Worrying Times

[madscot]

Source?

 

Twitter , didn't say it was true !!!!!! Only that I read it ,and he was a sevco fan.Edit .... it was a retweet by Scott Burns Frankie ‏@GersnetOnline 10h10 hours ago Fascinating to hear Les Hutchison is interested in investing into Motherwell. I believe Les is actually a Rangers fan and shareholder.

 

 

[superward]

Twitter , didn't say it was true !!!!!! Only that I read it ,and he was a sevco fan.Edit .... it was a retweet by Scott Burns Frankie ‏@GersnetOnline 10h10 hours ago Fascinating to hear Les Hutchison is interested in investing into Motherwell. I believe Les is actually a Rangers fan and shareholder.

 

 

 

Thanks

 

So we now have he is a motherwell fan (me and some others), a rangers fan (twitter) and not a football fan at all (someone else here). Nothing like speculation!

[siebsbarmyarmy]

Would be ironic.... if a Well fan in Whyte ruined Rangers and led them to all this heartache however a Rangers fan saved Motherwell and led us to become stronger.....

[weeyin]

Doesn't matter who he supports, presumably. If he is lending money to the Well Society he won't have the same clout as someone investing directly in the club.

[steelboy]

Whether he's a rangers fan or a well fan he certainly has a sense of humour to have a dig at scottish people being 'addicted to government support' after recounting a life story where he benefited massively from nationalised industry and the public sector.

[weeyin]

Whether he's a rangers fan or a well fan he certainly has a sense of humour to have a dig at scottish people being 'addicted to government support' after recounting a life story where he benefited massively from nationalised industry and the public sector.

 

I'll bet he is non-dom for tax purposes too.

[steelboy]

I'll bet he is non-dom for tax purposes too.

 

By the sounds of things he's in the club with Lewis Hamilton and Mick Jagger where he doesn't spend enough time here to be considered a resident.

 

It's quite an interesting interview and he comes across as a very intelligent man with a good perspective on the decline of scottish industry, it's just an odd comment at the end. The Saltire Foundation he is promoting and the magazine he is being interviewed by don't appear to be shy about taxpayer funded grants either.

 

But that's not to say i'm not happy to accept however many canadian dollars they want to bung us

[Onthefringes]

Let's not be kidded - this has been leaked by weegie media to derail progress at our club. Fuels spurious claim from the orcs that 'he holds shares at ours'. It's a loan from what information we have been given, you know, a thing that is borrowed, especially a sum of money that is expected to be paid back with interest? Hello? Mike Ashley? A truly despicable lot...

[Spiderpig]

Would be ironic.... if a Well fan in Whyte ruined Rangers and led them to all this heartache however a Rangers fan saved Motherwell and led us to become stronger.....

 

Maybe its an elaborate scheme to take control of Motherwell so that there is another club for Sevco to re-emerge as when they finally go bust and die, bit like Airdrie done with Clydebank,

[superward]

Let's not be kidded - this has been leaked by weegie media to derail progress at our club. Fuels spurious claim from the orcs that 'he holds shares at ours'. It's a loan from what information we have been given, you know, a thing that is borrowed, especially a sum of money that is expected to be paid back with interest? Hello? Mike Ashley? A truly despicable lot...

 

Really? I can't think why the weegie media would care that much.

 

I have a mate who is a sub-editor the daily record. I will ask him for any info.

[Ya Bezzer!]

Let's not be kidded - this has been leaked by weegie media to derail progress at our club.

 

Give us a break. You sound like a paranoiac.

 

When the media get whiff of a story they run it, they don't hold it back for a time that is more appropriote for the subject.

 

Yesterdays news was almost certainly leaked to the media by one of the three parties involved anyway.

[Onthefringes]

Give us a break. You sound like a paranoiac.

 

When the media get whiff of a story they run it, they don't hold it back for a time that is more appropriote for the subject.

 

Yesterdays news was almost certainly leaked to the media by one of the three parties involved anyway.

Almost certainly? Just as many thought - the confidentiality clause is much like Mr & Mrs Claus... a myth? Oh, given who relayed the information, it's a lot more credible than your conjecture.

