Chesterfield Chinese buyout

A Chesterfield director says a deal to sell the club has been agreed and they’re now waiting on a deposit so the takeover can proceed.

Ashley Carson has told the Derbyshire Times that the change of ownership is now very close to being completed.

“We have agreed with a third party, a deal that will secure the purchase of Dave Allen’s, Mike Warner’s and my shares, giving the buyer just over 84 per cent control,” he said.

“We have seen proof of funding and we’re now awaiting a non refundable deposit.

“That’s where we are.”

Carson says the potential buyers, rumoured to involve Chinese funding with links to South America, met with club owner Dave Allen, director John Croot and himself three months ago.

And according to the company secretary, the deal to buy the club was struck two weeks ago.

THATS going to end in tears

Columbians looking for a money laundering outlet doubtless......

Oh yea....£Millions being laundered through little old Chesterfield....maybe not.. .

And to think there are still some stupid idiots who think no one would buy the club barr Brent.

This may not be a popular notion but i wouldn't want to see Argyle owned by "Chinese owners with South American connections". It sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

This may not be a popular notion but i wouldn't want to see Argyle owned by "Chinese owners with South American connections". It sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen.

Who knows. Couldn't care less personally where the owners come from as long as they could finally progress Argyle to where most supporters want them to be. Do agree though that exhaustive due diligence would need to be undertaken before committing to something like this-true to say that sometimes all that glitters is not gold as a few clubs have found out over the years. A no thank you if there were any doubts as to the validity of the investment, a heartfelt yes please if it seemed to be kosher. Not necessarily easy to prove, i'll give you that.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

This may not be a popular notion but i wouldn't want to see Argyle owned by "Chinese owners with South American connections". It sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen.

I wouldn't worry. I'm sure the FA's 'Owners and Directors test' will ensure that it's all above board. <sarcasm>

https://theuglygame.wordpress.com/2017/05/10/sign-here-to-run-a-football-club-a-short-guide-to-whats-actually-in-the-owners-and-directors-test/

After enduring six years of Akkeron, anybody with the dosh will do for me.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

This may not be a popular notion but i wouldn't want to see Argyle owned by "Chinese owners with South American connections". It sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen.

Can't be worst then Brent can it ?

Jethro wrote:

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

This may not be a popular notion but i wouldn't want to see Argyle owned by "Chinese owners with South American connections". It sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen.

Can't be worst then Brent can it ?

I think the previous board wins that prize.

Graiser wrote:

Jethro wrote:

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

This may not be a popular notion but i wouldn't want to see Argyle owned by "Chinese owners with South American connections". It sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen.

Can't be worst then Brent can it ?

I think the previous board wins that prize.

Least they had ambition if not the cash to pay for it.

Jethro wrote:

Graiser wrote:

Jethro wrote:

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

This may not be a popular notion but i wouldn't want to see Argyle owned by "Chinese owners with South American connections". It sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen.

Can't be worst then Brent can it ?

I think the previous board wins that prize.

Least they had ambition if not the cash to pay for it.

Scratching my head over that reply.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

This may not be a popular notion but i wouldn't want to see Argyle owned by "Chinese owners with South American connections". It sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen.

This 100%
Good point today!

tigertony wrote:

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

This may not be a popular notion but i wouldn't want to see Argyle owned by "Chinese owners with South American connections". It sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen.

This 100%
Good point today!

...and somewhere in some "shithole" country, somebody is saying, "I wouldn't want my team owned by some Brexit owners with North American connections..."   Nightmarish.

It's not where someone comes from, it's the fact one person can even  "own" a local "tribe" anywhere overnight. That's the scary bit. There's an Oyston lurking around on every corner.
#allabitfeudal

Jethro wrote:

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

This may not be a popular notion but i wouldn't want to see Argyle owned by "Chinese owners with South American connections". It sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen.

Can't be worst then Brent can it ?

Oh yes it could. It could be far worse.

I'm not that enamoured of the quest for a minted owner. I'd much rather we had one that shared a love of the club with us. From there all that follows is likely to be good whether minted or not. To be perfectly honest I'd prefer us to be Trust-owned. I don't think it much matters whether the name above the door is Brent or Heaney or Stapleton or Todd or Gardner; they are all manifestations of the same model.

