club sale

[scalehallshrimp]

dont know if this had been circulated before but heard that a consortium of local businesses had offered to buy the club was turned down as current owners have agreement with someone else to sell to them

[Billy bodger]

Jason mentioned he has an agreement with Momi, even though he has had other bids.
The question is how long is he going to keep to that agreement?
When will Jason’s patience run out, if he really wants to sell?
I would think everybody knows what is required to pass the EFLs Fit and Proper Test, what is the hold up?

Unfortunately non of those questions will be answered, but it does flag up one last question:-

Is the relationship between Whittingham and Momi to cosy?

I would think a hard nosed businessman, who really, really wants to sell, (aren’t we all fed up with being fed that line), would have by now broken off that agreement and moved on to find a new prospective buyer. Especially as Jason said himself the price he is getting is less today then when he put it up for sale 900+ days ago.

[Keith]

This was rumoured to be the case a long time ago. It would certainly be the preferred option, unless you are Whittingham. I must admit, I've wondered if we eventually went into Administration, or got right to the edge, forcing Whittingham to be more realistic, whether something could be formed again?

[Keith]

Jason mentioned he has an agreement with Momi...
Especially as Jason said himself the price he is getting is less today then when he put it up for sale 900+ days ago.

If you still believe a word that Whittingham utters, I've got a friend who is a Nigerian prince who would love your help...

[KenH]

The fabled "Local consortium" could have bought it from PMG nearly a decade ago if they were serious and had the required funds.

At best, they probably wanted to buy it for a song in the knowledge it's not just the purchase price they'd have to fund, but also the ongoing losses each year and investment in the club to turn it around and make it a viable proposition.

The non football areas of the club need a complete revamp to increase the revenue generated on non match days which costs money, and yes, new investments like offices over the Berlin Wall and maybe even building offices to rent in part of the car park etc.

Very few individuals/consortia willing and able to pay a few million to buy the club off Jason and then fund a million per year loss, and fund a few million for revamping and investing in the non football areas of the club.

[black morse]

The fabled "Local consortium" could have bought it from PMG nearly a decade ago if they were serious and had the required funds.

At best, they probably wanted to buy it for a song in the knowledge it's not just the purchase price they'd have to fund, but also the ongoing losses each year and investment in the club to turn it around and make it a viable proposition.

The non football areas of the club need a complete revamp to increase the revenue generated on non match days which costs money, and yes, new investments like offices over the Berlin Wall and maybe even building offices to rent in part of the car park etc.

Very few individuals/consortia willing and able to pay a few million to buy the club off Jason and then fund a million per year loss, and fund a few million for revamping and investing in the non football areas of the club.

And that is why we never get the 'good owner(s)' that everyone craves for. They are not there in Morecambe.

[Billy bodger]

Jason mentioned he has an agreement with Momi...
Especially as Jason said himself the price he is getting is less today then when he put it up for sale 900+ days ago.

If you still believe a word that Whittingham utters, I've got a friend who is a Nigerian prince who would love your help...

Yes your right Kieth, I’m always sceptical of what comes out of his mouth, I do however think he will not get anywhere near the price he would of got if we had stayed in League 1 and if we go down again I would expect the price to naturally fall again.
As for your Nigerian Prince after what happened to my step daughter after being conned out of an expensive mobile phone, I’d do a background check. In fact put him in touch with Jason!!

[redrobo]

For me the option of a local consortium has always been my preferred option HOWEVER I suspect the reason Jason is reluctant to even contemplate such a deal was provided in the statement issue by the proposed new owner late last year where by he said that he would put in place 2 members of the Bond Group as Directors of the club to look after his investment. Now as I understand it the Bond Group only has one employee and that is Jason himself.

So the connection with Bond Group would remain and therefore Jason would still be in the frame in other words its a simple case of rearranging the deck chairs.

I no longer believe that any bid to buy the club from Jason was ever likely to succeed after all why should it. He's making money out of our misery and as he no longer visits the Maz any criticism of him and his methods fall on deaf ears.

I can't see any way forward other than administration and all that that would involve which if we are honest has fallen the way of bigger clubs than us.

[KenH]

For me the option of a local consortium has always been my preferred option HOWEVER I suspect the reason Jason is reluctant to even contemplate such a deal was provided in the statement issue by the proposed new owner late last year where by he said that he would put in place 2 members of the Bond Group as Directors of the club to look after his investment. Now as I understand it the Bond Group only has one employee and that is Jason himself.

So the connection with Bond Group would remain and therefore Jason would still be in the frame in other words its a simple case of rearranging the deck chairs.

