The role of the Foxes Trust is to act to ensure the long-term viability of the club and that is our prime concern with any potential future owner’s proposals.
Over the last week the Foxes Trust Board has sought to question the large assumptions being made about the Milan Mandaric bid via media interviews and message board posts.
This has been viewed by some fans as the Trust being anti Mandaric, this is not the case however it was in part to add balance to the coverage of current situation, where the Leicester Mercury articles, in particular Bill Anderson’s, appear to be very pro Milan Mandaric.
The “£25m” bid, which was first utilised by a journalist known to work closely with Milan Mandaric, has continually been utilised by the media ever since. Both Milan Mandaric and the Leicester City board have not provided any breakdown of the bid, and as “other options” are being discussed, this is quite understandable, however the Trust Board feels it is important for fans to have a more in depth understanding of what this (or any other bid entails).
For the Milan Mandaric bid it has been stated that the shareholders will get their money back, and although the timing of payment appears still in negotiation, that accounts for around £6.4m….
The largest part of the bid would appear to relate to the cost of the stadium, however the Trust Board is seeking further information as to Milan Mandaric’s financial plans in this area, as it could consist of a number of options:
a) Outright cash purchase (generally believed to be unlikely)
b) Retain existing Teachers finance arrangement (if so then any figures relating to the stadium within the bid should be removed, as it just maintains the current position)
c) A new financial arrangement for the stadium being utilised, replacing the Teachers funding (in which case on what terms & is the loan a personal one or one to the club, if to the club then only any real savings achieved should be used in the bid figure)
d) Future ground sharing (we have no knowledge of Milan Mandaric’s views, however with a single owner of a club it would be easier for this to be approved than getting 47 local shareholders to back it)
In his most recent interview, Milan Mandaric has stated “he would do what was necessary” to fund the playing squad, the Trust would like know at least the minimum figure that he has in mind.
The Trust Board welcomes Milan Mandaric’s expressed intentions to visit Leicester and meet with Supporters in the new future. We would welcome a face to face meeting where we can explore in depth his proposals for the future of our club.
At this point the Milan Mandaric bid is the only one “on the table” and hence the only bid the Foxes Trust can dissect and question. Once any further “option” is revealed, the Trust board will equally challenge the assumptions of that bid and seek clarification on any grey areas, therefore adopting a consistent approach to any proposal to take the club forward.
To make it clear, the Foxes Trust is not backing or opposing any bid at this point until we have sufficient information to make an informed decision. The Trust Board will consult with members as much as possible without breaking any confidentiality of the bidding process.
This week the Trust has consulted it’s members to see how important they feel local ownership of the club is to them individually and also to obtain a current viewpoint on ground sharing in case any of the “ways of taking the club forward” include this within their plans. The Trust Board felt this was required, as the previous consultation with members on this topic was around 2 years ago and we needed to see if views had changed particularly with a larger investor on the horizon. The replies are currently being compiled.
Trust board members are also responding to members who submitted their detailed views as well as answers to the questions.