Let's be honest here: what possible attraction could there for Chinese owners to take control of Chesterfield? They probably couldn't even find it on a map (not sure that I could with much accuracy either).

They'll have their own motivations and there may be some overlap between what is good for them and good for Chesterfield FC but I wouldn't stake my bottom dollar on it and if you really were a benevolent overseas millionaire why target Chesterfield? No matter what your aspirations for them may be they can only go so far.

I just can't see a business case that would deliver the innumerable millions of Chinese yuans that would be needed to see Chesterfield blow their glass ceiling to smithereens without embracing enormous risk. If I was a Spireite I'd be deeply sceptical.

Then again you never know. It may be all good for everybody. It'll be interesting to see where they are 5 years down the line but I suspect it'll all end in tears. In time we'll see, I suppose.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Jethro wrote:

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

This may not be a popular notion but i wouldn't want to see Argyle owned by "Chinese owners with South American connections". It sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen.

Can't be worst then Brent can it ?

Oh yes it could. It could be far worse.

I'm not that enamoured of the quest for a minted owner. I'd much rather we had one that shared a love of the club with us. From there all that follows is likely to be good whether minted or not. To be perfectly honest I'd prefer us to be Trust-owned. I don't think it much matters whether the name above the door is Brent or Heaney or Stapleton or Todd or Gardner; they are all manifestations of the same model.

Let's be honest here: what possible attraction could there for Chinese owners to take control of Chesterfield? They probably couldn't even find it on a map (not sure that I could with much accuracy either).

They'll have their own motivations and there may be some overlap between what is good for them and good for Chesterfield FC but I wouldn't stake my bottom dollar on it and if you really were a benevolent overseas millionaire why target Chesterfield? No matter what your aspirations for them may be they can only go so far.

I just can't see a business case that would deliver the innumerable millions of Chinese yuans that would be needed to see Chesterfield blow their glass ceiling to smithereens without embracing enormous risk. If I was a Spireite I'd be deeply sceptical.

Then again you never know. It may be all good for everybody. It'll be interesting to see where they are 5 years down the line but I suspect it'll all end in tears. In time we'll see, I suppose.

What would be your definition of good?

In what context?

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

In what context?

Damned highlighter doesn't seem to work these days, sorry about that. I meant in the context of para 2 above, the "all that follows is likely to be good" bit.

In the context that the #1 priority when it comes to decision making is that it is in the best interests of the club and that there is likely to be rather greater prominence given to policies which deepen and develop Argyle as a community club as opposed to where we are now.

Back in the depths of time Peter Jones put it rather well but I can't find his quote. It went something along the lines of the community at the heart of the club and the club at the heart of the community. Couple that with James Brent's promise to be open and transparent and to set a new model for supporter engagement and sprinkle it all liberally with a commitment to ethical consideration being given to all matters and I'll be there banging the drum for our owners as loud as anybody ever has.

I'm not at all concerned that we don't have an owner who wants to throw cash at the club. That's fine by me. If he prioritised the club's decision making as highly as he did the various property schemes, none of offer much if any benefit to Argyle, into which he has invested so much time, energy and emotion then I'd be very happy with Mr Brent but we are where we are.

Brent has been as disappointing as he has been because he has promised so much but actually delivered so little going all the way back to the Trust 20% ownership thing. In the end that evolved from owning 20% of the shares and having board representation to being allowed (allowed!) to lend the club £400,000 with no board representation at all. In one foul swoop he destroyed any credence any of his proclamations ever had or would ever have and casually squandered so much good will while simultaneously seeming to have forgotten the crucial role the Trust played during the darkest days of administration and in enabling his eventual purchase of the club.

Clearly we have supporters who demand nothing less than that an Ambramovich styled owner, with no wider concerns than how fat his wallet might be, emerges who throws money at us like there is no tomorrow; I am not one of those people. Were it to happen would it be nice? I suppose so and I'd celebrate every goal as it hit the back of the net along with everybody else but I am not expecting it to happen, I don't think it ever will happen and I am not going to beat myself up about the fact that it is not happening.