I suspect the proposal is that Mosi buys the Bond Group from Jason, so instead of Jason owning Bond Group, it will be Mosi who owns it, and can therefore put his own directors into both Bond Group AND MFC Limited.

[redrobo]

For me the option of a local consortium has always been my preferred option HOWEVER I suspect the reason Jason is reluctant to even contemplate such a deal was provided in the statement issue by the proposed new owner late last year where by he said that he would put in place 2 members of the Bond Group as Directors of the club to look after his investment. Now as I understand it the Bond Group only has one employee and that is Jason himself.

So the connection with Bond Group would remain and therefore Jason would still be in the frame in other words its a simple case of rearranging the deck chairs.

I suspect the proposal is that Mosi buys the Bond Group from Jason, so instead of Jason owning Bond Group, it will be Mosi who owns it, and can therefore put his own directors into both Bond Group AND MFC Limited.

I suspect you are correct but the monies involved to both buy Bond and MFC may have put him off....so it could be a deal that is dead in the water....

The silence from both parties is deafening and gives me even more concern for our survival. Wouldn't br surprised if Jason's former partner is still lurking in the backgorund wanting his cut out of any sale.

[KenH]

Wouldn't br surprised if Jason's former partner is still lurking in the backgorund wanting his cut out of any sale.

He was banned from being a company director, not banned from being a shareholder, so it's possible that he still owns half of Bond Group Investments Limited as he did when it was formed to buy MFC in 2019.

[black morse]

I think The Shrimps Trust is having it's monthly meeting with the Board soon (if it hasn't already done so) and Tarnia's monthly update will probably be sent next week, not that I expect any uplifting news. The 'Back the Lads' fundraiser has reached just short of £2,000 from an aimed for £2,500. A bit disappointing as only 20 donations

[glagys]

Not defending Jason at all but perhaps the long drawn out sale is not all down to him ?
If for eg Jason wants £5 mil for the L2 club how much for a nation L club? £3 mil ?
So perhaps our prospective new owners are drip feeding the EFL with bits of info that’s needed and so dragging out the purchase until we know what league we’ll be in next season and then priced appropriately

[black morse]

Not defending Jason at all but perhaps the long drawn out sale is not all down to him ?
If for eg Jason wants £5 mil for the L2 club how much for a nation L club? £3 mil ?
So perhaps our prospective new owners are drip feeding the EFL with bits of info that’s needed and so dragging out the purchase until we know what league we’ll be in next season and then priced appropriately

There's only Jason believes our club is worth £5mil and I doubt whether he really believes it. That's the amount he needs to get for it.

[mrpotatohead]

With annual losses around the million mark , and no real concrete asset to purchase because of the Christie trust , plus a strong chance of relegation , its a very very tough sell, there isn't a genuine fan with deep enough pockets, tough times.

[KenH]

With annual losses around the million mark , and no real concrete asset to purchase because of the Christie trust , plus a strong chance of relegation , its a very very tough sell, there isn't a genuine fan with deep enough pockets, tough times.

Especially if the selling price has to keep going up when Jason has to borrow to put more money into it to cover the losses every year!

[Old Man Kensey]

How long can this go on for?
If we do go down, which is looking more and more likely due to our inability to score (or even shoot come to that), what next?

If Jason is still the owner we will end up with the worse budget in the National League as he tries to save whatever he can.

At what point do with say enough is enough? A not a penny more campaign would force administration fairly quickly. It would be a massive risk but with every passing week it is starting to look more and more like a risk worth taking.

[Andy D]

Once relegation as been confirmed.

It's just I've got a feeling the club, might try and do the early bird season ticket deal even earlier, followed by a club statement, giving it let's all stick together and we'll get through it malarkey.

I think the "not a penny more campaign" is the only way to free us from Jason.

[redrobo]

I'll still buy an early bird season ticket whatever happens even what ever league we are in.

69 years of faithfully allegiance to my club will never change whichever league or owner we have.

Whilst a cheaper season ticket ( specifically for those who have been season ticket holders for more than 10 years ) for my usual perch would be most welcome the cost goes directly to the club and not into the grubby hands of a distant owner.

[Keith]

Not defending Jason at all but perhaps the long drawn out sale is not all down to him ?
If for eg Jason wants £5 mil for the L2 club how much for a nation L club? £3 mil ?
So perhaps our prospective new owners are drip feeding the EFL with bits of info that’s needed and so dragging out the purchase until we know what league we’ll be in next season and then priced appropriately

N'ah. I don't think there is a serious new owner. All smoke and mirrors.

