Worcester

[NellyWellyWaspy]

Wow!
https://www.awwrfc.com/statement/

Looks like O'Toole thinks the current owners are trying to screw the club too.

Looks like the current owners will be facing jail time for failing to do their duty. The club is insolvent (defined not by losses but by its legal definition, which is 'being unable to meet their detbs as and when they fall due'). No buyer now, no knights on white chargers.

[bigad82]

The owners are now saying they have agreed a sale for the club that includes the expenses of this week's game.
Funny this comes out after the O'Toole statement.
What a bloody mess.

[Rossm]

Tweet from Marcello Cossali-Francis, timed 1930, 12/09

I have been informed that Worcester’s owners have agreed terms with an interested party for the sale of the club.

Now waiting for legal confirmation (this evening) & the buyers will cover costs for upcoming weekend and remaining unpaid wages of staff.

[NellyWellyWaspy]

Tweet from Marcello Cossali-Francis, timed 1930, 12/09

I have been informed that Worcester’s owners have agreed terms with an interested party for the sale of the club.

Now waiting for legal confirmation (this evening) & the buyers will cover costs for upcoming weekend and remaining unpaid wages of staff.

Good news at last. Now to hear something concrete about the bonds for Wasps, and all will be right with the world.

[Old Geezer]

NWW makes a good point.  Trading while insolvent is a serious offence.  The normal route to protect against this is to go into administration to give time to find a buyer.

[Rifleman Harris]

Tweet from Marcello Cossali-Francis, timed 1930, 12/09

I have been informed that Worcester’s owners have agreed terms with an interested party for the sale of the club.

Now waiting for legal confirmation (this evening) & the buyers will cover costs for upcoming weekend and remaining unpaid wages of staff.

Good news at last. Now to hear something concrete about the bonds for Wasps, and all will be right with the world.

I don't think we have heard the last of this...given all the shenanigans around transferring ownership of various assets to these new companies, I would worry that due diligence will fall through.  It seems to be an open secret that the owners are afraid of the scrutiny that admin would bring, so who would buy the club with a great suspicion over the assets the club has, and when they could pick it up cheaper and with a clear understanding of what they would get if the waited for admin).  I wonder if the 'buyers' are closely involved with the current owners?  I could see if the ground isn't part of the sale that  they will be charged out of Sixways in the future. 

The best option for the club has to be admin to purge it of their owners before they can further asset strip.

[BlackAndGoldSunglasses]

Great news it's starting to sound positive for Worcester - if not the current owners.

If they can get this sorted, and we can resolve the bond issue, then we can all just focus on the rugby!

[NellyWellyWaspy]

Tweet from Marcello Cossali-Francis, timed 1930, 12/09

I have been informed that Worcester’s owners have agreed terms with an interested party for the sale of the club.

Now waiting for legal confirmation (this evening) & the buyers will cover costs for upcoming weekend and remaining unpaid wages of staff.

Good news at last. Now to hear something concrete about the bonds for Wasps, and all will be right with the world.

I don't think we have heard the last of this...given all the shenanigans around transferring ownership of various assets to these new companies, I would worry that due diligence will fall through.  It seems to be an open secret that the owners are afraid of the scrutiny that admin would bring, so who would buy the club with a great suspicion over the assets the club has, and when they could pick it up cheaper and with a clear understanding of what they would get if the waited for admin).  I wonder if the 'buyers' are closely involved with the current owners?  I could see if the ground isn't part of the sale that  they will be charged out of Sixways in the future. 

The best option for the club has to be admin to purge it of their owners before they can further asset strip.

Any contract agreed is likely to include a due diligence clause, which would likely kill the deal. If I were a potential buyer, I would insist all assets found in that due diligence check to have been passed away to a third party, are transferred back. It strikes me that Wasps have done the same thing with the Training Ground and the attached academy housing (which are separate properties).

[Rifleman Harris]

Tweet from Marcello Cossali-Francis, timed 1930, 12/09

I have been informed that Worcester’s owners have agreed terms with an interested party for the sale of the club.

Now waiting for legal confirmation (this evening) & the buyers will cover costs for upcoming weekend and remaining unpaid wages of staff.

Good news at last. Now to hear something concrete about the bonds for Wasps, and all will be right with the world.

I don't think we have heard the last of this...given all the shenanigans around transferring ownership of various assets to these new companies, I would worry that due diligence will fall through.  It seems to be an open secret that the owners are afraid of the scrutiny that admin would bring, so who would buy the club with a great suspicion over the assets the club has, and when they could pick it up cheaper and with a clear understanding of what they would get if the waited for admin).  I wonder if the 'buyers' are closely involved with the current owners?  I could see if the ground isn't part of the sale that  they will be charged out of Sixways in the future. 

The best option for the club has to be admin to purge it of their owners before they can further asset strip.

Any contract agreed is likely to include a due diligence clause, which would likely kill the deal. If I were a potential buyer, I would insist all assets found in that due diligence check to have been passed away to a third party, are transferred back. It strikes me that Wasps have done the same thing with the Training Ground and the attached academy housing (which are separate properties).

That is far more succinct than how I put it.  It strikes me (having watched Notts County being passed from one dodgy operator to another) that when a club is in this situation the group that swoops in 'to save the day' does not normally have the club's best interests at heart but see an opportunity to make some money (usually in developing the site and / or surroundings.  It rarely ends well...Notts have lurched from Administration, to operating on a shoestring, to a fraudster, to someone completely not understanding the mess the club was in (in that case I think they tried to do the best for the club but just were very naïve) to a chancer  finally to a couple of Danish guys who are running it for the long term sustainability.  Ironically they had tried to buy the club several times in the past but had been pushed aside by the naïve one and the chancer, and picked it up at a far cheaper price (albeit 2 divisions lower and in a total shambles).

[NellyWellyWaspy]

This all reminds me of what happened to Coventry Rugby Club back when they were a top team (and when they played at Coundon Road), taken over by a dodgy geezer and went spiralling downhill.

[Bloke in North Dorset]

Just seen on Twitter that as of 10:30 they hadn't signed Heads of Terms so all the buyers are likely to have seen is a terms sheet and as others have said this implies that DD hasn't started yet.

[Rossm]

Club statement from Worcester Warriors.

https://warriors.co.uk/2022/09/13/club-statement-9/

[bigad82]

Pretty clear that if suppliers aren’t paid by the close of play tonight (and staff too), Worcester’s home @premrugby match v Exeter on Sunday won’t be able to take place, logistically. This proud club remains on a knife edge. @btsportrugby

[bigad82]

Steve Diamond on alleged new bid to buy Worcester: “These people have got to deliver. If it turns out to be a cock & bull story, that’ll be out in the wash this w/e cos we wont be playing…and I won’t be here sitting in front of you next week.” @btsportrugby

[baldpaul101]

that's a lot of pressure on the buyers, if they get rushed into signing without a full due diligence & miss something important it could all end up in even more of a mess!