The following document has been circulated to parties who have expressed an interest in purchasing York City Football Club.
The contents of this document in no way constitute an offer for sale of the shares in the Football Club. The document is supplied to parties who have indicated an interest in purchasing the Football Club to assist them in deciding whether or not in the light of the information being supplied in this document they would be in a position to negotiate a formal agreement to acquire the Football Club.
Set out within this document are the details of the guarantees and obligations which have to be met by any party wishing to acquire the shares of the Football Club from Bootham Crescent Holdings plc. It also provides details of the assistance which Bootham Crescent Holdings plc is prepared to give a prospective purchaser in order to retain a professional football club in the City of York.
1. In accordance with Regulation 4.1 of the Football League Ltd the Football Club has given provisional notice of its intention to resign from membership of the Football League Ltd at the end of the current season.
2. In the event that no signed agreement is reached with any prospective owner(s) of the Football Club by March 31, 2002, the Football Club, in accordance with Regulation 4.1 will confirm its resignation from the Football League Ltd, by April 1, 2002. Such resignation would then operate from the end of the current season.
Any parties seeking to acquire the ownership of the Football Club will be required to agree to:-
1. Vacate the ground and premises at Bootham Crescent by June 30, 2002 and relocate to another stadium.
2. Take over the existing contracts of all staff and players employed by the football club at June 30, 2002.
3. Agree that indebtedness between the Football Club and Bootham Crescent Holdings plc at June 30, 2002 is deemed null and void. Similarly, any pre-existing agreements between the Football Club and Bootham Crescent Holdings plc written or verbal will be null and void.
4. Bootham Crescent Holdings plc have had informal discussions with Cannons Leisure Management who have a long lease of the whole sports complex at Huntington from the City of York Council and they have indicated that they would welcome the Football Club as a tenant at Huntington Stadium. The Stadium is currently also used by the Rugby League Club and by an Athletics Club. The existing facilities at Huntington Stadium however would need to be improved to meet the ground criteria for membership of the Football League Ltd. In essence this means increasing the capacity to a minimum of 6000 including 2000 seats under cover (the present capacity is 3246 including 861 seats under cover). The conversion of the present covered Popular Stand into a seated stand for approximately 1600 is a comparatively simple process although more costly. Other matters which will require attention include the number of turnstiles and the quality of the floodlighting.
5. Any prospective owner of the Football Club re-locating to Huntington Stadium has available from Bootham Crescent the current floodlights, the existing seating, all fixtures, equipment, furniture, machinery and these can be removed from Bootham Crescent Stadium at no cost other than removal and re-fixing expenses.
6. The floodlights currently in place at Bootham Crescent could be installed at Huntington Stadium and the existing floodlights at Huntington could be transferred to the Football Club's Training Ground. The electrical supply at the Training Ground is capable of accommodating floodlights.
7. Bootham Crescent Holdings plc will be prepared to:-
1. transfer the freehold of the Training Ground to the new owners at no cost.
2. make its property at 33 Grosvenor Terrace, which is currently used as a hostel for the Youth Trainees, available on a full repairing lease basis at a reasonable rental.
3. undertake to pay off any overdraft and/or bridging loans which the Football Club has with the Bank at 30 June 2002. This is dependent upon the balance of any player transfer fees due being credited against the overdraft and/or bridging loan.
4. make a contribution to the prospective owner(s) of the Football Club of either £400,000 or the difference between the amount of the overdraft and/or bridging loan at 30 June 2002 and £1,000,000 whichever is the greater. This contribution will be for the sole purchase of improving Huntington Stadium and the Training Ground. It will not be available unless a bone fide Supporters Group has a significant holding in a new ownership of the Football Club. In addition such expertise as the present Directors possess will be made available if requested to enable the transition to take place in as smooth and economic a manner as possible.
8. If the prospective owner(s) of the Football Club wish to acquire Bootham Crescent Holdings plc of which the Football Club is a wholly owned subsidiary, the total price is £4,500,000 plus, and none of Paragraphs 3 to 7 above applies. The final date for agreement however is 31 March, 2002.
9. Bootham Crescent Holdings plc reserve the right to vary or amend any or all of the specific financial positions outlined in Paragraphs 3.3, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 and 8 above.
Updated: 09:37 Wednesday, January 09, 2002
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