Skirge Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Newcastle United: Club for sale, in need of repairs, big potential, £267m ono With Mike Ashley prepared to sell and St James' Park regularly sold out, it's a mystery why no billionaire is interested in the club Ajman, United Arab Emirates, November 2007. The hotel worker was Tanzanian and he wanted to know which UK airport I had flown from. The word "Newcastle" prefaced a broad smile. "My life's ambition is to go to St James' Park; they are my team," he said. And why not? Freddy Shepherd, Newcastle's former chairman once claimed he was in charge of the eighth most popular side in the world. Even if that is no longer quite true, earlier this year, Newcastle broke back into the global top 20 revenue generating football clubs with the only puzzle being why potential buyers are not beating down Mike Ashley's door and persuading the current owner to sell up. Seemingly Ashley's answer would be yes were any would-be purchaser to come up with around £267m – thereby covering the £134m he paid for Newcastle in 2007 plus more than £150m in interest-free loans he injected to keep everything afloat during the early days of his tenure. Although the club's most recent accounts, released in March this year, showed that commercial revenue had fallen by £12.7m – perhaps reflecting Ashley's failure to exploit fully overseas markets – Newcastle's accounts were in the black. Unlike many Premier League counterparts they even posted a profit – £1.4m after player amortisation. Life is full of mysteries but one of the biggest, most enduring, revolves around why no one has stepped in to relieve Ashley of a most attractive toy he would surely be willing to discard. The billionaire sports retailer once reportedly told one of his former St James' Park managers he had no idea why he bought Newcastle in the first place but, now the international credit crunch has eased, the lack of interest in taking it off his hands appears astounding. Financial types will tell you that wealthy individuals are rarely willing to invest more than 10% of their overall capital in a football club, preferring to borrow the rest. The credit crunch made that tough but now things should be a little less restrictive while the potential rewards of being handed the keys to St James' Park are immense. For a start the stadium – one of the biggest and best in England – regularly sells out to its 52,000 capacity and, unusually, it enjoys a prime city centre location within walking distance from scores of restaurants, hotels and shops. If the fact you can be shopping in Fenwick or John Lewis minutes before attending a match may seem slightly irrelevant, the ground's peerless location boosts the club's value in the corporate function market appreciably. Derek Llambias, Newcastle's former managing director under Ashley, used to suggest that people on Tyneside did not have sufficient money to help maximise such revenue streams but his opinion was perhaps coloured by earlier decades spent working in the high-rolling world of Mayfair casinos. Granted there are areas of deprivation in Newcastle – as in all cities. Yet judging by the amount of brand new expensive cars flying around the area, the invariably packed restaurants, busy shops and some eye-wateringly steep house prices in certain suburbs, Llambias did not grasp the whole picture in what remains a regional capital. Glenn Roeder, sacked as Newcastle's manager shortly before Ashley's arrival, used to say potential buyers dismissed it, ignorantly, as simply too far north and, even though that sounds absurd in such a small country as England, he may well have a point. After all, people who have never been to the north-east do often have rather distorted ideas about the region. It seems Manchester City's current owners did discreetly arrive from Abu Dhabi to explore the possibility of buying Newcastle before heading south and west to Manchester but since then little substantive sales talk has gone on. Everton, a club Bill Kenwright has made clear is up for grabs, may represent a rival interest for anyone looking for a Premier League stake but to truly prosper Everton need to leave Goodison Park and finding a new home has proved an enormous problem. Newcastle, then, should be top of any self-respecting billionaire's shopping list. But if someone really is serious about buying Ashley out the overwhelming likelihood is that – as happened with Manchester City – no media outlet would have an inkling of anything happening until the formal, bombshell, announcement. Clues will not be scattered and advance warnings should not be expected. Maybe that is what will happen at St James'. We will wake one morning to an early club statement and later discover that, unnoticed, a delegation representing the new owner flew into Newcastle airport on a private jet from Russia or the United States. Or perhaps on the daily Emirates service from Dubai, possibly having connected from elsewhere in the Middle East, east Asia or the Indian subcontinent. There was a time, a few years ago when the club was very publicly for sale, that a group of Malaysian – or at least that's where they were supposed to be from – businessmen stepped out of Emirates business class and were whisked the few miles to St James' and then the training ground for a less than private tour. New owners? Of course not, just a