Palladini Announces Intent to Sell

[The Fox]

This is a link from Skysports News by Mark Buckingham dated 6-16-07 in which Gianni Palladini and partners have announced they are placing the Hoops on the market as they can no longer afford to pump any more money into the club.

I'm a Yank. What is a "winding up order"?

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?HLID=472235&CPID=10&title=QPR+owners+set+to+sell&lid=&channel=Championship&f=rss&clid=52

[The Fox]

This is another link from BBC Sports in which Palladini mentions that Antonio Caliendo had given QPR a "substantial" loan to prevent the club from going into administration and would only be repayable should QPR make a profit upon reaching the Premiership.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/q/qpr/6750949.stm

I've got a bad feeling about this...............:(

[Atouk]

Welcome to the QPR board on BigSoccer! What is a "winding up order"? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidation

I seriously doubt QPR will be put into liquidation. The tax man just wants to be paid.

[Atouk]

A very interesting account of the recent Annual General Meeting written up by Tracy of QPR1st can be found here:
http://www.qpr1st.co.uk/documents/qpragm2007.pdf

[QPR Kevin H]

Here's another take on the AGM and the current Paladini situation from Peter Chandler (a friend and longtime student of all things financial at QPR)...


I am not going to do a full report as I have done in previous years as I know others are more up to standard required.

However, some thoughts ... Gianni has not said anything new in that they will make way for anyone who has the right amount of investment. However, it has to be the RIGHT amount. They aren't fools and they have stated that they do not want their investment back until QPR get into the Premiership. So it is in their self interest to make sure who ever does invest in the club, takes the club to the Premiership, so they can get their investments back. Pretty good I say, if you believe it, it could all be ‘bunny’.

I was impressed with Caliendo, who I have not seen before. He commands respect, which is pretty good seeing as he doesn't speak much English. Obviously helps steer GP in the right direction.

GP did briefly state that there are discussions going on with BP to perhaps rejoin the board, but will leave that up to BP to say if this is right or not.

The over riding memory of the proceedings were on how unprofessional it all was (except the second half when JG spoke). The only shareholder who was obviously a little bit angry was Mr Winton. It almost came to fisticuffs between him and Gianni, again, very unprofessional :-( There certainly seems to be some bad blood there and the Wintons are now taking their investment back from the club, except for the profits made i.e. on Shittu sale etc. Which in the end, is what most of our previous investors have done. There seems to have been a 'mix up' with the sale of the boy to Spurs whereby Wintons swear blind that Spurs agreed to pay £2M but Gianni has a contract for only £1M. Anyway, the £1M went straight to the tax man to keep them sweet. There is no doubting the what the Wintons have done for our club and their continued support. We are lucky to have them as supporters. It is such a shame that some of the money side of things had to be discussed so openly, when it just wasn't necessary :-(

Think the appointment of Paul Parker is a bit of a master stroke as will hopefully push QPRs exposure up the ladder (stuff the Standard)and thus help GP to avoid misunderstandings and also help attract more fans and more investors.

The Rosenthal discussions were mentioned, but there have been various consortia who have looked at our books and not come back. There is no reason to think the Rosenthal interest won't go the same way.

The board state that they believe they will break even this coming season, which, if achieved, will be an amazing turn around. It seems though, that most of the savings for the coming season are made up of £1.2M John Gregory has saved by cutting the extra large squad he inherited. Later on in proceedings JG did mention that his squad is now short of 4 players, so expect some new faces.

The board also talked about the ABC loan, which now goes into the final five years of the ten year deal. The interest rate has now been increased to 11.59% fixed, but the board may get this down to 11.5%. The rate is actually now looking quite good especially with further increases in base rate predicted. The situation of how difficult it is to get someone to loan us the £10M was explained and it does look like most institutions won't touch football clubs like us with a barge poll as the risks are too high. There is no guarantee that an investor could get their money back if the club goes under. It was stated that there is a covenant on the ground which means the land can ONLY be used for football. So that squashes any talk about the ground being sold off and houses being built. It was also stated that if the club goes under, and investor would have a political hot potato as they would have adverse reaction from fans and the like for 'bleeding a football club dry'.

John Gregory looked most unhappy through the AGM until the AGM business was completed and then the second half of the session was handed over to him to talk about on the field activities. I have never heard JG speak before, I was so impressed, he certainly is up to my expectations. So professional, but very humorous with it. It makes such a pleasant change to have such a professional manager in charge after so many years. I think it is touch and go if we get Lee Camp, JG obviously wants him but is realistic, especially when you know Camp's salary has doubled now Derby are up. We can not afford that sum. It all depends in the end, if Derby sign more goalkeepers which JG believes, is the intention. Camp wants to play for us, he wants to be the first pick goalkeeper, something he knows wont happen at Derby. However would probably require Derby making a payment to Camp to compensate the loss of earnings coming to us. JG recognises that Camp kept us up last season.

