The option to buy the majority shareholding in Brentford Football Club from Altonwood expires at the end of September 2002. The agreement requires that Bees United becomes responsible for guaranteeing the club's current overdraft facility of £4.5M, and for repaying directors' loans of £500K.
The Bees United business plan for the next 3 years shows that we would need around another £1M as working capital, giving us a total requirement of £6M, which is in addition to the current efforts to raise £1M. The main object of our current appeal is to ensure we can offer the club a means of staying solvent for all of this season, effectively buying us the time we need to work with Hounslow Council to secure a site for a new stadium and prevent a premature sale of Griffin Park.
It has never been our intention to move from Griffin Park merely to pay off the club's debts, but the board of directors believe this may be the only available option if the club is to avoid going into administration, although the board are exploring all options and other alternatives are actively being considered.
Although Bees United believes the operational losses can be reduced to a manageable level at Griffin Park, we do not expect to generate sufficient new revenue streams to allow us to pay off the club's overdraft. Unless the situation changes dramatically, we recognise that Brentford FC will have to move to a new ground. However, the ideal is to sell Griffin Park on our terms and maximise its value, rather than be forced into a sale because the financial situation has reached crisis point. Even so, without an immediate and substantial cash injection this may not be possible.
Ron Noades is prepared to extend the Bees United option, but if the situation remains as it is, the board of directors will take the steps they feel are necessary to prevent the club becoming insolvent within the next few weeks.
Bees United does not support the sale of the ground under the current circumstances and does not support the idea of groundsharing at another club's stadium, but if the board of directors agree it is the only way to keep the club out of administration we may find that Griffin Park will be sold quite soon – unless we are successful in raising the necessary funds!