Ian Perkins (Page 85)

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Prior to recording our interview with Councillor John Clark for episode #172 of the Gloverscast, he shared the below detail with us regarding SSDC’s purchase and leaseback of Huish Park and the surrounding land.

Below you will find a summary of the situation and answers to questions put to SSDC by The Glovers Trust.

The purchase and leaseback by South Somerset District Council of the ground at Yeovil Town FC – summary and questions answered

  • In late 2020, after serious financial losses due to Covid, YTFC approached South Somerset District Council (SSDC) for help. At this point, the owners had made substantial borrowings to survive, but danger of liquidation was threatening continued operation
  • As SSDC considers the football club to be of great economic and community value, it agreed to look for ways it could help
  • SSDC considered the request alongside other constraints such as 
    • A solution of maximum benefit to the club in the short term, with good prospects of emerging from any obligation in the medium term.
    • A fair return on taxpayers’ money, in line with the Council’s Commercial Strategy.
    • Risk to taxpayers’ money adequately protected. In particular, if the football club were to fail completely, then the leases would become null and void and the Council would assume vacant possession.
    • SSDC did not wish to take any part in the operational running of the football club.
  • SSDC therefore made a purchase and leaseback offer to release funds to the club. This offer followed the transparent route of approval in a public District Executive meeting, and was scrutinised by the Scrutiny Committee (also a public meeting). Features of this offer were: –
    • Separate leases for the core footballing area and the ‘non-core area’
    • Annual rental to be paid for the footballing area, but with no payment in the first year
    • A financial allowance to buy out restrictive covenants
    • A route for the club to take back the freehold as soon as possible, by development on the non-core land with the assistance of SSDC (within planning policy constraints)
    • The property titles that passed to SSDC must be free from any charges related to lending (thus some of the loans would have to be redeemed).
  • Many months followed during which attempts were made to seek other buyers for the club. According to the Chairman, one such offer was accepted but the money was not forthcoming. During this period, the SSDC offer remained on the table
  • Earlier this month legal agreements were completed to finalise acceptance of the SSDC offer and the titles of the land and assets passed to SSDC

Answers to questions

  1. What is the name of the leaseholder?
    Both leases are in the name of the Yeovil Football & Athletic Club Limited (YFAC). 
  2. How much money from the deal will be used to cover debts that have been taken on to purchase and run the football club?
    The money to purchase the club is from the Capital Budget of SSDC, approved in a public meeting of the Council. How much of the money is used to cover debts that were taken to keep the club afloat is a matter for the owner, although as mentioned, any debts that have a charge on the land have to be paid off under the terms of the purchase and leaseback deal.
  3. After the first rent free year, what are the annual rental payments? What percentage of the annual budget will this represent?  What is the long term plan for making these payments sustainable?
    These are matters for the owner to respond if he wishes. As stated above, if developments on the non-core land successfully raise sufficient capital to repay the SSDC investment, then the rent is cancelled and the core area freehold returns to YFAC.
  4. What safeguards or guarantees (if any) are there within this agreement to ensure the club benefits from this deal, both in the immediacy and the long term?
    The agreement releases capital to the owner to help with financial viability, but as SSDC has been clear from the start that it does not wish to play any part in the operational running of the football club, the agreement does not control how the owner runs the club. However one may observe that it would not be in the interest of the present owner or any successor to default unnecessarily on the deal as any chance of upside on the developments would be lost.

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It’s time for the weekly YeoGov poll. This week we want to know: Which position do you think is the biggest priority for the Glovers to recruit in this summer? Let us know your reasoning the comments below.

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Last week (before the SSDC deal was announced) we asked you if, following the latest updates you felt Yeovil Town had a bright future under Scott Priestnall’s ownership?

An ovewhelming 93% of 313 voters (293) felt that we do not. With just 22 people (7%) voting that they think we do. We can probably deduce that the #PriestnallTapes failed to do what they were meant to and that there is some way to go to repair the relationship between the owner and supporters of the club.

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Following Friday’s announcement confirming SSDC’s purchase of Huish Park and the surrounding land, we asked our readers who they thought would benefit the most from the deal.

Thank you to the 310 supporters who voted. 204 of you (65.8%) felt that Scott Priestnall would benefit the most. 54 (17.4%) thought SSDC would benefit the most and 52 (16.8%) thought the football club would benefit the most.

There’s no question that this deal remains controversial amongst supporters and that both Scott Priestnall and SSDC will have to provide further clarity and reassurances to supporters.

This week we will be welcoming Councillor John Clark, Portfolio Holder of Economic Development at SSDC, on to the Gloverscast to put some questions to him about the deal now that it is concluded.

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With the news of SSDC completing their purchase of Huish Park emerging on Friday, it feels like a lifetime ago that Chris Hargreaves was announced as the new manager of Yeovil Town FC.

While he was not a favourite for the job in the eyes of supporters (58% of Gloverscast readers wanted Jamie McAllister) he was a name that was on the rumour mill in the middle of April.

Having left his role as Bristol Rovers Academy manager in February to pursue first team manager opportunities, it’s been reported that he was unsuccessful in applications for Oxford City and Woking before getting the Glovers job.

As he lines up his coaching team (a former Glover who’s “only gone and done it” is among the rumoured names), there’s a chance of some post-season freshness at Huish Park – in the dugout at least.

Hargreaves experience since ‘taking Torquay out of the football league’ (as the negative narrative is) has been largely focussed on youth football and the academy system at Exeter City, Bournemouth and Bristol Rovers. His history at this south/southwest triumvirate, within a commutable distance from Huish Park, is probably an indication of the ‘project youth’ strategy Yeovil be taking this season. And who can argue with it?

