Under what terms can Brent buy the freehold back?

On the farm Graham Clark wrote this -

"Ian, only dealing with the facts once again. You are of course correct in identifying that BDP have extensive international experience in stadium design. Correctly, in the consideration of the WG's proposals they have reverted to the Green Guide in relation to the Safety of Sports Grounds legislation and licencing. However, in their expansion proposals for the 'horseshoe' they haven't used the same criteria they used to assess the WG proposal (for seat isle width for example).

It is not unreasonable to continue to ask them to do so as it may ultimately affect the ability to extend the 'horseshoe' in the manner they propose. Given the retention of the proposed access road along the Lyndhusrt and Barn Park concourse it may be that only the Devonport End could be extended at all in the future if the full Green Guide criteria are applied.

We should remember that Home Park remains a public asset. The proposed South Stand will significanty improve that public asset but at the same time it will prevent any additional capacity being added on that side due to the physical proximity of the other buildings to be built at Higher Home Park. Surely, before any decisions are made on the development and its benefits to the City and the football club the full facts on the deliverable extendability of the stadium should be made known. This should be in accordance with the current licencing requirements of the Green Guide, so a proper judgement in the public interest of the City and the private interest of the football club can be properly and authoritatively be made.

As always I am only interested in the facts."

Brent's exit strategy will surely involve selling up at some point - it's inevitable. When that day comes the supposed £10m that will have been invested in the new ministand and everything else on the HP footprint will be a 'public asset', as Graham Clark points out - unless Brent buys the freehold back. Am I imagining it or was there a clause in Brent's agreement with PCC that he could buy the freehold back at a fixed price of around £1.6m?

If and when he does he'll then be able to add the new stand onto the sale price.

The council deal means Argyle would have an option to buy back the ground every five years for a sum equal to 12 times the then annual rent.

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It can be bought back for roughly £1.5m. That is a steal, just like so many other public assets just given away..
Brent tells us the new building can give Argyle an extra "£1m to £2m" a year revenue. So, can anyone tell me exactly how all these figures tally ? If that revenue projection were realistic and I was the PAFC owner, I would snap their hand off. And can anyone out there tell me what tenant could buy their rented property for 10 times the rent they per annum.
Someone somewhere will make a fortune, and I think some people have already got their eye on it.

worried of penzance wrote:

It can be bought back for roughly £1.5m. That is a steal, just like so many other public assets just given away..
Brent tells us the new building can give Argyle an extra "£1m to £2m" a year revenue. So, can anyone tell me exactly how all these figures tally ? If that revenue projection were realistic and I was the PAFC owner, I would snap their hand off. And can anyone out there tell me what tenant could buy their rented property for 10 times the rent they per annum.
Someone somewhere will make a fortune, and I think some people have already got their eye on it.

Can anybody buy the ground or only the club?

It's frightening when you think a little way into the future - this megalomania could end in Kassam style mess!!

Graham Clark is a right educated w@nker, innum ?

Bandwagon56 wrote:

It's frightening when you think a little way into the future - this megalomania could end in Kassam style mess!!

Important to know though that it'd be the club who'd be buying Home Park back, not a private owner. I'm not sure if a private owner buying the ground and charging extortionate rent like Kassam did is possible under that deal. Of course, there's nothing to say the council wouldn't sell to one but I'm pretty sure they can only sell under the aforementioned conditions to PAFC.

GreenSam wrote:

Bandwagon56 wrote:

It's frightening when you think a little way into the future - this megalomania could end in Kassam style mess!!

Important to know though that it'd be the club who'd be buying Home Park back, not a private owner. I'm not sure if a private owner buying the ground and charging extortionate rent like Kassam did is possible under that deal. Of course, there's nothing to say the council wouldn't sell to one but I'm pretty sure they can only sell under the aforementioned conditions to PAFC.

PAFC has to have 'owners'. The current 'owners' are Brent and his missus, aren't they ?

Of PAFC not the freehold.

GreenSam wrote:

Bandwagon56 wrote:

It's frightening when you think a little way into the future - this megalomania could end in Kassam style mess!!

Important to know though that it'd be the club who'd be buying Home Park back, not a private owner. I'm not sure if a private owner buying the ground and charging extortionate rent like Kassam did is possible under that deal. Of course, there's nothing to say the council wouldn't sell to one but I'm pretty sure they can only sell under the aforementioned conditions to PAFC.

Thanks GS - I'm not sure there anything to stop these types of people doing anything they want, Brent seems to be flaunting his 1st phase of power over us and the council now. If he gets on a roll tearing through Plymouth with his developing, who knows what he is capable of - let's face it, the club has been there for 80 odd years (HP) and now is being strangled before our very eyes!! Money talks and if this country is leveling out economically at the point he starts digging, look out all and sundry!!

Another little point that people have overlooked or forgotten is the car park. Some recent research shows the price to build above ground to be £10,000 an underground car park £12,000. This makes a 400 space car park £4,800,000. I wouldn't expect this one to be quite that expensive as the slope of the land means there will be less to cut in. Even so, it will be a sizable figure.

Rumour has it that a national car park operator has already signed up to run this car park. So it will pay for itself as a pay and display. There are the inevitable questions about the effect on the park and ride and Life Centre car parks as these are free.

