that this was a good omen for Charlton, but now I am less sure.

Strange mirage seen over The Valley

Charlton fans returning in the early hours of the morning from celebrating England's victory in the Ashes claim to have seen a strange mirage over The Valley.

Darren from Charlton said, 'We had had a few drinks and we decided to walk back via the ground. One of us thought he saw an Arab sheikh hovering over the ground with a bag of money while others thought it was someone in Swiss yodelling costume. I thought it was a trio made up of a butcher, a greengrocer and a fish and chip shop proprietor.'

All those there were agreed that Peter Varney and Alan Curbishley were sitting together high up in the empty stands.

A psychiatrist comments, 'This is not an unknown form of delusion when a team has gone down from the Premiership to League 1 and its onset may occur after the consumption of alcohol. Collective delusions of this kind arise when fans have been subjected to a long summer of rumours about a possible takeover of their club.'

'The delusion clears up rapidly when a takeover is announced or it is stated that it will not take place. The symptoms may be alleviated in the meantime if the signing of a striker or centre back is announced. Fans may find that tension is relieved by constructing models of Iain Dowie or Alan Pardew and sticking pins in them.' (Instructions on how to construct a model of Alan Pardew for this purpose can be found on Southampton fans' sites).

There may, however, be a simpler explanation of what happened. It has been reported that Inspector Sands was using his long furlough to project a multi media light show over The Valley from his nearby home, but the image of himself became distorted.

I will be tweeting new postings on Twitter, just search for 'Wyn Grant'.

Takeover should be complete in two weeks

The takeover of Charlton by the consortium led by Peter Varney should be complete in two weeks: Varney

Should the takeover occur, it is uncertain whether Phil Parkinson will continue as manager.

Richard Murray has told the South London Press: that Charlton’s major shareholders are ready to lose £30million of their own money to push through a takeover of the club. The Addicks chairman has ploughed £7.5million into the club during his 20 years at The Valley but is prepared to not get a penny back providing the right buyers can be found.

Matt Holland has told the Colchester Evening Gazette that he is training with Colchester as his deal with Charlton cannot be settled until the takeover is complete.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Zheng Zhi has left the club as he did not want to play in the third flight.

I am off to Chile tomorrow so I may miss all the excitement. I have decided to keep the Addick's Championship Diary format for the next season on the basis that we are aiming to be Champions of League 1. I know this is a faint hope, but the real reason is I am so busy this summer with work related travel, so much so that I can't take a holiday, that I really can't spare the time for a re-design.