Possible news?

[Bloke in North Dorset]

If DR didn?t have control of the shares he couldn?t use them as collateral for the loan that fell apart at the last minute. That?s probably why it dragged on for so long. 

It also looks why DR had no choice but to call the receivers in.

[NellyWellyWaspy]

I suspect that's why the attempt to do another equity release, and then the loans, and then a buyout.

Someone else had control, and that someone wanted to drown Wasps. Someone who wanted the stadium, cheap as they could. Someone bought the stadium, very cheaply. Was that the same someone, only the Devil will know. I certainly would not wish to point any fingers. But, always follow the money.

I think Wasps and Derek simply got in the way of some very bad people.

[Shugs]

Well we know who bought the stadium. Can?t see any way they had control of Wasps though ??

[westwaleswasp]

That is hopefully what will come out.
I am most interested in the rescue plan and why it was vetoed- was that reasonable. . That will likely be beyond the remit of this action, but once it is out the way hopefully we can hear from Derek, who has been silent publicly on everything.

Also interested in Holland's role.

[Vespula Vulgaris]

Some more detail here:  https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/westmidlands/news/2081004-former-wasps-owner-sets-out-100m-claim-against-legal-advisors

[baldpaul101]

Interesting.
No legal or business expert, but if funding was refused because the investment vehicle was based in Malta, not sure how having voting rights & control etc would have made any difference. Except perhaps it could have been moved somewhere else with a better financial reputation (& thus got extra funding) but because Derek had lost control he couldn't?

[St Bruno]

Shafted by lawyers? Who'd have thought!

FWIW I have a very low opinion of lawyers. IMO they should stick to conveyancing and civil matters and avoid commercial stuff - about which they know little.

I hope their professional indemnity insurance is up to date!

[Bloke in North Dorset]

Interesting.
No legal or business expert, but if funding was refused because the investment vehicle was based in Malta, not sure how having voting rights & control etc would have made any difference. Except perhaps it could have been moved somewhere else with a better financial reputation (& thus got extra funding) but because Derek had lost control he couldn't?

My take is that Derek couldn't raise the loans because he didn't have control and therefore couldn't offer up the stadium or anything else as collateral. Once that came to light there was no way we could be saved.

I've been involved in a lot of high value financing due diligence work in the telecoms industry as a technical adviser. Our reports carried lots of warnings about carrying out your own due diligence and not relying solely on our reports because we couldn't be sure we'd been given access to all relevant information.

In this case its hard to see Derek's advisers using that excuse as they seem to have taken the scheme to him. I wish him luck.

[Steve from Cov]

Wow - interesting news.

Because of the high legal costs I would have thought that Derek?s claim would be settled before it goes to court.

Good luck to Derek though.

[WonkyWasp]

Yes  -  good luck, Derek.  Stick with it and  don't give up.

[Lwasp]

It's interesting that when he was running Wasps Derek was hailed as an astute business man that knew a thing or two about success. There were many a post explaining you don't get to be as wealthy as Derek did without being on the ball, on top of your game etc etc. Now the majority view here seems to be support for the view that Derek was the unwitting victim of bad advice and couldn't possibly have known he had given up control of his business 'cause lawyers and advisors said it will all be OK. There's now't as fickle as folk I guess.

I for one hope it does get to court, only then will we get more detail about what went on. What was Derek hoping to achieve by moving the business to being based in Malta? There must have been an advertised upside to the move. I see Channel 5 have a programme about Malta on tonight, maybe that will shed some light on the benefits of being based there?

This isn't meant to be an anti-Derek rant, I was happy when he took over from Steve Hayes. I thought he represented vision and stability. However, I can't let him totally of the hook either, he was the owner when it collapsed and it would appear decisions he made contributed to it happening. If this case is to be believed he had no idea what he was doing, just following along with whatever he was "advised" to do. But there must have been a reason why.

Like a lot of people I'd just like to know why it happened, and see if there's anything to learn from it to stop it all happening again.

[baldpaul101]

I'm with you LWasp. If such dealings had been done by say, Sarries, plenty of people on here would be shouting about shady business deals etc etc.
But it was Derek, who can do no wrong even when he presided over Wasps going out of business, probably for good.

Derek saved Wasps & had a vision for a future which sadly didn't work out, but that doesn't mean he is not culpable for its demise.

[InBetweenWasp]

It's interesting that when he was running Wasps Derek was hailed as an astute business man that knew a thing or two about success. There were many a post explaining you don't get to be as wealthy as Derek did without being on the ball, on top of your game etc etc. Now the majority view here seems to be support for the view that Derek was the unwitting victim of bad advice and couldn't possibly have known he had given up control of his business 'cause lawyers and advisors said it will all be OK. There's now't as fickle as folk I guess.

Two things can be true at once though, Lwasp, perfectly plausible to be an astute business man, but on the receiving end from bad advice from experts brought in to provide insight and advice especially on a topic that he claims he wasn't familiar with. 

It could be argued that doing the latter probably makes you more of the former.

[WonkyWasp]

At the risk of teaching grandparents to suck eggs, those in business  cannot be expected to be experts/know-alls in every single aspect and piece of minutiae involved in their work.  They have to refer to experts. No-one can know absolutely every thing about everything.   

[Heathen]

So what happened to the money invested in Malta?