[superward]

A confidentiality clause is only as good as the people signed up to it. Just because some people stick to it (i.e the club, the society) it cant guarantee everyone will. We dont even know if the confidentiality clause is just a gentlemens agreement or actually legally binding either.

 

It dosn't mean it is a myth unless you know that for certain, do you? Or, is that conjecture on your part?

 

I am quite happy with the way the club and society have went about their business in these negotiations as well as the manager interviews.

[maplewell]

Just saw the whole Les Hutchinson thing, I find it strange that we're getting a loan from a relative of one of the richest families in Canada

[weeyin]

Almost certainly? Just as many thought - the confidentiality clause is much like Mr & Mrs Claus... a myth? Oh, given who relayed the information, it's a lot more credible than your conjecture.

 

Confidentiality clauses are standard in these kind of business deals and often a legal requirement depending on the nature of the transaction. If I was involved in the negotiations I'd be insisting on same.

[Onthefringes]

A confidentiality clause is only as good as the people signed up to it. Just because some people stick to it (i.e the club, the society) it cant guarantee everyone will. We dont even know if the confidentiality clause is just a gentlemens agreement or actually legally binding either.

 

It dosn't mean it is a myth unless you know that for certain, do you? Or, is that conjecture on your part?

 

I am quite happy with the way the club and society have went about their business in these negotiations as well as the manager interviews.

Eh? Read my post again... I'm well aware any clause is only as good as the people signed up to it. The post was in relation to a remark 'Yesterdays news was almost certainly leaked to the media by one of the three parties involved anyway'. By that reckoning, Benefactor, Society & the club. Benefactor insisted on confidentiality, can't see the Society leaking information given the lengths they've gone to recently to keep their side of the bargain, so was the poster suggesting the club? Our information was from sources within & no reason to doubt.

 

I too am also comfortable with the way the club & society have gone about their business.

[stuwell]

Whether he's a rangers fan or a well fan he certainly has a sense of humour to have a dig at scottish people being 'addicted to government support' after recounting a life story where he benefited massively from nationalised industry and the public sector.

Steelboy, you read it wrong as it says it was his Canadian wife who said Scots were addicted to gov support.

[Onthefringes]

Confidentiality clauses are standard in these kind of business deals and often a legal requirement depending on the nature of the transaction. If I was involved in the negotiations I'd be insisting on same.

Fully understand that - wasnt questioning its use, but, the claim made by a previous poster

[superward]

Eh? Read my post again... I'm well aware any clause is only as good as the people signed up to it. The post was in relation to a remark 'Yesterdays news was almost certainly leaked to the media by one of the three parties involved anyway'. By that reckoning, Benefactor, Society & the club. Benefactor insisted on confidentiality, can't see the Society leaking information given the lengths they've gone to recently to keep their side of the bargain, so was the poster suggesting the club? Our information was from sources within & no reason to doubt.

 

I too am also comfortable with the way the club & society have gone about their business.

 

Sorry - I read your post as saying that there was no confidentiality agreement, that it was a myth, and making out that the club was at fault here. I thought you were questioning it. Seems like we are on the same page having read it again.

 

For me, it seems both club and society have gone to great lengths about the confidentiality clause and its more likely the person who asked for it in te first place that would be the one to break it for some publicity perhaps (?)before the deal goes through (that is purely guesswork on my part, however)

[steelman1991]

Sorry - I read your post as saying that there was no confidentiality agreement, that it was a myth, and making out that the club was at fault here. I thought you were questioning it. Seems like we are on the same page having read it again.

 

For me, it seems both club and society have gone to great lengths about the confidentiality clause and its more likely the person who asked for it in te first place that would be the one to break it for some publicity perhaps (?)before the deal goes through (that is purely guesswork on my part, however)

 

 

Or maybe as a 'get-out'.

[Toxteth O'Grady]

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/other-football/motherwell-fans-have-a-sunnier-disposition-thanks-to-caribbean-191656n.114418063

 

 

Motherwell fans have a sunnier disposition thanks to Caribbean investment

 

WHITE knights are back in vogue all of a sudden.

