Council admits Ricoh 'not sustainable' without Coventry City

It is time the whole sordid truth came out about the Ricoh fiasco. The city's tax payers deserve to know the truth as to how their hard earned money is spent.

Whilst I doubt that anything illegal has occurred, I'll bet much wasn't particularly ethical.

I'm of the opinion a subsidy was granted solely to save councillors' face after they made a monumental error of judgement in getting involved with the stadium in the first place.

I said at the time it was the "kiss of death" for the football club and that appears to be coming true.

Coventry council Ricoh deal questioned after Wasps reveal £22m debt

COVENTRY council faces more questions over its Ricoh Arena deal with Wasps after the rugby club's accounts revealed debts of £22million and the Sky Blues' latest accounts highlighted its perilous position without a stadium.

As we reported on our website last week, the newly published football club's accounts for 2013/4 revealed £61million debts have now been converted into shares, leaving debt in the club's trading company Otium of £9.6million.

London Wasps Holdings Limited's £22million of reported outstanding loans include to a Maltese parent company and owner Derek Richardson.

The debt is on top of the £13.4million owed to the council by the now Wasps owned Arena Coventry Limited.

Further questions have now been raised about ACL's ability to pay back the capital plus interest on the taxpayer loan over a reported 20 years at around a current £1.3million a year.

ACL recorded £400,000 losses last year, when Wasps were losing £4million.

The Wasps company has also borrowed against future income, while its Ricoh attendances are being bolstered by free ticket deals.

Football finance expert and accountant Kieran Maguire, of Liverpool University's management school, said "everything depends on Derek Richardson", including the council's ability to recoup the ACL taxpayer loan.

Read more: http://www.coventryobserver.co.uk/2015/ ... 29026.html

Gets murkier by the day.

I hope that Lucas and the rabbles she is surrounded by have all the answers...

Coventry City FC owners Sisu have launched a complaint to the official council watchdog about the conduct of two leading councillors.



The Telegraph can exclusively reveal the latest legal twist in a long running dispute over the ownership of the Ricoh Arena operating company ACL, which was bought by Premiership rugby club Wasps in November.

Lawyers acting on behalf of Sisu have written to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) to complain about the conduct of Coventry City Council leader Ann Lucas and former leader Coun John Mutton.

Several accusations are levelled at the Labour Party pair, relating to their conduct during the Ricoh Arena saga since Sisu took over the Sky Blues in 2008.

The Telegraph understands the written allegations have been sent to the independent LGO who has similar powers to the courts when it comes to the release of information and conducting investigations.

The LGO can recommend rectifying action, including suspensions, if any wrongdoing is believed to have occurred – but it has no power to actually force a local authority to take action.

The complaint includes quotes attributed to leading councillors, taken from various media outlets, which Sisu claim have been damaging, and a letter from Sisu boss Joy Seppala, who complains about the conduct of Coun Mutton during discussions about the Ricoh Arena.

It’s understood Sisu have called for possible wrongdoing to be investigated in relation to secrecy, misleading statements, failure to act in the public interest and financial loss.

No allegations of wrongdoing by Ann Lucas or John Mutton have been proven. The pair both declined to comment when approached by the Telegraph.

Sisu has not yet responded to requests for comment.

Pot calling the kettle isn't it?

Coventry council 'disappointed' after Sisu win right to appeal Ricoh Arena loan

Coventry City Council has said it will continue to defend its decision to loan millions of pounds to ACL following today’s victory for Coventry City FC's owners Sisu at the Court of Appeal.

Judges justice Ernest Ryder and justice Michael Briggs granted Sisu permission to appeal a High Court judgment handed down in June last year which ruled a £14.4million loan from Coventry City Council to Ricoh Arena operators ACL in 2012 was not state aid.

The two judges agreed Sisu may well have a case that the council would have been better off letting ACL go bust instead of making the loan as the council owned the freehold of the stadium.

With leaseholder ACL out of the way, it is argued the council could have started a new leasehold agreement to operate the stadium with another company.

ACL was jointly owned by the council and the Alan Edward Higgs Charity at the time but has since been sold to rugby club Wasps in a £20m deal that included taking on the loan, which was later repaid in full earlier this year.

A council spokesman said: “We are disappointed that the judge has found in favour of the claimants, SISU, who can now move to appeal the Judgment in last year’s Judicial Review.

“The Judicial Review had upheld the Council’s actions in making a loan to ACL in January 2013.

“We will continue to defend the decision which the Council made based on cross party support, which was designed to protect the City’s interest in the Ricoh Arena.”

Today’s success for the club’s owners means there will be a two-day appeal hearing on the first available date after October 1.

Sisu’s QC, Rhodri Thompson, has suggested ACL should be forced to pay more by applying a commercial rate of interest to the duration of the loan.

But the consequences for the council could be much bigger as it emerged the club’s owners would be seeking substantial compensation that some sources have put at hundreds of millions of pounds.

...owners would be seeking substantial compensation that some sources have put at hundreds of millions of pounds.

I hope Lucas has got deep pockets!

Coventry council ethics committee to reconvene on Sky Blues’ complaint of ‘whitewash’ over ‘smear campaign’



THE council’s ethics committee is set to reconvene and decide on whether council leaders broke its code of conduct in a ‘media war’ at taxpayers’ expense against Sky Blues’ owners Sisu amid the Ricoh Arena dispute.

The committee of five councillors is expected to reconvene next Monday (February 29) at the Council House, in a meeting open to the public.

The initial hearing was adjourned in December after the committee heard evidence of secret plans to wage a ‘media war’ with personal and intrusive public attacks against the Sky Blues ‘owners’.

But – despite much evidence from private council emails and documents, and emails by hired PR firm Weber Shandwick – the council-hired investigator Simon Goacher claimed it did not present enough “reasonable suspicion” for him to seek further evidence of any links between council leaders and a ‘smear campaign’.

November’s meeting generated much debate of Sky Blues’ fans’ internet forums. Many fans remain unhappy about the Ricoh’s sale to London Wasps in October 2014 on a cut-price 250-year lease not offered to the club.

The Sisu group of companies owning Coventry City Football Club, and Sisu boss Joy Seppala, lodged a complaint in May alleging Labour council leaders John Mutton and his successor Ann Lucas, who took over in May 2013, had breached the councillors’ code of conduct.

It obliges them to act with honesty, respect, openness, transparency and integrity.

The council hired Mr Goacher of law firm Weightmans LLP cleared both of wrongdoing, triggering the Sky Blues’ companies’ appeal to the ethics committee and complaints of a “whitewash”.

Read more: http://coventryobserver.co.uk/news/cove ... -campaign/

CLEARED: Coventry council ‘whitewash’ over ‘smear campaign’ in Sky Blues dispute

COVENTRY council’s ethics committee had today cleared leaders of breaking its code of conduct in a ‘media war’ at taxpayers’ expense against Sky Blues’ owners amid the Ricoh Arena dispute.

The committee – of four councillors from the ruling Labour group (Joe Clifford, John McNicholas, Linda Bigham and Damian Gannon) and one Tory, Allan Andrews – ruled there was insufficient evidence.

An initial hearing was adjourned in December after the committee heard evidence of secret plans to wage a ‘media war’ with personal and intrusive public attacks against the Sky Blues ‘owners’.

But – despite much evidence from private council emails and documents, and emails by hired PR firm Weber Shandwick – the council-hired investigator Simon Goacher claimed it did not present enough “reasonable suspicion” for him to seek further evidence of any links between council leaders and a ‘smear campaign’.

Read more: http://coventryobserver.co.uk/news/late ... s-dispute/