Post by KoolBlue on Oct 31, 2002 10:00:53 GMT 7
I don't know if any of you have been keeping updated on the progress of us moving to Kings Dock.
The club needs to raise £30m, a huge sum given Everton's financial problems, but a bargain for a 50% share of a £155m state-of-the-art arena.
Key city figures are confident that a bid for £35m of Objective One funding for the project will be successful.
Everton's £30m would be topped up by £30m from the public sector partners, Liverpool council, English Part-nerships and the North West Development Agency.
The remaining £60m would come from a £20m commercial mortgage and £40m from the profits made by the developers of the additional leisure, retail and residential elements of the project.
Insiders at the club say they still have time, with a target of applying for planning permission in February and starting building in 2004.
But one senior council source warned: "Everything is in place, and we are all just waiting for Everton - but we can't wait forever."
The issue at hand now is how Everton is going to raise its share £30m. This is the issue that has been holding the plan back. Word has been going around that Kenwright and Paul Gregg (Everton director) don't seem to agree on the way we raise the £30m.
Everton's 6 board members will meet up later today and decide on the method to be used to raise the £30m.
Paul Gregg has suggested that we do a "reverse mortgage" deal with a venture capital organisation that has agreed to put together the funding from a variety of investors.
Some sources claim that both Mr Gregg and Mr Kenwright would be among the backers investing in the deal.
The backers group would hold the equity in the arena, but Everton would be able to buy it progressively back over a number of years.
This is the most controversial element, and the one which may yet see the deal rejected.
This means that Everton will not own Kings Dock for the first few years. We will just be a tenant.
I, for one, am not comfortable with this idea. The ownership of Kings Dock will be in the hands of Paul Gregg and his partners for the first few years. We will be at their mercy. What if they decide to raise the rent? What happens if they decide to sell their share to another party? This leaves us in a very vulnerable situation.
Then again, I also don't know how else we can raise the £30m.
The club needs to raise £30m, a huge sum given Everton's financial problems, but a bargain for a 50% share of a £155m state-of-the-art arena.
Key city figures are confident that a bid for £35m of Objective One funding for the project will be successful.
Everton's £30m would be topped up by £30m from the public sector partners, Liverpool council, English Part-nerships and the North West Development Agency.
The remaining £60m would come from a £20m commercial mortgage and £40m from the profits made by the developers of the additional leisure, retail and residential elements of the project.
Insiders at the club say they still have time, with a target of applying for planning permission in February and starting building in 2004.
But one senior council source warned: "Everything is in place, and we are all just waiting for Everton - but we can't wait forever."
The issue at hand now is how Everton is going to raise its share £30m. This is the issue that has been holding the plan back. Word has been going around that Kenwright and Paul Gregg (Everton director) don't seem to agree on the way we raise the £30m.
Everton's 6 board members will meet up later today and decide on the method to be used to raise the £30m.
Paul Gregg has suggested that we do a "reverse mortgage" deal with a venture capital organisation that has agreed to put together the funding from a variety of investors.
Some sources claim that both Mr Gregg and Mr Kenwright would be among the backers investing in the deal.
The backers group would hold the equity in the arena, but Everton would be able to buy it progressively back over a number of years.
This is the most controversial element, and the one which may yet see the deal rejected.
This means that Everton will not own Kings Dock for the first few years. We will just be a tenant.
I, for one, am not comfortable with this idea. The ownership of Kings Dock will be in the hands of Paul Gregg and his partners for the first few years. We will be at their mercy. What if they decide to raise the rent? What happens if they decide to sell their share to another party? This leaves us in a very vulnerable situation.
Then again, I also don't know how else we can raise the £30m.