I'm wondering who owns the freehold (s) to the land the car park will occupy. Is some of this going to be on Argyle's current footprint and if so what happens if the freehold is bought back by the club? Does the car park operator own the freehold or is it a lease? If it's a lease is the freehold owed by PCC or PCC and Brent's little consortium?

This might be completely wide of the mark here but if Argyle/ Brent buy back the freehold, would they be buying back half a car park? We also need to take into account the fact a large chunk of Argyle's current footprint will become the alley / boulevard with the car park spreading underneath.

Also what's the deal regarding the shops / retail outlets? If Argyle buy the freehold back off PCC, does Argyle then receive rent or are these shops buying the freehold?

Richard, no idea about the car park but in relation to the retail units these words are from the man himself -

the full benefit from the sale of these units is spent by the development company to fund the development of the Grandstand

If the land that they are built on is owned by PCC and leased to PAFC then it can't be the freehold of the units that is sold. I am taking it to mean that the future income is sold.

Unless,of course PCC is selling the freeholds individually and passing the money back to Akkeron Developments????

There are already problems with non-disabled people parking in the spaces reserved for disabled Life Centre users. Life Centre management are currently putting 'Polite Notice' notes on cars not displaying the Blue Badges - apparently they are not able to enforce rules as they are parking in a PARK. Who is going to pay to use a car park as long as there are free spaces available? And how are disabled Life Centre users, groups of schoolchildren and those with young children going to cross a road in front of the Life Centre safely? Why has the area in front of the Life Centre been finished off with paving slabs rather than tarmac if the intention is for it to be a road?

What happened to the questions put to Akkeron at the Theatre Royal consultation and via Pasoti - or have James Brent's statements to the press answered them?

Damon.Lenszner wrote:

Richard, no idea about the car park but in relation to the retail units these words are from the man himself -

the full benefit from the sale of these units is spent by the development company to fund the development of the Grandstand

If the land that they are built on is owned by PCC and leased to PAFC then it can't be the freehold of the units that is sold. I am taking it to mean that the future income is sold.

Unless,of course PCC is selling the freeholds individually and passing the money back to Akkeron Developments????

Damon,

you've just done exactly what I did to myself. I thought exactly that. So which is it? Another question to add to the massive pile.

That's what got me wondering about the ownership of the car park because that must be under more than one freehold? Or is it?

Enough to give a fan a bloody headache

Dingle wrote:

There are already problems with non-disabled people parking in the spaces reserved for disabled Life Centre users. Life Centre management are currently putting 'Polite Notice' notes on cars not displaying the Blue Badges - apparently they are not able to enforce rules as they are parking in a PARK. Who is going to pay to use a car park as long as there are free spaces available? And how are disabled Life Centre users, groups of schoolchildren and those with young children going to cross a road in front of the Life Centre safely? Why has the area in front of the Life Centre been finished off with paving slabs rather than tarmac if the intention is for it to be a road?

What happened to the questions put to Akkeron at the Theatre Royal consultation and via Pasoti - or have James Brent's statements to the press answered them?

Come on Dingle!

Keep up there's a good chap. Those questions are now weeks out of date and no longer relevant. Much more information has been dripping out of Akkeron. Like the top secret school that parachuted it's way into Home Park. Now I can think of lots of nice questions about that little subject. Of course they won't answer them.

I doubt if the intension was for it to be a road. PCC didn't plan how traffic was going to get to HHP in the first place and Akkeron are desperately scrabbling around trying to find vehicular access to their hotel that actually makes sense. Why have traffic going in that direction guided by stewards when they could be guided by stewards down the side of the Lyndhurst. Could it be that the Crowd Safety committee ( what ever they are called) won't give a safety certificate for that route and that's why they are coming up with this other convoluted route, which IMHO is worse.

Anyway shouldn't you be more concerned about the tower crane you will need in your garden to keep your glimpse of Plymouth Sound. ( Through your binoculars!)

GreenSam wrote:

Bandwagon56 wrote:

It's frightening when you think a little way into the future - this megalomania could end in Kassam style mess!!

Important to know though that it'd be the club who'd be buying Home Park back, not a private owner. I'm not sure if a private owner buying the ground and charging extortionate rent like Kassam did is possible under that deal. Of course, there's nothing to say the council wouldn't sell to one but I'm pretty sure they can only sell under the aforementioned conditions to PAFC.

What's to stop bRent from exercising his right to buy, then selling the football club name and team to Nikkkk and co for £1 then keeping the freehold title himself and charging the new owners say £100k a year but rising to £10m over a ten year period? Not a lot I would say.

Thanks for your superb input Richard Blight - so much is being swept under the carpet with this deal and it's future consequences and I find it incredible that fans are just fawning and falling for whatever Brent says!! Is this twitching lip routine coupled with a Derran Brown stare?!!

I think we can all agree, the lack of transparency is deliberate and an attempt from stopping the fans/ people of Plymouth from understanding what is really going on. Brent and Co fear the backlash too much.

To quote Henry Ford

'It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.'

Fords on about the banking system, but the principal is the same.

Brent will build the development, the stand will get built and wont be big enough when Argyle EVENTUALLY find success. In 20 years argyle will have to find themselves a new out of town stadium . Home Park will be bought by Akkeron and turned into a hotel and flats. Thats where my money is anyway.