JG put rumours to bed about Cook being on his way to Spurs as he stated that no offers were in at the moment and he would only sell if the offer (only from a Premiership club) was for such a large sum, it could not be refused. Which is what we all knew anyway. He thinks Cook is the best player in our division, which is an excellent endorsement. I won't mention the joke at Rose's expense ... leave that up to others :-)

JG expects his squad to be no more than 25 (currently at 21).

He expects Harford to join his staff (talks next week) and is expecting his coaching skills to dramatically improve our current attackers.

JG has been too busy to help out Joe Gallen with the youth set up, but wants to focus more on this next season.

Prav's replacement should hopefully be hired next week.

[Northside Rovers]

More fun in Hoops Nation.

[QPR Kevin H]

Article in yesterday's Mirror claims that the Rs could face further action over last season's Oldham/Cook loan affair...

QPR FACE DROP OVER LOAN DEAL

http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/sport/football/tm_method=full%26objectid=19423700%26siteid=98487-name_page.html


They borrowed £500,000 against the future sale of 24-year-old winger Lee Cook. The Football League has ordered QPR to repay the money.


But QPR's financial crisis has deepened leaving them in a perilous position after the original cheque they issued to - repay Oldham bounced.


However, QPR chairman Gianni Paladini insisted last night: "We paid the cheque to Oldham on Friday. I can tell you now that everything is satisfactory."




Not sure this will amount to anything - Paladini says it's now resolved. Still, shows how polluted the finances are.

[Atouk]

Kevin Gallen has his say:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/q/qpr/6275664.stm

"I'm very fearful for the club and I don't see how it's going to get better with the current regime," MK Dons striker Gallen told BBC London 94.9.

"They're putting the club under serious pressure by extending the debt. I don't think anyone will buy at the moment."

...

"You've got to start at the top," added the 31-year-old who started his career with the club when they were in the Premiership in the nineties.

"Two years ago when there was a different chairman we were getting average gates of 15-16,000 and I think last year it went down to 13-14,000 so to me that says it all."

"I feel for the fans. In years gone by the fans would have got together and wouldn't have stood for it, but at the moment they are standing for it and I don't know why."

[doolittledog2]

As Atouk grabs his check book CarolinaB says "Oh no you don't!!!"

And thus ends Atouks dreams of football ownership.

Seriously, this has me worried, the drama never seems to end around our club.

[art]

Things semed so positive in the Tom Power/Ian Holloway era, club was doing ok, finances seemed to have at least been stabilized, lots of fans in the seats. It's amazing how much the club has fallen in such a short period in the GP era, and I fear Kevin Gallen is exactly right to criticize the current power structure at Loftus Road. It's heart breaking, after surviving administration and relegation to (what is now) League 1, to be on the verge of having to go back into administration again with very little light at the end of the tunnel and the only clear path to salvation being unlikely promotion to the Prem. If I was a billionaire I know what I'd do. Personally I've given Giannni Paladini more than enough benefit of the doubt, and he has not come through.

One things for sure: thank christ we have John Gregory, he seems the only guy involved with running the club at the moment who has his head on straight.

[QPR Kevin H]

Things semed so positive in the Tom Power/Ian Holloway era, club was doing ok, finances seemed to have at least been stabilized, lots of fans in the seats. It's amazing how much the club has fallen in such a short period in the GP era, and I fear Kevin Gallen is exactly right to criticize the current power structure at Loftus Road. It's heart breaking, after surviving administration and relegation to (what is now) League 1, to be on the verge of having to go back into administration again with very little light at the end of the tunnel and the only clear path to salvation being unlikely promotion to the Prem. If I was a billionaire I know what I'd do. Personally I've given Giannni Paladini more than enough benefit of the doubt, and he has not come through.

One things for sure: thank christ we have John Gregory, he seems the only guy involved with running the club at the moment who has his head on straight.

Hi Art - I agree with that in a sense... However, things were not really all that rosey during the Power/Holloway era. The mysterious and crippling loan debt was there (and still is). Things seemed to be on the up due to the promotion and a renewed sense of pride in the club - things that go a long way, but don't pay off that debt.

I think fans and even members of the club are certain that things are not going to drastically improve under GP, that's why the attendance numbers are down and guys like Gallen are speaking out. I've never really liked Paladini as a chairman, but in some ways I appreciate his honesty. He's a realist with the club. Fact is, the Rs aren't going to move drastically forward until the debt is resolved - and for that to happen, massive new investment is needed.