In his first interview with YTFC.net, Hargreaves said: “Youth development is vital. I said to the players that want to stay at the club, I want to improve them as all coaches and managers do. We want to help them go and play as high as they can. It’s something that is very important to me, they have to produce for the club but we hope to be able to help them along their footballing journey. We have to be as sustainable as possible, so we need to develop our younger players and if the rewards are right for the club and for the player, then brilliant. That has to be a major part of it because producing players is a big part of what a club is about.”

Despite the club’s ‘pretty healthy’ financial position mooted by the chairman, and the recent injection of circa £2.8m, (who’s laughing at the back?) with ever-dropping gates at Huish Park, it’s reasonable to expect the budget will not see signings like Darren Sarll’s first season.

If we’re in the market for young, hungry players who’ve been let go from Rovers, Exeter and Bournemouth we should try and get ourselves to the top of the pile. Hargreaves’ connection with these clubs will hopefully provide Yeovil with a good pipeline of loans and an opportunity to sign some free agents.

Yeovil Town captain Josh Staunton.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

As we await our released and retained list, we’ve secured the most important player in Josh Staunton. His leadership within the squad is obvious and as the standard bearer of the dressing room, he will set the bar for those remaining and those joining. If the core of Staunton, Grant Smith, Morgan Williams, Max Hunt, Tom Knowles and Matty Worthington stay, that’s a good base to build a squad from. 

While Hargreaves wasn’t everyone’s first choice, I was impressed with his first interview with the media. He spoke positively about the club and genuinely seems excited at the opportunity to manager our club. Despite the news which broke on Friday afternoon, I’m cautiously optimistic about the freshening up at Huish Park under his leadership.

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The Glovers Trust have released a statement today saying the long term future of Yeovil Town FC is at risk, following the completion of SSDC’s deal to purchase Huish Park and the surrounding land and lease it back to the club.

The statement reads:

The Glovers Trust note the sale and leaseback agreement announced by Yeovil Town and South Somerset District Council (SSDC) yesterday, the 20th May. We continue to be concerned that the crucial assets of the club have been stripped away from the fabric of our club. For the first time since the 1930s we no longer own our home. We are worried, that this deal has placed the longterm future of our club at risk.

We are disappointed that limited public consultation with fans by both the South Somerset District Council and the Football Club took place. To state that public consultation took place back in 2020, and that the situation remains similar, seems unreasonable considering the landscape of football, the club, and society as a whole has shifted dramatically since then. We are also disappointed that the immediacy of the deal being completed was not made clear to fans and supporter groups.

Notwithstanding the actual sale of the club assets itself, the Glovers Trust have a number of concerns and questions around the terms of the deal with SSDC. Although not an exhaustive list, these concerns include:

  • Within the leaseback agreement, what is the name of the new leaseholder? We would hope this will be Yeovil Town Football & Athletic Club, the footballing part of the business.
  • How much money from the deal will be used to cover debts that have been taken on to purchase and run the football club? 
    After the first rent free year, what are the annual rental payments? What percentage of the annual budget will this represent? What is the long term plan for making these repayments sustainable?
  • What safeguards or guarantees (if any) are there within this agreement to ensure the club benefits from this deal, both in the immediacy and long term?
  • We understand many fans are concerned at this time. We will continue to engage with the owners of the club to seek answers.

Many of these questions are the same questions we asked back in 2020 and failed to receive adequate responses. We hope to meet with Scott Priestnall soon in order to ask those questions and share those concerns. If members have questions or concerns of their own, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

In December 2020 the Trust board activated the Asset of Community Value held on the site, triggering a six-month moratorium period and preventing the sale.

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Gloversblog: No ground left to stand on

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Earlier today, Yeovil Town FC and SSDC confirmed that the £2.8m sale and leaseback deal of Huish Park was completed. You can read all about that here.

This deal is not without controversy, with plenty of supporters taking to social media to make their views known either way.

But, we’d like those of a green and white persuasion to answer the question below.

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After the Legends Game special on Monday, Ian, Ben and Dave are back on Zoom with a bit of everything and more.

We hear from:

Morgan Williams about his season and his Glovies.

Kevin Nicholson about the Legends Game and his mate Chris Hargreaves.

Plus we catch up about Altrincham, the Legends Game and, of course, our brand new manager, Chris Hargreaves.

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Yeovil Town have announced the arrival of Chris Hargreaves as the club’s new First Team Manager.

Somerset’s worst kept secret was reported ‘exclusively’ by BristolLive on Monday, and the club confirmed his appointment this morning.

The 50-year-old, who has signed a two-year contract, told YTFC.net: “It feels fantastic to be here. I’m delighted to be at such a brilliant football club. Yeovil Town has an immense fan base and a great history, I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”

The former Bristol Rovers Academy Manager has plenty of experience coaching at youth level and he left Rovers to step into a first team role.

His last first team appointment was at Torquay United between 2014 and 2015, when the club were relegated out of the Football League. He ended his playing career at Plainmoor including captaining them to victory in the National League play-off final in 2009.

You’ll also recognise Hargreaves from BT Sport’s coverage of the National League.

There are no details given around any team coming to Huish Park with Hargreaves, who faces the media for the first time this lunchtime.

Welcome to Huish Park, Chris!

 

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It’s time for the weekly YeoGov poll. This week we want to know: Following the last updates from Scott Priestnall, do you think YTFC has a bright future under his ownership? Let us know your reasoning the comments below.

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Last week we asked if you if you felt Yeovil had overachieved, underachieved or performed as you expected this season. Here are the results.

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We also asked who you would choose to be a next YTFC manager from the names Coatesie wildly speculated, the results are below.

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