Using figures to illustrate, not actual valuation, if the club was worth £5 million as a League One club, Whittingham was asking £7 million. Relegated to League Two, club now worth £3 million, Whittingham wants £5 million. Relegated to National League, the club is worth £2 million, Whittingham wants £4 million. When he dumps us into National League North, he'll still want something stupid.

Once relegation as been confirmed.

I think the "not a penny more campaign" is the only way to free us from Jason.

Sadly, I think that is the only way forwards, as you say, once relegation is confirmed

There will quickly come a time when we go bust anyway. The cost of the infrastructure such as the business rates, maintenance, electricity etcetera will be the same whether we're in League One or National League North. But, income will be massively reduced. Number of fans will be down significantly, both home and away. No TV money or Football League money (or very little in comparison). No League Cup, with chance of a Premier League/TV game to boost income.

If relegated, we may just about scrape along in the bottom half of the National League, but it would be a struggle. When we were non-League, I often said, we were the 'Woking of the north'. They are currently 16th in the National League, six points clear of relegation. If/when we're relegated, that's what we will consider a 'good season'.

[Billy bodger]

Club sale ; look we are heading for the 1000th day, are we for sale, really!

I think without doubt all our problems can be traced back to the owner of the Club and his inability and reluctance to fund the Club properly. I also believe that with a better owner, i terms of investment and funding we would still be in EFL league 1.

Having said that funding is not the be all and end all, it’s the team. Many times since Morecambe entered the EFL structure, Morecambe was the least funded Club and between then and the current owners putting us up for sale many better funded Clubs fell out of the EFL, we even had a promotion. In the end because of what happened on the pitch with our players and the managers and their staff we survived, a lot say we over achieved it was always the case we were favourites to go down.

Hopefully we can have a good run in to the end of the season and get 22nd or higher. I think we all know the importance of that and what the impact on MorecambeFC will be of falling out of the EFL and the negative effect it will have on the Club. To me the stakes are extremely high, survive and we live to fight another day, survive and maybe the chance of a sale, however that comes about, will have a better chance of success.

Relegation and unfortunately Morecambe FC might not recover, I think we also all understand that. Hopefully we do and somehow we consolidate our position in the National League, readjust to our position outside of the EFL and then start to grow as a Club again, under new ownership.

Having said that there are twelve games to go, it’s now important what happens on the pitch, we as fans can turn up and support our lads on the day, especially at home, every game is a big game, we have to fight for every single point and we have to win, what are called six pointers, not draws definitely not loose, win, win, win.

So the team have to do something they have so far failed to do and string to together a run, getting us up near the 43-46 points total. The manager plays an important part in that and I want them to succeed more than I can say, but he needs to look at the man in the mirror and as the song says ‘change his ways’. Surely the message cannot be any clearer, take a look at our position and change your ways.

It’s not working and in all honesty, bad luck, lousy refs, poor defending, not shooting and the overall inability to put the ball in the net will continue. In general we compete, we make chances, we don’t convert, I don’t want us to go down in a whimper, it’s not over by a long shot, but as each game goes past it’s getting harder to see how we get out of this mess.

[Hodgie1978]

If Jason is still here come the start of next season I won't be buying any season tickets or merchandise. Just away days for me.

[redrobo]

If Jason is still here come the start of next season I won't be buying any season tickets or merchandise. Just away days for me.

Sorry Hodgie I simply do not understand your thinking in withdrawing your home support. ALL monies through season tickets or turnstiles goes to the club account that the owner has no access to.

You have followed our club for many years like others but to withdraw your home support will only hurt the club NOT the owner.....in fact the more money we as fans can put into the club reduces the need for the owner to put money into the club and rip us off with exorbitant high interest rates.

The less money he puts into the club the better for me.

[Old Man Kensey]

If Jason is still here come the start of next season I won't be buying any season tickets or merchandise. Just away days for me.

Sorry Hodgie I simply do not understand your thinking in withdrawing your home support. ALL monies through season tickets or turnstiles goes to the club account that the owner has no access to.

You have followed our club for many years like others but to withdraw your home support will only hurt the club NOT the owner.

But it would ultimately hurt the owner.
When the Board can no longer pay the day to day running he will either have to cough up more money or we'd go into administration and he'd get nowhere near his asking price. If he got anything at all.

[Hodgie1978]

Yep I'm not gonna criticise anyone who continues to follow the club as normal as if something is gonna change.
Not a penny more until Jason Whittingham is gone. It's that simple.