[Atouk]

http://www.kilburntimes.co.uk/content/camden/kilburntimes/QPR/story.aspx?brand=KLBTOnline&category=QPRNews&tBrand=KLBTOnline&tCategory=defaultQPR&itemid=WeED24%20Jul%202007%2018%3A19%3A28%3A510

The Kilburn Times article has some scary stuff in it recapping recent developments. It seems we borrowed an additional £1.3 million from ABC on a short-term loan which can now be paid back with the sale of Lee Cook.

QPR director Nick de Marco explained that the club had no choice but to turn to ABC, who effectively hold an option to sell Loftus Road under the terms of their original £10m loan in 2002.

He told the Times: "No-one else can lend us money with the ground as security because of the existing arrangement with ABC, so it was either borrowing from them or administration.

"As a result, the chances of administration are now not as great as they might have been a few weeks ago.

"We felt that to get £2.5m up front with no conditions attached is a good deal for someone who hasn't been tested in the Premiership - much better than we got from Watford for Danny Shittu."

He added that the board will continue discussions with potential investors, with a view to refinancing the remaining ABC loan, and hope to make an announcement in the next few weeks.

[QPR Kevin H]

So the club are selling good players just to pay off loans that are on top of loans? That's not to mention the original 10 million... and it's growing interest. Ugh.

This makes my credit card debt seem sensible!

[Atouk]

The Daily Mirror reports (http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/sport/football/2007/07/29/qpr-chief-paladini-to-sell-up-98487-19537315/) that Gianni Paladini's "troubled reign as QPR owner is set to come to an end this week."

It quotes GP as saying "I've agreed in principle to sell the club. I'm selling the vast majority of my shares but I will be retaining a position at the club. The deal has not been signed off yet but I expect it to go through next week."

The story says GP "has agreed a £5million takeover at Loftus Road - just as Rangers have been hit by Football League sanctions." The Mirror reports the sanctions are as follows: "League bosses have withheld central funds from the club and placed a transfer embargo on Rangers, who have announced several recent deals."

If true, no word on whether that impacts any previous transfers. If not, it should have no impact since it looks like JG has finished assembling his squad. If the "central funds" that are being withheld include either TV money or the money from the Prem, obviously the club will want to get that cleared up ASAP. It looks like the reported sanctions are due to the Blitz loan -- "Rangers must re-pay the entire £500,000 loan they received from Oldham Athletic which breached League regulations. Paladini insists the outstanding £300,000 from this loan will be repaid this week."

So, it looks like big news is coming this week.

[QPR Kevin H]

The Daily Mirror reports (http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/sport/football/2007/07/29/qpr-chief-paladini-to-sell-up-98487-19537315/) that Gianni Paladini's "troubled reign as QPR owner is set to come to an end this week."
Very interesting, and there certainly must be a lot of truth to the report. Seems the Cook, Camp and Walton transactions came so quickly because they were part of Gianni's endgame.

The big news will come when the potential buyer is revealed. I just hope it's someone with enough of an ante to take care of the debt. Unless they can do that, they might as well be another Paladini.

[art]

Very interesting, and there certainly must be a lot of truth to the report. Seems the Cook, Camp and Walton transactions came so quickly because they were part of Gianni's endgame.

The big news will come when the potential buyer is revealed. I just hope it's someone with enough of an ante to take care of the debt. Unless they can do that, they might as well be another Paladini.

I wonder if Power and/or Winton are part of this deal, its pretty secretive which leads me to believe it's an "inside job" if you will. Either way, yeah, lets hope its someone who can address the ABC loan, which im not sure Power/Winton are capable of doing. Power by himself isnt certainly.

[QPR Kevin H]

I wonder if Power and/or Winton are part of this deal, its pretty secretive which leads me to believe it's an "inside job" if you will. Either way, yeah, lets hope its someone who can address the ABC loan, which im not sure Power/Winton are capable of doing. Power by himself isnt certainly.
Now that would be a shocker!! :eek:

[Atouk]

GP spoke on BBC radio this afternoon -- more heat than light, but it looks like a deal is close. It seems someone may be buying out the shares of the Monte Carlo folks, but that GP will stay around in some way, possibly even as chairman.

http://queensparkrangers.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=925&p=2&stid=8452599

[art]

GP spoke on BBC radio this afternoon -- more heat than light, but it looks like a deal is close. It seems someone may be buying out the shares of the Monte Carlo folks, but that GP will stay around in some way, possibly even as chairman.

http://queensparkrangers.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=925&p=2&stid=8452599

..."gobsmacked" eh? hmmmm.... just as long as its not Chris Wright.

[QPR Kevin H]

So a week has gone by without any significant developments in the new investor/buyer story... :rolleyes: