Coventry City have provided some answers to some questions about the club.
We run this so that you can make up your own minds.
Questions to the Chairman.
1. Could Mr. Fisher confirm he receives no director's salary?
Correct, Mr Fisher has not received a director’s salary since May 2015.
2. Does Mr. Fisher receive expenses payments from CCFC?
Mr Fisher has received no payments, whether salary, expenses or otherwise, since May 2015. The club is totally committed to using every spare penny, where available, for the improvement of the football team.
3. Has Mr. Fisher got any money invested in CCFC? If yes, can he confirm the source of this investment?
Mr Fisher has no investment in CCFC.
4. The Otium (CCFC) Accounts to 31/05/2015 Note 1 refer to written confirmations that the group shareholders currently intend to continue to provide support to the company to enable the company to continue as a going concern.
These accounts were signed off in February 2016 by Mr Fisher. Would he please answer the following questions:
a. Are these assurances still in place and if so, how long until they expire? The accounts note suggests that they may expire before the end of the current season.
b. What form do these written confirmations take? Are they legally binding guarantees or merely a non-binding Letter of Intent?
The written confirmations provided to the Board of Otium and SBSL are private and confidential. The Board and the club’s auditors are satisfied with the letters.
5. Mr Fisher recently referred to Financial Performance “heading in the right direction”. From this it would be inferred that revenues have increased and losses reduced. Please would he indicate how the performance for the year to date (from 1st June 2016) compares to the equivalent period in the previous year in terms of: a. Revenue?
b. Operating Loss (before player trading)?
The provisional numbers for the year ending 31 May 2016 show that the operational loss was £1.7Mio (a YoY improvement of over £2Mio) and after player trading a profit of £700K (a year on year improvement of around £400K) was achieved.
6. It is noted that attendances have fallen considerably in the early part of this season compared to the same period in 2015, so if revenue has increased, please would Mr Fisher explain how that has been achieved.
As has previously been noted, the club and its staff have worked hard to put the company on a stable footing, by reducing costs and improving efficiency where possible. Revenue growth remains a challenge, one that the club is completely focused on at the moment.
7. Mr Damian Collins MP, Chair of the House of Commons Select Committee for Culture, Media and Sport, has recently offered to mediate in the dispute between Coventry City and Wasps over the renewal of playing arrangements at the Ricoh Arena. These talks have broken down because of potential legal action by Sisu that may involve Wasps.
Has Mr Fisher responded to Mr Collins’s offer and, if so, what is the current position on the mediation process?
On 19 October, following the parliamentary debate Mr Fisher emailed Mr Collins on his official MP email address. In that email Tim offered that both he and Mark Venus meet Mr Collins in Westminster at his convenience. Tim Fisher has yet to receive a response.
Questions to the Club.
1.
Has the hostility of the Alan Higgs Trust towards the CCFC’s ownership had a damaging impact on the club’s ability to retain the Alan Higgs site as an Academy base, and if so what are the club going to do to rectify the relationship?
CCFC understands that the Higgs Trust is no longer involved in the Higgs Centre. It is now under a new ownership structure, and run by Paul Breed on behalf of the owners, CAWAT. CCFC are working with Paul Breed for a viable site for the Academy in the future.
2.
Will sufficient monies be made available to the First Team Manager (whoever that may be) in January 2017 to strengthen the playing squad, so that the club’s position in League One can at least be assured and to give a reasonable chance of promotion this season?
The first team manager has complete flexibility to work within the budget set at the beginning of the year. He has some budget still available for January.
3.
In January 2016, Sky Blues supporters were appalled that James Maddison was sold just before the transfer window closed. There has been no apparent use of those funds to strengthen the playing squad since then.
Will Mr Fisher give assurances that there will be no repeat of that occurrence by the sale of emerging talent, such as Ben Stevenson and Cian Harries, without making funds available for adequate replacement?
The club tries, wherever possible, to retain players to allow them to develop to their full potential, and provide much needed input into the first team. The reality of a League One club is that some players are offered greater opportunities in the Premier League/top Championship clubs.
Most importantly, the club cannot run at a loss. Any operational losses are therefore covered with a player sale.
4.
Why was there only use of the North Stand for Checkatrade Cup game vs Northampton and FA Cup game vs Morecambe?
CCFC ended up making an operational loss on the fixtures noted above. Given the low attendance forecast for those particular games, it was cost effective to only open the North Stand.
5.
Summer 2016 Chris Anderson quoted in various media as saying we need our own stadium and an Academy. Would Mr Fisher like to comment on this?
