In response to the many questions related to the financial position surrounding the deal concluded for the exercise of Bees United's option agreement with Altonwood, Joe Bourke produced two pieces.
The first, The Path to Completion, gives details on the financial information given out in Brian Burgess's press release on 30 September and subsequent speech before the Rotherham United game. Joe puts this explanation in the context of what needs to happen in order to complete the purchase of the Club. The second, in the Q & A section on the Brentford FC site, gives further financial details of the Football Club income and expenditure for the current season.
The above two pieces were a general attempt at answering the main questions posed by supporters and we are now starting the process of answering questions not covered by these pieces. More responses will follow:
Q – Does today's agreement with Altonwood give Bees United any day-to-day control of Brentford Football Club (BFC) – or does that still rest in the hands of the Directors appointed by the shareholders (of which Altonwood is the majority shareholder). i.e. E Rogers, J Herting and D White?
A – Control remains with the existing BFC Board of Directors (of which there are seven) until such time as Bees United can complete the transaction and takeover the majority shareholding in January. Bees United will however monitor very closely all major financial and contractual decisions.
Q – Have Bees United entered into a binding agreement to purchase Altonwood's shares in BFC Ltd and GPS Ltd. If that is the case what happens if Bees United are unable to finance the purchase and debts of the club? / What happens if Bees United don't raise the £1.1m needed by January (£1m funding + £100k legal fees)?
A – Bees United has not entered into a binding agreement to purchase the Altonwood shares. If Bees United cannot exercise the option by 31 January 2006 then the option will lapse and the Club will be available to other bidders.
Q – Do you plan to hold an open Information Forum to talk with fans about where we are and what is next?
A – An open forum, facilitated by BIAS, will be held next Thursday 13 October 2005 with representation from both Bees United and the Club. See link for full details.
Q – Will there be any resignations from or appointments to the BFC board in the next few days?
A – Until Bees United can take control of the Club we don't anticipate any changes to the existing BFC board.
Q – The statement talks of a 1 million loan from Altonwood AND a 1 million pound guarantee on the overdraft. Are these one and the same thing or completely separate, in which case how long is the guarantee to stand for? Equally the term of Altonwood's loan of 3 years seems incredibly short, does this mean that in 3 yrs we will be having another £1m campaign or is there scope for this to be extended.
A – The guarantee and the loan are two separate things. The guarantee is in place for 3 years. As the agreement stands the loan will have to be repaid at the end of 3 years.
Q – What is the minimum figure that needs to be raised by BU in order to complete the takeover in January? And what would the ideal figure be?
A – The minimum figure is £1.075m on top of our normal monthly fundraising, but the more we can raise above this, from non interest bearing sources, the better.
Q – Are we going to run it properly from now on?
A – Until completion in January the Club will be run by the existing BFC board of directors who must safeguard it as a viable business and fully control the cash flow. Bees United will carefully monitor this. Once Bees United has acquired ownership of the Club we do not have the financial resources for further cash injections, so we have to run the Club in a sustainable way and safeguard it for future generations of Brentford supporters. We will however balance prudent financial management with our ambition for a successful team on the pitch.