bizarre publicity stunt or perhaps a little joke on Ashley's part. No one ever appeared quite sure. One day though it will happen for real. Sooner or later? No one knows … but Newcastle United are a very big prize waiting to be claimed. http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/nov/21/newcastle-united-club-for-sale-mike-ashley Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliottman Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 http://cdn.worldcupblog.org/netherlands.worldcupblog.org/files/2011/04/young-giggs.jpg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmojorisin75 Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Roger Kint Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Ok. You can lease warehouse space 30 miles from London for £4.50 per square foot per annum, we must be turning over a shit load of stock if we're paying £498,000 on warehouse space in Nottingham for 2 shops. I'm looking forward to seeing our accounts in the New Year, we'll be raking it in. What about transport costs, staff costs etc? Its clearly not just a pile of NUFC clothes sitting unattended in a shed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlin Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 I was sure the City owners had thought about buying us but could never find the quote. Depressing. It would have helped if Ashley had met up with their reps in Dubai instead of playing the casinos....no wonder they bought City instead... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveItIfWeBeatU Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 http://www.thejournal.co.uk/business/business-news/sports-direct-pre-tax-profits-jump-6398831 By Coreena Ford Sports Direct pre-tax profits jump 14% 12 Dec 2013 11:07 Mike Ashley’s retail firm Sports Direct has delivered a surge in sales in a strong half year which saw pre-tax profits jump 14%. Revenues rose by almost £260m to £1.35bn for the six months to 27 October 2013, and pre-tax profits soared from £125.2m in the same period in 2012, to £143.1m. In August, 2,000 full-time staff shared a £112m bonus through the group’s incentive scheme dating back to 2009, amounting to a windfall of £76,000 for those earning a salary of £20,000 four years ago. Dave Forsey, chief executive of Sports Direct International plc, said the business had produced another strong set of results, bouyed by further expansion outside of the UK. Forsey: “We have delivered another strong performance reflecting our continued focus on providing customers with exceptional quality and unbeatable value – reinforcing our position as the consumer champion. “The growth in Group revenues and EBITDA has been ahead of expectations and achieved against a tough comparative that included the UEFA European Championships and the London 2012 Olympics.” Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottledDog Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 http://www.thejournal.co.uk/business/business-news/sports-direct-pre-tax-profits-jump-6398831 By Coreena Ford Sports Direct pre-tax profits jump 14% 12 Dec 2013 11:07 Mike Ashley’s retail firm Sports Direct has delivered a surge in sales in a strong half year which saw pre-tax profits jump 14%. Revenues rose by almost £260m to £1.35bn for the six months to 27 October 2013, and pre-tax profits soared from £125.2m in the same period in 2012, to £143.1m. In August, 2,000 full-time staff shared a £112m bonus through the group’s incentive scheme dating back to 2009, amounting to a windfall of £76,000 for those earning a salary of £20,000 four years ago. Dave Forsey, chief executive of Sports Direct International plc, said the business had produced another strong set of results, bouyed by further expansion outside of the UK. Forsey: “We have delivered another strong performance reflecting our continued focus on providing customers with exceptional quality and unbeatable value – reinforcing our position as the consumer champion. “The growth in Group revenues and EBITDA has been ahead of expectations and achieved against a tough comparative that included the UEFA European Championships and the London 2012 Olympics.” Profits may be ok but results still saw the share price drop 10%. Will have to be a Tesco Value Christmas for Ashley this year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueStar Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Sports Direct is caught up in a new row with adidas after the German sports brand refused to supply the retailer with Chelsea’s new kit. Adidas is planning to withdraw Chelsea’s replica shirt from Sports Direct stores for the 2014/2015 season as a part of a drive to position its leading sports products as premium clothing. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10512931/Sports-Direct-in-row-with-Adidas-over-Chelsea-kit.html Seems all based on not wanting their shirts sold from grubby shops next to stacks of cardboard boxes full of fake crocs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madras Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Sports Direct is caught up in a new row with adidas after the German sports brand refused to supply the retailer with Chelsea’s new kit. Adidas is planning to withdraw Chelsea’s replica shirt from Sports Direct stores for the 2014/2015 season as a part of a drive to position its leading sports products as premium clothing. