Coventry council taken to court for Ricoh Arena loan

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Re: Coventry council taken to court for Ricoh Arena loan

Postby rebbonk » Fri May 27, 2016 9:12 am

So an expensive lawyer who has already lost every round now wants his clients to pay for more appeals? :rolling:

Tell you what SISU, there's a big bank of land out at Hawkesbury that would make a great stadium!
Of course it'll fit; you just need a bigger hammer.
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Re: Coventry council taken to court for Ricoh Arena loan

Postby dutchman » Fri Jun 03, 2016 4:25 pm

Sky Blue Trust 'disappointed' after London Wasps suspend Ricoh Arena talks with Coventry City

Coventry City’s largest supporters group says it is disappointed that talks over extending the club’s stay at the Ricoh Arena have broken down.

The Sky Blue Trust, which has almost 3,000 members, has released a statement after the Telegraph revealed yesterday that Wasps had suspended talks with CCFC about a long term lease at the Ricoh Arena.

But the group added it was happy that some progress had been made.

It also reiterated calls for all relevant parties to safeguard the Coventry City Academy whose future at the Alan Higgs Centre is in doubt after redevelopment plans emerged including a new £7million Wasps training centre and a 50-metre swimming pool.

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Re: Coventry council taken to court for Ricoh Arena loan

Postby dutchman » Fri Aug 19, 2016 3:54 pm

Council says taxpayers are £325k out of pocket thanks to long-running Ricoh legal battle with Coventry City owners

Council leader George Duggins has pointed to the legal action as a red line in terms of rebuilding the relationship between the owners of Coventry City and the local authority.

He insists the judicial review, focusing on a £14.4m loan from the council to Ricoh operators ACL, must be dropped before any meaningful talks can take place.

He also wants to see a second scheduled court challenge dropped which would look into the council’s deal to sell its 50 per cent share-holding in ACL to Wasps.

Coun Duggins said: “There are significant costs outstanding in respect of the two judicial reviews.

“The costs owed to us are hundreds of thousand of pounds and that must be paid back before we can look to assist the football club in respect of the Ricoh Arena or anything else.”

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Re: Coventry council taken to court for Ricoh Arena loan

Postby dutchman » Thu Feb 02, 2017 9:07 pm

Coventry City owners Sisu in fresh legal fight over Ricoh Arena

Coventry City football club’s owners are going back to court in the long-running battle over the Ricoh Arena.

The Sky Blues’ owners SISU are pressing ahead with a second judicial review against Coventry City Council, this time looking at the sale of the council's shares in the former Ricoh Arena operating company Arena Coventry Limited (ACL) to rugby team Wasps.

Wasps bought ACL in October 2014, paying the council and the Alan Edward Higgs Charity £2.77m each for their 50% stakes and also paying back the ACL loan to the council. The lease on the arena was extended to 250 years.

Sisu's first judicial review into a £14.4million council loan to ACL ended in a third and final defeat for the London hedge fund after a second appeal failed.

This second judicial review was lodged during that long-running appeal process but could not be started until the appeals had been exhausted. Coventry City's deal to play at the Ricoh Arena ends in summer next year and talks over a fresh deal were halted by landlords Wasps, who cited the "distraction" of ongoing legal action over the stadium row.

Coventry City Council confirmed that the fresh new legal battle was underway.

A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that following the conclusion of the Judicial Review last December in the Council’s favour, the Council has now received notification that Sisu intend to pursue their second Judicial Review claim relating to the sale of the Council’s shares in ACL and the lease extension on the Ricoh Arena to Wasps.”

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Re: Coventry council taken to court for Ricoh Arena loan

Postby dutchman » Fri Jul 14, 2017 9:55 pm

Judicial review REJECTED

The judge says it’s important to remember the nature of the decision being challenged - the extension of the Ricoh Arena lease to 250 years.

The second point is that it’s the material in front of the council at the time that is the subject of a judicial review.

At that time, the council had internal advice and external advice from KPMG which provided a valuation of the relevant interest.

The valuation analysis stated that because there was a £21m pre-payment in 2006, the freehold was estimated between £0.6m to £1m.

The council received £1m at the top end of the estimate given by KPMG.

The judge said: “In my judgment is that the claimants seek to compare apples with pears. The valuation before the authority was one that perfectly entitled it to come to the view it did.

“There would be no arguable basis there was unlawful state aid in this case. I refuse application.”

