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Has all the makings of another Boris Johnson to Liz Truss situation.
Just when you think anyone is better than what you have…..
Administration now and get on with a recovery is starting to look the best option.
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Why are people assuming they didn’t have enough money?
Perhaps they didn’t think it was worth the money being asked.
If the price was £3,500,001 plus the debts the current owner has incurred on behalf of the club then they are absolutely correct.
Deciding something is not worth the asking price is not the same as not being able to afford it.
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Apologies to Alcazar and 64. They didn’t believe the owner even then.
I do miss Alcazar’s posts even though I disagreed with many of them.
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Not aware I needed to get out of anything but please enlighten me as to what it is.
Many years ago when people had no reason to doubt what the owner was telling us he was going to build a brand new £18m stadium down the road totally funded by the sale of Glanford Park and associated land to retail developers.
Surprised you don’t recall it.
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I didn’t say who was saying Simon and Ian should just pay the £3.5m but if the cap fits?
The land might have been worth £18m 10 years ago (we only have Mr Swann’s word on that) but it’s worthless now nobody is creating new retail space.
The pandemic has left the country awash with ready built office space in much more salubrius locations. My fag packet exercise shows residential development is not going to make any money.
Yes there is a football ground that is just about good enough for lower league football on the land but it is of no use to anyone other than Scunthorpe United. You can’t move the ground out or an alternative professional football team in.
So what is for sale here? A soon to be tier 6 football club with no saleable assets and (rough estimate) at least a million pounds of debt.
If the reported offer is £1.5m then I think Simon and Ian are being generous to the point of recklessness. Probably gone that high only because of their passion for the club.
2 likely outcomes. A sale to Simon and Ian once the owner comes to terms with another failed gamble. Or administration and someone buys the remnants of our once proud football club.
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Disclaimer: I am not a successful property developer – one of the few things I would seem to have in common with Mr Swann.
There are 2 or 3 regular posters on here who seem that £3.5m for the land to build the potential development of 160 Apartments at the ground is a bargain so I thought that with the aid of Google and the back of a fag packet I would check this out.
First I searched for 2 bed apartments in Scunthorpe using RightMove and Zoopla. It seems that the going rate for a 2 bed flat in a decent area in Scunthorpe is anything from £80k to £100k. The plans for the development give no clue to the size and make up of the flats so I am assuming 2 bed units. Ignoring the fact that flats overlooking a car park and hemmed in by a railway line, an unattractive tin shed of a non league football ground and an empty Debenhams I decided to use the upper figure to estimate the sales value of £100k per unit. Total sales price £16m. Lets say £2m for marketing and legal costs for the sales. Gives us £14m
Next I searched for average size of a 2 bed flats/apartments in the UK. There are a multitude of sites giving views on this with a wide range of suggestions but the average (not scientifically proven) seems to be about 70 sq metres. I figure if you want to achieve top end prices the flats need to be at least average size.
Next I searched build costs for blocks of flats. Again lots of sites to choose from with variation in costings. I chose Checkatrade as their data was the most recent I could find (March 2022) and I know building costs have risen sharply over the last year or two. They quote a build cost of between £1800 and £3000 per sq metre with an average cost of £2400 per sq metre.
They do have a top tip for would be developers – Top tip: Remember to factor into your budget the cost for finishing, architect and contractor fees – not to mention landscaping and many of the soft costs like interior design, decoration and furnishings.For the sake of simplicity (running out of space on my fag packet) lets ignore that stuff and just go with the lowest quoted build cost:
160 apartments x 70 sq metres = 11,200 sq metres of building @ £1800 per metreBasic build cost £20,160,000
So basically building the flats on the cheap and selling them at peak Scunthorpe prices will only lose you £6m
It was a riduculous plan in the first place and if the potential new owners were falling for it then they would not be the people I would want running my football club. Stay well away Simon and Ian. £3.5m is an awful lot to pay for a car park that is used once a week at £4 a shot and a training pitch that is used for 2 hours a day.
It also probably explains why no-one (apart from the council) has ever built blocks of flats of a significant size in Scunthorpe. The model only works in places where you can sell apartments for £200k plus.
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Is it just my suspicious mind or has anyone else considered the possibility that a couple of ringers have been brought into play to try and get the serious group to increase their offer?
Pure speculation of course but does anyone know if the other interested parties have actually got that kind of money? Supporters of previous clubs don’t seem to think so according to social media.
Of course I don’t think for a minute that the owner would be involved in anything underhand or untruthful.
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Flattered to deceive his whole career – check out his goals and assists record.
Abysmal for someone with his talent.
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In my view this idea could help the club recover but only if correctly organised and with the correct aims.
It will likely fail if set up by a single fan. I would happily do it but how do potential contributors know I won’t disappear with the cash? I wouldn’t of course but you don’t know that.
That means it has to be done by or at least on behalf of an organisation with some credibility and accountability e.g. Iron Trust.
I am a member (up to now a very inactive one) but would be glad to help and or support.
The other thing is what will the money be used for? If it is simply to allow potential new owners to pay the current owners unrealistic asking price then most potential contributors would be reluctant to donate. I personally have no interest in contributing towards gambling debts, legal fees or hotel building for someone that has trashed my football club.
If the fund was for future running costs and funding developments to support regaining league status to help the local consortium I would happily contribute. Especially if this secures a share of the club for the trust. This could be done either pre-administration should the current owner have an attack of conscience and realism. More likely after the consortium buys the club post admin.
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Every time I pass a full length mirror I can’t help thinking it must have been me.
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