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Following recent press speculation, I feel compelled to put the record straight on certain issues. In October 2006 Jeff Mostyn was invited to the Club for dinner on a matchday and at this game he was first sold the idea of joining a Consortium preparing a bid to buy the Football Club. At the time there were various interested parties including the then Chairman, myself and other like-minded individuals. As the negotiations gathered momentum and as the due diligence revealed alarming levels of debt, one by one the interested parties fell away leaving only Jeff, myself and one other person.
By December the club was on the brink of administration, or arguably liquidation with what we now know. With rent and PAYE arrears outstanding and no prospect of wages being paid, the then Club Directors were faced with making a difficult decision to call a Board meeting and call in an Insolvency Practitioner. It was at this time that Jeff and I decided to fund these shortfalls whilst we continued dialogue with other possible investors, with no security at all and no guarantee of a successful takeover bid being accepted.
These monies were accepted as a down payment on our bid and therefore at that stage loans to AFCB. As is now a matter of record the AGM didn't take place until March 2007 up to which point we continued to fund the Club's shortfalls in a similar fashion with no security of any type and no guarantee of success at the AGM.
We eventually became the successful bidders for the Club and indeed, according to the then CM, we were the only bidders - I now realise why. At that time we were already committed to hundreds of thousands of pounds already spent unsecured just to get us to that stage. It is now on record that the other Consortium members pulled out directly after the AGM.
These withdrawals left our planned £750,000 investment with a serious shortfall - and this was in addition to the previous withdrawal from the consortium of Abdul Jaffer. We could easily have thrown the towel in but instead we spent countless hours in meetings across the country trying to entice new investment to the table whilst constantly dipping into our own pockets to keep the Club going and dealing with the endless stream of skeletons coming out of the Dean Court cupboards.
At all times the Board was working tirelessly to try to bring new money in and at all times was aware of the structure of funds in the Club. It was not a priority for Jeff or I to be issued with worthless shares but it was a huge priority to try and secure new investment and this is where we concentrated our efforts wholeheartedly. It has been recorded on numerous occasions that if we found "Mr Big" we would step aside and that still remains the case today. However after 15 months of uncertain times both on and off the pitch and with no parties interested in the Club in its old format, the only decision left was for the Board to appoint Administrators.
The Board met with three different potential Administrators before making a choice and filed three Notices of Intent while we found an Administrator who would take the job on with reasonable funding terms. We were originally using another firm of IPs but they eventually decided against taking the appointment.
With our funding now well in excess of £1,200,000 (the majority funded by Jeff and the balance by myself and John Piper), the chosen Administrator made it absolutely clear that it would require an immediate payment well in excess of £100,000 in order for him to accept the role - with a guarantee of similar amounts when needed in the future until a buyer is found. The alternative was liquidation within days - as clarified by Mr. Krasner during the post announcement press conference.
And who stepped in, even knowing that this was a further substantial write off and with no guarantee of owning the club? Yes, Jeff Mostyn again. And yet still his integrity is being questioned. I am appalled by what I have seen and heard of late. Some people clearly do not understand that without his contribution, there would almost certainly have been no club left to support but thankfully the majority does, and Jeff is aware of that.
In summary, yes we want to bid again for the Club but it isn't now in our hands but in the hands of Gerald Krasner. As I have already said and Jeff has stated publicly, we have unfinished business and if our bid is accepted, we will have a clean bill of health for the first time ever at this Football Club. If an alternative bid emerges which is clearly in the best interests of the Club, we will stand aside.
One thing is for sure though, whether our money is sat in shares, loan notes, soft loans or green shield stamps, if we are successful with our bid, the exact nature of the status of the monies we have contributed thus far won't count for anything because we have agreed to waive any rights. If someone else buys the Club then the majority of it will be wiped out as unsecured debt along with all other creditors.
These are the true facts - not fiction.