The OP (v1.0 and v2.0) and I have debated (with some heat) that question at length already on this thread and previously. No-one appears to have any indication that any outside investor has approached the club. The OP believes no such investor has actually ever been sought, despite the public appeals for one when Caisley went; I have assumed none has actually ever come forward - or at least none deemed a realistic option. Neither of us (I think) knows who is right.

I have already summarised the shareholdings earlier in this thread. Unless anything major has happened since January (not impossible, but no evidence) The current BOD owns less than 7% of the shares. As last reported, well over 2/3 of the shares are in the hands of former/retired directors. Caisley - he who seemed so keen to see the Burgesses move to OZ, just happening to be their agent - was reported as holding around 26% - enough to block a Special Resolution should he so wish, the only shareholder with a holding big enough to do so and therefore remaining the most powerful shareholder.

The OP has made the very pertinent point earlier that this shareholding setup is hardly ideal or conducive to securing external investment. On that, if not maybe on some other matters, we are both in violent agreement.

thing to remember is we only pay a peppercorn rent for odsal. so the 200k upkeep is effectively our 'rent'. If we walked away we'd have to pay back the 1.4 million as a lump sum immediately plaus shell out a decent sum to rent a stadium as well. Not sure what going rate is but arent city paying out 700k+ a year for VP?. makes the 200k figure seem like a bargain (although I expect the actual maintenance costs are a fair bit higher than that, but still less than it would cost to rent somewhere else).

I'm sure I remember at the last fan's forum Andrew Bennett saying information packs had been sent to potential wealthy backers

Yeah he did. They were writing to all sorts of potential investors to try and get them involved.

I do hope to God that we never actually managed to attract any. Not sure how I'd feel if I'd invested and then saw the club p!ssing the money away on the quality of players we signed.

Adey, do you not feel that if a potential investor had been rebuffed by the board or chairman (s)he would have gone public with it? Speaking personally, if I were (I should be so lucky, btw) in that position, as a fan who wanted the best for the club, that is [iexactly[/i what I would do.

Indeed I do:



Which is why I find it hard to subscribe to the OP's argument that the club has either not sought investors, or has rebutted any who might have been interested.