The Club has consistently stated it needs to own its own stadium, or at the very least have access to the matchday revenues it generates, and in addition be able to access additional revenue streams on non-matchdays. This will allow the business to generate additional income that can then be used on the pitch.
The club has agreed in principle a joint venture with CRL at BPA to generate nonmatch day revenues. At this time, both clubs are working through the finer detail of the operating model.
4. When will the club open negotiations to secure an extension to the current Ricoh rental agreement and how long will the desired extension be for?
Wasps have been very clear they will not enter into negotiations whilst any legal dispute with Coventry Council continues.
5. If no negotiations are planned and no extension agreement achieved, where will CCFC play home matches for the 2018/2019 campaign?
The club expects to be able to negotiate a short-term extension agreement if/when the need should arise. We are in full communication with the EFL.
6. Have all the Northampton ground-share conditions set down by the Football League been satisfied by the club and what were those conditions?
All conditions have been satisfied.
7. Tim Fisher stated recently a preferred site has been identified for a new training facility. Is he prepared to inform supporters where the site is and what council planning authority it belongs to?
Not at this time, commercially sensitive.
8. The Ryton Training Ground is a secured asset via the ARVO Master Fund Debenture Charge. If it is sold, will all or any of the proceeds be allocated to reduce the ARVO debt or will it be ring-fenced to provide finance for a modern training facility as recently implied by Tim Fisher?
See comments below – planning permission at Ryton is being progressed as the club wishes to move to a better site. Monies from any future sale of Ryton will be needed to help finance a new training ground.
As a reminder, any sale and subsequent purchase of new training facilities is governed by Sport England who require that a new site is secured before any sale of Ryton could take place.
9. Will Tim Fisher please name the two potential institutional investors interested in the BPA scheme?
No – commercially confidential.
10. You must be concerned about falling attendances at home games as it appears that support is significantly below last season and the budget target. Will this failure to hit required attendance levels and consequent income result in a transfer embargo, either self-imposed by the club or arising from the EFL regulations on player spending?
The club has enough headroom under SCMP to increase the squad in the January transfer window should the right players be available. We have no reason to think we would be placed in transfer embargo.
11. Mr Fisher is quoted in the minutes of 12th October: “For the record and it is really important – you [the Sky Blue Trust] have sent a letter to SISU to offer to take control of the club…”
Please would Mr Fisher confirm the scale of that offer? In fact, were any terms proposed in the letter from the Trust to Ms Seppala?
Did the Trust actually state that it was proposing to be the Purchaser of Coventry City Football Club?
On 7 October, SISU received a letter from a lawyer on behalf of the Sky Blues Trust. In the letter the SBT requested a meeting to discuss ‘a proposition which could enable SISU to achieve an orderly exit and in turn enable conversion of the club into a fan owned entity…’
It is unclear why it is claimed, therefore, that there was no offer made for SISU to sell the club to the Trust/another fan ownership organisation, and what other agenda could possibly have existed were any such meeting to take place.
12. In the minutes of the last SCG meeting on 12th October, Tim Fisher said: “The club is working with Coventry Sports Foundation, who are committed to support us moving forward. We are looking at options around the city and once we’ve got a solution we’ll talk about it, certainly. The CSF want to help protect our Cat Two status.”
What specific actions are being taken, who has responsibility for those actions and when will they be completed? To ensure that the Academy is retained and can thrive with Cat 2 status beyond June 2017.
Since the Wasps’ planning application was approved, the Club have continued to meet CSF and other parties to review all options available to the Academy after June 2017. The most recent of these meetings took place last week. Both directors of Otium were present at that meeting representing the Club.
As of this minute, no other party has formally offered their services to help/aid the process of ensuring this club’s Cat 2 academy status beyond June 2017.
Questions to the Technical Director
(in direct relation to the training ground redevelopment):
1. Who is the representative appointed by CCFC to oversee the TG planning process?
Ryton, as a training ground for a professional football club, has significant limitations.
In order to provide the club with a training centre that is fit for purpose going forwards, a new location is needed. Unfortunately, the improvements cannot be accommodated at Ryton – there is no additional land available since the former owners sold off part of the land.
It is important to note that no planning permission will be given by Rugby Council until Sport England are satisfied that the club has an alternative location.
For the avoidance of doubt, Mark Venus in his capacity as Technical Director, will be involved in the planning process linked with any NEW site. Mark has no conflict of interest, and the planning process at Ryton is absolutely not connected in any way with any of Mark’s business interests outside the club. Further details on our partners will be provided when appropriate. For now, we are awaiting the outcome of the statutory consultation period with Rugby Council. No time frame has been agreed with RBC, but once the consultation period is completed, the Club will be in a better position to confirm timings with respect to a planning application.