?2.59m for a car-park

is a rabble-rousing exaggeration on my part. But not much of one. The ?2.59m was the loan used to buy land from LSE and which is known as the "Phase Two Development". All they have actually done with the land is put that small car park on it. The remainder has, or had, detailed planning consent and it is hoped that it will be sold for development. It is this loan that is due to be repaid next month. You can form your own view as to whether they will sell the land anytime soon, and whether they will get back what they paid for it.

This transaction forms part of a pattern. In around about 2000 they appointed a guy from London called Tim Collins to advise them on property matters. He is, or was then, the husband of Noreen Collins, Mr WYnn-Jones's PA at New Crane. Since then there have been a series of incidents of the football club making substantialy less from its property investments than it thought (or at least publicly claimed) that it would. The problem with this is that expenditure has been planned on the basis of these inflated expectations: most notably back in around in 2003 or so concerns were raised that the construction of the new South Stand was beyond the means of the club (remember this was AFTER the collapse of ITV Digital) and would burden the club with debt. Doncaster's response was that the South Stand and infill could be entirely financed from revenues generated by property development (behind the River End and the Hotel). In fact every single penny was borrowed and the burdensome debt thus acquired is what has tied the hands of every manager since (remember it was Cark Moore who paid for promotion). Doncaster has detailed some of the mistakes that led to this (GIYLF).

It would cost money and a lot of time to work out exactly what has happened with the land: at least 5 companies are involved and the land has been transferred between them with money whizzing in and out as loans are taken out and then paid off. I lack the forensic skills to disentangle it, and personally I think it's a shame that Archant haven't had a go at it.

Posted By: Reg Presley on November 12th 2008 at 00:54:11

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