Worcester - Atlas have until 2nd May to complete purchase

[bigad82]

So at the moment we have no agreement to play in the championship?

My understanding is that Wasps do have agreement to play in the Champ, but only on condition that they have a home ground that the RFU approves of.
They may not approve of Six Ways, given potential local strength of feeling, but it sounds like Solihull Moors is a plan B

RFU approval, or otherwise due by the end of May apparently

Thanks.

[Westy68]

All well and good getting a stadium and a team good enough to get into the premiership but I?m pretty sure the RFU will stop us getting into the premiership, considering they would like 10 teams.

I think we are doing a lot of unethical things that will still not lead us to the promised land

[Neils]

Today's snippet  -

Fresh doubts over the long-term future of Worcester amid ?1.15m loan https://mol.im/a/12052443 via https://dailym.ai/android

[NellyWellyWaspy]

The article makes an assumption that if that loan is not paid back by then, the site would be sold for development.

That is probably not how it would work, and an alternative exists. The article says the loan enabled Atlas to meet an RFU deadline, without which their purchase would have fallen through, and they would have lost the half million deposit. They were between a rock and a hard place, and Holland knew that and was so 'nice' to make the loan to help them avoid that loss.

Really though, why did Holland make that loan? He must pretty much know that they can't repay him in 21 days. The article says to secure the right to play there for Wasps. Fair enough. But, to know that the loan would not get repaid and know therefore that even after making that loan they wouldn't be able to play there? He has Atlas over a big barrel right now.

21 days is long enough for the RFU to approve, or not, Wasps to play there. But short enough, and with that story having been hand fed to the Mail, that the RFU now thinks that they would lose to rugby what is a very nice stadium to become a shopping mall. Just how would that run in the press? It gives them little choice but to give Wasps the assent, and quickly.

Holland could then offer a longer term loan to pay off that short term loan, at pretty much whatever terms he wants. This is the tenant ruling the roost, and the landlord having no power at all. That simply does not happen in property development at all. Ever. Well, maybe sometimes. But, think about it, weird or what?

Holland cannot simply put the property on the market after 21 days. He would have to go to court, etc. So, not that soon. The loan could go in to default, where an administrator would be appointed, a sale quickly forced, at by now a really low value and Holland could acquire it (with backing from Wasps' new backers). And by low value, I mean really low, fire sale value. After all, who would want to buy a stadium and car park with little immediate potential for alternative use, and no potential tenant (Wasps being the only one in town)?

Looks like lost of twists and turns left to go. Did someone say a TV crew was following all this?

[wasps]

Where was his money when Wasps needed it?


I know that it probably wasn't an attractive option to throw 2 million at Wasps.
Even though we were told that Wasps had turned things around and we're caught out simply by timing, it seems Holland thought otherwise or else he could have bought us more time.
He obviously knew he'd never see a return

[Neils]

Where was his money when Wasps needed it?


I know that it probably wasn't an attractive option to throw 2 million at Wasps.
Even though we were told that Wasps had turned things around and we're caught out simply by timing, it seems Holland thought otherwise or else he could have bought us more time.
He obviously knew he'd never see a return

He did buy out EPIC. So maybe liquidity was sparse.

[NellyWellyWaspy]

When it all went pear shaped, all the contractors for EPIC had not been paid. That was a LOT of money. AFAIK, they have all now been paid, somewhat late, by Holland. It may well be that he is not a man with oodles of liquid cash to splash about, but what he has been able to grub together, he has used to keep it together, whilst minimising the overall debt. Pouring money in to Wasps back then would have simply been pouring it down the drain. Most of us here know that, from the start the project was at best marginal, but it was what it was. Events tipped it past the point of no return, and from that point onwards it was a question of what could be rescued.

[westwaleswasp]

I never bought the 'it was the timing' guff. If it was just timing and a couple of million needed pdq then I would have expected Holland or Richardson to be able to secure that.
The whole project was going tits up, and the owners' platitudes to the players and staff were less than candid.

[Vespula Vulgaris]

The true story will come out soon.

Machiavelli eat your heart out!

[WonkyWasp]

Re-reading all the postings on Here and on There I think (with reflection) that there is obviously so very much more to come out.  We may well have a few surprises. So much to unravel. But please .....  MAKE IT SOON!

[Shugs]

As far as the ?1m loan it seems like it?s a straightforward no risk loan to Atlas to ensure the RFU can see that a place to play rugby will exist and grant us permission to play there. It?s not enough leverage to get the whole site. The question is, if they?re out of cash what do Atlas do next?

[NellyWellyWaspy]

As far as the ?1m loan it seems like it?s a straightforward no risk loan to Atlas to ensure the RFU can see that a place to play rugby will exist and grant us permission to play there. It?s not enough leverage to get the whole site. The question is, if they?re out of cash what do Atlas do next?

Sort of my point. What next for Atlas? My guess is that they will exit with their initial investment intact (was it 500k?), and soon. Which means someone will have to replace them.

[Neils]

Maybe our CEO Andy Scott might offer an opinion soon.

[WonkyWasp]

Would Steve Diamond make another appearance?

[Neils]

Would Steve Diamond make another appearance?

Not for a while as he is Edinburgh interim Head Coach until they get a Blair replacement.  So committed to spend the summer up there.