Abbey buy-back buggered

Sadly it appears the Abbey will not be coming home.

And from the press release below, it also seems that Paul Barry and Co aren't on DMJ's Christmas card list.

The CFU chairman makes a very good point in the CN today, namely that if we'd hung onto the Kitson money rather than spunking it on rubbish, unecessary signings like Challinor, McMahon, and Ainge (I added that last bit), this campaign might have had a happier ending. Anyway, full statement from the fans trust below;

CFU Ground Buy Back bid falls short

The bold attempt by Cambridge Fans United to raise the money to buy back the Abbey Stadium for Cambridge United from owners Bideawhile before the option to sell to Grosvenor Developments takes effect has run out of time.

CFU had until 2 p.m. on Wednesday 24th March to put down a deposit of £350K and to have commitments of £3.15M in place and were hoping that an “Amber Knight” would have emerged to assist them in reaching their target.

CFU Chairman, Dave Matthews Jones, said “Whilst we had tremendous support from fans and others, with expressions of interest from over 700 people, some of considerable value, we have to admit defeat on this.

"A team of people have been working really hard to put this thing together by the deadline. We firmly believe that, given extra time, we would have been able to put the funds in place, but we have been told by Bideawhile that there will be no extension of time.”

Matthews Jones continued: "I wish I could say that the club’s Board had been as supportive of the attempt as the fans, but this hasn’t been forthcoming and that is very disappointing, especially as they have had 5 years to buy the ground back, but have failed to achieve it in that time.

"We had less than 5 weeks, so it is, perhaps, not a great surprise that we couldn’t quite manage it.

"This just goes to show how brilliant the fans are and is one of the reasons I am proud to be involved with the Fans Trust. We shall be seeking to work with Grosvenor in the interests of the fans and the club."

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Latest news on the great Abbey Stadium buyback

Cambridge Fans United's ambitious attempt to buy back the Abbey Stadium is gathering pace, with £3.5million needed in just 13 days.

You've probably all seen the email which was sent out earlier today, but I didn't think it would do any harm to post it here in the hope that it might attract a couple of extra investors. Without wishing to sound like Bob Geldof, if you can spare the cash, please do your bit to help bring the Abbey home;

Greetings
This might sound a little like one of those spam emails from Nigeria but please read to the end before you dismiss the idea! Thank you.

Quick history lesson (for those who may not know): In 2004 Cambridge Utd were in financial trouble & sold their ground (the Abbey Stadium) to then director John Howard's company "Bideawhile". Bideawhile entered into an agreement with CUFC to lease the ground back to the club and also made an agreement that the club could buy back the Abbey at an agreed price if ever they could raise enough finance. At the present moment CUFC pay annual rent of £240,000 and this figure is subject to periodical increases.

CUFC has never managed to raise the repurchase sum and it has now been announced that Bideawhile has agreed to sell the ground to a property developer, Grosvenor Developments. Before that deal can be completed there is a notice period in which CUFC has the legal right to exercise their option to repurchase (if they can raise the funds).

Frankly, raising the required sum (£3.5M + costs) through donations in the limited timeframe is a long-shot at best. However, there may be another way which would suit the club, fans and investors alike.

The proposal is to set up a community interest company ("CIC"). The CIC would be formed by the sale of its 3,700 shares. Each share would cost £1,000 to buy. The sale of these shares would raise the sum required to buy back the ground from Bideawhile (including stamp duty and other set-up costs).

The CIC would lease the ground to Cambridge United FC at a much reduced rent. Potentially saving the club a six-figure sum each and every season. Annual profits of the CIC would be distributed amongst its shareholders. Even with a reduced rent there is an opportunity to provide an attractive return to investors, especially as many deposit accounts at banks/building societies are paying 1% or less to their savers.

Furthermore, there is the potential of capital growth - if the club were to ever relocate, default on its payments (or be liquidated) then the shareholders would still own a prime piece of Cambridge real estate. It has long been discussed that the area has enormous development potential.

Obviously setting up such a company requires legal advice and CFU have spoken with solicitors who will ensure that the CIC is set up correctly.

This is a large sum to raise. But look at it another way - 3,700 people each with £1,000 to invest, or just 740 people with £5,000 to invest and the figure seems achievable. CFU has begun circulating this information to supporters and already the response and pledges for investment is quite staggering.