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10512931/Sports-Direct-in-row-with-Adidas-over-Chelsea-kit.html Seems all based on not wanting their shirts sold from grubby shops next to stacks of cardboard boxes full of fake crocs. and wanting to keep the price artificially high I'll wager. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueStar Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Yep, that too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stifler Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Why is it limited to just the Chelsea kit and not other teams kits and other Adidas stuff? It sounds more like Chelsea wanting to be exclusive sellers of their shirts (apart from Adidas stores which will be in their contract) and they are using Sports Direct's business model as just an excuse not to sell to them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToonTastic Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 When puma did this he bought it on something called the grey market apparently totally pissed them off till they negotiated with him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 As if a Chelsea shirt is ever going to be premium merchandise. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueStar Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Looks like it's not just the Chelsea strip, but anything Adidas considers "premium". The high street sports retailer Sports Direct is embroiled in a spat with Adidas which means it could lose out on sales of football kits worn by Chelsea and World Cup favourites including Spain next year. Concerns about the dispute contributed to a 12.5% slump in Sports Direct's share price yesterday, making it the biggest faller in the FTSE 100.The retailer's stock dived 97p to 674p, as it also revealed slightly-lower-than-hoped-for profits after a £6.3m hit from restructuring costs at its new Republic chain as well as a cautious outlook for the next few months. Adidas said in a statement that it would not sell premium-priced football kits, such as Chelsea's strip, through Sports Direct from next spring, citing factors such as "in-store environment" and "customer service levels." Although how much 'customer service' you need to buy a football shirt, I dunno. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Do SD sell those shirts cheaper than the Chelsea club shop and other outlets? Edit, quick look, £39.99 from their Club Shop, £44.99 at SD. Surprised at that mind. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Icke - Son of God Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Trying to position football shirts as some high brow, aspirational item tickles me no end, as I associate them with charvas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skirge Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 http://24.media.tumblr.com/1a1b6d7bca7a5c7952fa86f392ad8a52/tumblr_mxo80e6wrB1ql56ddo1_500.gif Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NG32 Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Hmmm interesting! http://www.themag.co.uk/the-mag-articles/much-fans-pay-nufc-break-even-premier-league-clubs-profits-losses/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Roger Kint Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Hmmm interesting! http://www.themag.co.uk/the-mag-articles/much-fans-pay-nufc-break-even-premier-league-clubs-profits-losses/ Is it? Aside from the Carroll sale vasly improving our results what does it actually say about us? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NG32 Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Hmmm interesting! http://www.themag.co.uk/the-mag-articles/much-fans-pay-nufc-break-even-premier-league-clubs-profits-losses/ Is it? Aside from the Carroll sale vasly improving our results what does it actually say about us? we sell a lot of tickets Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Roger Kint Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Hmmm interesting! http://www.themag.co.uk/the-mag-articles/much-fans-pay-nufc-break-even-premier-league-clubs-profits-losses/ Is it? Aside from the Carroll sale vasly improving our results what does it actually say about us? we sell a lot of tickets We dont need the Mag to tell us that though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NG32 Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Still intersting look at the table...if the data is correct of course. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Roger Kint Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Still intersting look at the table...if the data is correct of course. Well the attendances for all home games in those two years looks about right, the profits match so fwiw they should be. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Varadi Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Man City losing 83 quid for every ticket sold stands out mind - ridiculous situation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Roger Kint Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Man City losing 83 quid for every ticket sold stands out mind - ridiculous situation. The £400m or whatever deal they signed will help a bit. The debts are £100m less in 2012/13 than 2010/11. Still absolutely mental mind. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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