Are football clubs just businesses?

The horrific plights of Bury and Bolton have brought this question to the fore once again.  There is probably no need to link the stories or highlight the seedy behaviour of the past and recent owners because anyone with any understanding of the true nature of sport and identity will know that Football clubs are more than just a vehicle for profit or building development

Unfortunately its a sector that has attracted some of the lowest of the low in the business world and this really has to be stopped. Im far from a believer in excessive regulation and interference by busy body “authorities” but football clubs really do mean a huge amount to the small towns and cities they represent and that should be preserved. Civic pride is no bad thing and has an intangible benefit right across communities.

The EFL should be making a much better fist of determining the nature and quality of the ownerships of the clubs and in the case of Bury and Bolton, who could both disappear today, they have questions to answer

Fake “lenders”

Anyone searching for asset based lenders online will come across a myriad selection of offerings from a whole range of names you would certainly never have heard of. You probably didnt expect there to be so many “lenders” in the market and in fact you would be right.

Last week a client of mine was approached by a “lender” who were offering headline rates that were simply absurd (echos of Funding Circle). My client passed the information to me and I investigated a little.

This “lender” claimed to offer “introducers commission” and naturally, when I called them, that was one of the first questions I asked. I also questioned whether they were a lender or a broker or a combination of both. They became strangely uneasy with both my queries and promised to “get back to me”.

I failed to see what the problem was. My client is looking for equipment based lending and I am currently working on solutions. More options the better so why wouldnt this “lender” engage?

They never came back but instead pestered my client directly two days later and I was told they became distinctly “arsey” when told they should go through myself. Not a good approach.

This is not unfamiliar. Search engines and cold callings are dominated by brokers who claim to be rather more than they are actually are. They believe that by claiming to actually lend funds they have more credibility and maybe some fall for this but surely a broker who is prepared to misrepresent one aspect of their business then they are more than likely to be untrustworthy with other areas

 

 

 

Late payments? Is this the solution?

New suggestions in this article. Many might think that there are valid points made and it is certainly true that more efficient technology can improve processes. The writer even goes on to suggest that AI is a possible solution.

Sadly this is all nonsense. Technology has been steadily improving for some time and has that speeded up the payment process between blue chips and their suppliers? Quite the opposite

The reasons are clear. Its of no consequence which system you gave in place, cash remains king and slow payments to suppliers is the cheapest form of borrowing. That will never change and you will struggle to find a FD who will willingly suppress his/her cashflow by implementing some lovely new invoice/payment process.

 

Why brokers offer protection. Another rip off lender

A reputable lender (yes there are some) passed me an interesting but sadly all too familiar tale yesterday.

They were dealing with a potential client that was also talking to a lender that has long had a mixed reputation. My contact asked for information and attempted to engage but the client went silent and subsequently signed up with the competitor.

Two months later the client is back on the phone to my contact complaining that the arrangement he signed for is a disaster and he “wants out”

Clearly hes bought into a facility that was oversold and totally inappropriate but it gets worse

He signed up for a minimum three year contract.

Yes. Three years..

Any decent broker (and yes there are some) would have ensured the facility would be entirely suitable for his/her needs and also would have absolutely advised against a three year contract. Three years minimum is absolutely madness

The client is now in trouble and it wuld be no surprise at all to find that the lender is having gleeful conversations with their appointed insolvency practitioner

 

KPMG to be sued over Carillion

During my credit management days, I clearly recall taking a couple of credit decisions on audited accounts which were exposed as being entirely farcical and possibly even corrupt. The fact that this was not exposed until the debtor had fallen into liquidation didnt exactly please the many creditors who lost many thousands.

I recall conversations with other commercial credit managers at the time along the lines of how recourse should be sought. There were some extreme suggestions directed at the relevant “auditors” but the most practical was that they should be sued for compensation for their actions.

And so its come to pass. KPMG are being sued in relation to the collapse of Carillon and this could be quite a landmark case. I will be watching with interest and my belief is that if the auditors are found guilty then unsecured creditors should be compensated in full with interest and the firm should be disbarred from practising audit for a set number of years.

I will admit that i’m not close to the detail of the Carillion case but surely this is going to lead to action from the Pattiserie Valerie creditors? However skewed the Carillion auditing was, it is impossible to believe that it was on the same relevant scale as seen with PV.