CFU are taking this story to the media - locally with the likes of the Cambridge Evening News, BBC Radio Cambridgehire and Look East, and also nationally with the likes of Radio 5 Live, Football Focus, Breakfast TV and Sky Sports (remember Soccer AM's Max Rushden is a Cambridge United fan). The recent sad decline of Chester and Portsmouth has put football finance firmly in the media spotlight at the moment and this is a chance to show that fans of a relatively minor club can make a huge (positive) impact.

This is a genuine chance to make a change for good. Remember you are not being asked to "give" anything - you are being asked to invest in something you care about and thereby make a difference. The idea is for you to receive a good return on your investment, the potential of capital growth and secure the ownership of Cambridge United's ground for the benefit of the club and its supporters.

Please note that all of the above represents my understanding of the current position from discussions with the relevant parties. I don't pretend to be an expert, just a keen fan of CUFC! Discussions are ongoing between CFU and CUFC so the final details of any scheme that may go ahead could differ from those set out above. Time is running very short so if something is going to happen, it needs to happen fast!

If the scheme gets off the ground then I am happy to put my money where my mouth is on this one; hopefully you will do the same.

To register your interest in the scheme please send your contact details to cfuinbox@btinternet.com Please DO NOT send any money now - at the present time we simply require details of anyone who may be interested in the scheme.

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Abbey-ly ever after?

New shirt sponsors eh? Exciting times, and although I was hoping for a return of the C&R Windows splodge, I suppose Greene King will do for now.

In other news this week, Paul Barry seems to have been enjoying the (quite good) new Channel Five show Flash Forward to the extent that it has caused him to have a preminition of his own. Fortunately it doesn't involve any of his colleagues dying, or his wife having an affair, but does feature United staying at the Abbey for at least ten years.

Our leader said: "Cambridge United is and has been at the heart of the community in Cambridge and I believe we now must focus on our current location. Of all the various football stadia I have visited around the world, my favourite ones are those right in cities.

"Fans are at the heart of the atmosphere created at stadia, and with our passionate fans, staying at and improving the Abbey would be my personal wish."

In an ideal world, I too would like to see us stay at the Abbey for ever and ever, but there's no mention in there of how we might get round the little matter of ~£2.5million which we'll have to pay the ginger one in rent over the coming decade.

Having covered our losses personally in recent years, Mr Barry should know better than most that the current situation isn't sustainable, and having done a bit of research I couldn't find one example of a club that pays a substantial rent and achieves on pitch success/stability at the same time. Oxford are obviously doing alright so far this season despite their rent, but it remains to be seen what will happen if they don't get promoted this year.

So we can only hope there is more to this statement than meets the eye. Otherwise it is difficult to see us moving forward as a club with the stadium millstone hanging round our neck.

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Location location location

I've been severely lacking inspiration of late; it's like someone has snuck into my flat in the middle of the night and removed my blogging-mojo with a syringe, Austin Powers style.

But then again, this has been such a boring close-season so far that there has been little worth writing about. Is anyone really that interested in the Abbey getting a new-yet-meaningless official name, or the Brabinator picking up a manager of the year award, or even Marvin the Moose standing for parliament? I've changed my mind on the merits of stability, it's just too dull for words.

Although if half man/half moose Jeremy Izod does get elected, perhaps he can bring some pressure to bear regarding a new stadium for United. This particularly old chestnut has been getting a bit of coverage in the CEN this week, and is already following a familiar pattern:

1) Someone from "our" side - in this case the Cambridgeshire FA's Jim Hill - makes some optimistic noises, usually involving the words "very positive talks", "10,000 seater stadium", "community facilities that can be used all year round".

2) A faceless council bod pours cold water on the idea, citing traffic, or preservation of the green belt, or some other unintelligible planning issues beyond the understanding of us mere mortals.

I suspect I am not the only United fan not to be giving this story much credence. We've heard it all before, several times, and I believe if we are to ever get a new stadium, it won't be with any local authority assistance. Even with the weight of the Cambridge Horizon project and the Cambs FA seemingly behind us, it looks like the councils are going to drag their heels again, just like they have every other time the sites at Milton and Cowley Road have been discussed. Perhaps if we subtly changed our name to Cambridge University FC they might be a bit more co-operative?

At the moment I think United need to concentrate on maximising income from the stadium that we do have, something they've been doing pretty well of late. In the long term we probably need to get out of rented accomodation and onto the property ladder, but if the team are running out at a new arena by the start of the 2015/16 season, I'll eat my hat.

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