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Somehow I don't think we've heard the end of it though? :roll:
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Re: Coventry council taken to court for Ricoh Arena loan

Postby Melisandre » Sat Jul 15, 2017 6:43 pm

Nor me and I dont think they have any intentions of building a new stadium either.
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Re: Coventry council taken to court for Ricoh Arena loan

Postby rebbonk » Sun Jul 16, 2017 9:15 am

I think it's time that they are designated 'vexatious litigants' and only permitted to bring any court case with the express permission of a judge.

I also question that they are 'fit and proper' as regards running a business. I'd like to see the top line of management here barred from running a business for 10 years.
Of course it'll fit; you just need a bigger hammer.
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Re: Coventry council taken to court for Ricoh Arena loan

Postby dutchman » Fri Sep 15, 2017 7:46 pm

As predicted:

Coventry City owners Sisu granted permission to appeal Ricoh sale to Wasps

Coventry City's hedge fund owners Sisu have been granted permission to appeal the High Court's decision to deny them the opportunity to challenge the sale of the Ricoh Arena by the council to Wasps.

CCFC's owners Sisu challenged the sale of the stadium operating firm ACL, claiming that it had been undervalued by about £30million.

The hedge fund wanted Wasps to make up the shortfall and pay damages to the football club as a result of preventing them from an opportunity to bid for the venue .

But High Court judge Justice Rupinder Singh threw out the claims earlier this year and denied Sisu the opportunity to challenge the sale at a full judicial review.

Coventry City then said it would be appealing the ruling. That appeal has been granted today.

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Re: Coventry council taken to court for Ricoh Arena loan

Postby dutchman » Fri Oct 12, 2018 9:31 pm

Sisu suffers legal blow as bid for judicial review on Ricoh Arena sale is dismissed

The Court of Appeal today dismissed an application for a judicial review into the sale of the Ricoh Arena to Wasps in 2014.

The appeal was brought by Sky Blues Sports and Leisure and 'others' against Coventry City Council and 'others' but the decision upheld the order of Mr Justice Singh, who rejected the case in July last year.

Lawyers for the Sisu-controlled firms that make up the football club wanted a full judicial review over the controversial sale of the Ricoh Arena.

They claimed Coventry City Council undervalued the stadium by almost £30million when it was sold to Wasps Rugby Club for £21million back in 2014.

But Mr Justice Singh said the council had obtained an independent valuation which included extending the stadium's lease and his order was upheld today.

Speaking at the Court of Appeal in London today and dismissing the appeal, Lord Justice McCombe said: “For the reasons given in this judgement I now hand down the appeal in this case is dismissed and the order of Mr Justice Singh of the 20th of July 2017 is upheld.”

In the 20-page written judgement, Lord Justice McCombe said in conclusion: “I would dismiss this appeal and would uphold the order made by the judge, refusing permission to apply for judicial review.

“As I have said above, I consider that the judge was correct to refuse permission to apply for judicial review, on the basis that Sky Blue’s case was based essentially on a comparison between “apples and pears”.

“Nothing has been revealed since then about the essential structures of the transactions approved by the Council in the decisions under challenge.

“Further, however heavily disguised, the amended claim required Sky Blue to challenge the value of the consideration paid for the council’s ACL shares, a challenge which Sky Blue themselves eschewed before the court on 28 November 2017 and which they were prevented by the court from resurrecting.

“The amendment of the claim has turned out to be nugatory.”

No lawyers for any of the parties were in court today.

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Re: Coventry council taken to court for Ricoh Arena loan

Postby dutchman » Thu Mar 14, 2019 1:43 am

Coventry City owners Sisu will drop legal action IF Wasps agree fair Ricoh deal and council backs new stadium

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COVENTRY City’s owners Sisu say they will drop legal action against the council’s Ricoh Arena sale to Wasps – in exchange for a ‘commercially acceptable’ medium-term Ricoh deal and council support for a new stadium.

Sisu Capital’s ‘Open Letter’ today ends months of silence and comes ahead of crucial talks tomorrow involving all parties in the long-running Ricoh Arena dispute – to be hosted by Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Jeremy Wright MP.

Ricoh Arena owners Wasps have for months controversially refused to extend the Sky Blues’ tenancy at the ground built for it – for after current tenancy arrangements expire at the end of this season.

Wasps have repeatedly insisted Sisu must first drop all legal action,which includes a Supreme Court appeal concerning the council’s 2014 deal, in which Wasps are named as an interested party.

The English Football League is set to host an Extraordinary General Meeting on April 25 in which Coventry City could be expelled from the league – if the club cannot find a temporary home.

The club insists it wants to stay at the Ricoh Arena and has called for talks with Wasps and Ricoh Arena freehold owners the council – but says it is being forced to consider groundshare arrangements with as yet unspecified other clubs.

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