 

James MorganDeputy Sports EditorWednesday 10/12/20140 CommentsSharePrintFinding wealthy individuals willing to pour money into Scottish football had tended to be a difficult enough challenge over the last few years, without then expecting those fortunate enough to have a few quid spare to expect nothing back for their investment. As Rangers fans have repeatedly discovered to their cost over the past few years, anyone putting money into a football club of late tends to then take it back with a few extra zeroes added on to the end of their cheque.

 

The antidote to clubs being run into the ground by individuals or companies motivated solely by commercial gain has been to deliver them into the hands of their fans, the sole group whose intentions are almost always entirely honourable.

 

Making that transition, however, can be an expensive business, with supporters rarely able to make the sort of up-front payment needed to assume majority ownership. Some kind of hybrid scheme, where wealthy individuals provide the initial capital before eventually handing over the running of the club when their money is returned without profit, is the ideal solution, although finding those with both the means and the motivation to get involved is, unsurprisingly, a nigh impossible task.

 

Hearts, though, have struck it lucky and now it seems Motherwell are on the brink of following suit by unearthing their own kind-hearted sponsor. Going into administration offered the Tynecastle club the chance of a fresh start and thanks to the benevolence of Ann Budge, the multi-millionaire IT businesswoman and Hearts supporter, it has become a reality, with the club set to be owned and run by its fans via the Foundation of Hearts in the not-too-distant future.

 

Now Motherwell stand on the brink of something similar. Offered the opportunity to assume the 70% shareholding of former chairman John Boyle should they provide certain financial guarantees, the Well Society, a community group, have been trying for the last few years to raise the necessary sums.

 

Just when it looked as if they would fall short of their target - thus allowing another alternative bid for the club by an Argentinian consortium to take precedent - the fans' offer is now set to go through thanks to the intervention of one expat.

 

Lanarkshire-born but now a Barbados resident, Les Hutchison was made aware of the Well Society's plight and will now - similar to what Budge did with Hearts - effectively bankroll the purchase of Boyle's shares before eventually transferring ownership to the supporters once his investment has been repaid. In the interim, Hutchison will take control, although he not expected to be as hands-on as Budge is at Hearts given he will continue to be based in the Caribbean. The takeover is expected to be formally announced in the coming days, alongside the unveiling of the club's new manager.

 

The wish now is that more clubs will find a way to follow Hearts and Motherwell into fan ownership. A committee of altruistic and wealthy businesspeople who look fondly on ailing football clubs could hold their meetings in a telephone box but Andrew Jenkin of Supporters Direct hopes the adoption of what is known as the German model - where supporters retain a minimum of 50%+1 share of the club, and other individuals or businesses subsidise the rest - could become an established practice in Scotland, too.

 

 

 

"I think what Hearts have done and Motherwell look set to emulate will become increasingly popular," Jenkin said. "The problem any fans group faces when they want to take ownership of their club is access to funds. Those groups, though, are now becoming quite business-minded in that they can attract funding from private investors, and then use those funds to realise their ambitions.

 

"We would always want 100% ownership by a fans group in an ideal world, but the reality is that it's very hard for any supporters to generate by themselves the levels of money needed. What we're coming across more is the German model that sees supporters combining with businesses, but with supporters retaining overall control. There's no one model that fits all, and every club has its own set of unique circumstances, but a mixed funding set-up that utilises both business and supporter revenues would seem the best way forward."

 

Jenkin is heartened that, despite having an alternative offer to consider, Motherwell chose to move forward with the bid from the fans. "That is good to see," he added. "You are always assured that supporters have the best interest of the club at heart. You are guaranteed a safe pair of hands taking the club forward and that was maybe something that came into Motherwell's thinking."

 

The only problem is finding more individuals with the same sense of community spirit as Budge and Hutchison. "It's good that these people are wanting to be involved with the fans groups, rather than just purchasing the clubs for themselves or for any personal interests. They want to help supporters and by extension the local community. If they're not looking for anything other than to help out before eventually passing the club on, then that's great to see.

 

"We're still in the early stages with the Foundation of Hearts but it's certainly encouraging. There's certainly no reason why schemes like this shouldn't work.

 

"Unfortunately the reality of Scottish football means there aren't too many people lining up to buy our clubs, or those who can put their hands in their pockets and not ask for much back. But hopefully what is happening at Hearts and Motherwell will encourage more to do the same."