How on earth can we be losing £8 million a year?

[Thunder Bolt]

There does seem to have been a huge turnover in backroom staff, which could have resulted in paying off contracts, Brown, Stephenson etc. I also remember someone (Oatway?) commenting that at Withdean there were about 24 staff in the offices and now there are hundreds.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

OK

Right lets have a quick price workout. I'm basing this on straight forward commercially supplied pies very very similar to Piglets (Chefs Pantry who supplied my businesses based in Sussex)

Before discount for multiple orders

12 "hand-made" pies £18-95 this includes them being pre-cooked ready for re-heating. £2.25 per pie inc. delivery

The cost of reheating said pies and selling them (% of all catering costs per pie) can not possibly exceed 10p a pie. Therefore making, supplying, reheating and selling said pies is £2.35 per pie (perhaps vat included if the club decides to pay it, which is open to many a discussion!! THE PIE TAX), the rest is profit, well well over your 30 or even 50p.

Oh right and how many pies were chefs pantry making and selling everyday 6 days a week?

Bit different to making 12000 pies once every two weeks and selling them in one day?

Oh and what happens if you make 12000 pies ready for 3pm on Saturday and the game gets called off at 9am?
Do they bring them back when the match is rescheduled?

Big difference in running stadia catering than supplying retail - you can tell 12 customers you sold out or didn't get a delivery what what do you give the 12000? Loaves & fishes?

 

[somerset]

OK

Right lets have a quick price workout. I'm basing this on straight forward commercially supplied pies very very similar to Piglets (Chefs Pantry who supplied my businesses based in Sussex)

Before discount for multiple orders

12 "hand-made" pies £18-95 this includes them being pre-cooked ready for re-heating. £2.25 per pie inc. delivery

The cost of reheating said pies and selling them (% of all catering costs per pie) can not possibly exceed 10p a pie. Therefore making, supplying, reheating and selling said pies is £2.35 per pie (perhaps vat included if the club decides to pay it, which is open to many a discussion!! THE PIE TAX), the rest is profit, well well over your 30 or even 50p.

But there you have it, there would be huge discount on big orders like this, plus these orders are repeated twenty odd times a season..... I don't know what the discount would be exactly, but I would expect it to be leading to a unit price that is 50% at most of the final retail price.

 

[JCL - the new kid in town]

I believe in most businesses the biggest drain on profit is wages, however there are various reasons for a loss to be posted. I'm by no means an expert but isn't juggling the figures to pay less tax part of it. I was told if you make the same amount of profit each year you get taxed more than making a large profit one year and a big loss the next even though the average profit is the same. I think its to do with writing certain expenses/profits into different years if possible. I could be completely wrong though

 

[Chicken Runner61]

Another set of random unsupported statements...... Tax, never, who would have thought it eh?!?

We are talking about a 3.50 pie even with piltdown mans figures he is only at £1.65 profit and I have given reasons why I doubt his guesswork is right!

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Oh right and how many pies were chefs pantry making and selling everyday 6 days a week?

Bit different to making 12000 pies once every two weeks and selling them in one day?

Oh and what happens if you make 12000 pies ready for 3pm on Saturday and the game gets called off at 9am?
Do they bring them back when the match is rescheduled?



Big difference in running stadia catering than supplying retail - you can tell 12 customers you sold out or didn't get a delivery what what do you give the 12000? Loaves & fishes?

So are you telling me they make each batch ready fresh for the next game, I doubt that very much. One would expect that they have at least two games supply squirelled away in a commercial refrigerator unit.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

We are talking about a 3.50 pie even with piltdown mans figures he is only at £1.65 profit and I have given reasons why I doubt his guesswork is right!

Wouldn't say guess work with plucked from thin air figures but based on some knowledge that I've got from being in the catering trade.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

But there you have it, there would be huge discount on big orders like this, plus these orders are repeated twenty odd times a season..... I don't know what the discount would be exactly, but I would expect it to be leading to a unit price that is 50% at most of the final retail price.

Yes but piglets are a franchise to the Albion and these pies are specially made not mass produced. Making them for match days is more difficult than supplying retail. And what do piglets do the other 30 weeks of the year ? I know they were trying to sell elsewhere and they probably do other catering but this was set up with the Amex in mind!

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

But there you have it, there would be huge discount on big orders like this, plus these orders are repeated twenty odd times a season..... I don't know what the discount would be exactly, but I would expect it to be leading to a unit price that is 50% at most of the final retail price.

I would certainly hope so yes.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

Wouldn't say guess work with plucked from thin air figures but based on some knowledge that I've got from being in the catering trade.

Yes ok but have you honestly considered the match day implications and the problems that go with that?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

No way will they be able to get people to pay for the train service, although that's more of a problem for Southern Rail.

So MAKE it Southern Rail's problem then. They're plenty keen on hassling 'customers' for revenue most other times. Why should the club give them an easy ride by paying the money up front?

 

[Don Quixote]

Thatcher

 

[ferring seagull]

Sorry if this has been mentioned previously, I couldn't see so.

Once the Academy is up and running, operating costs will make things much much worse until the benefits begin to come through but that may be x years away.

Sorry if I am missing something here.

 

[Brixtaan]

I must admit I wasnt surprsied we lost money

Now I maybe out on wage costs, but £8m out? I'm hoping this loss is mainly due to exceptional one off costs. Cos if we cant at least break even with record crowds in these good times, then I really do worry if we go to say 20,000 to 18,000 punters.

This is the crux of the matter but can i ask why you werent surprised?

For me, if the biggest football club in the football league cannot balance the books, WITHOUT DEBT SERVICING COSTS THAT MOST OTHER CLUBS HAVE TO FACTOR IN, then we may as well give up. Im absolutely astounded. I honestly thought we were wealthy beyond our wildest dreams.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

A £3.00 bottle of wine has £1.30 tax on it
A£20 bottle of wine has £1.30 tax on it.
Is the £20 wine making more profit or is £3.00 so cheaply made its rotting your guts!

How much is the £3.00 bottle making in profit when you take the £1.30 tax and a £1 off for the supermarket to sell it?
0.70p? You haven't even allowed for bottling labelling and getting it to the shop yet - the wine must be worth about 0.12p how much profit is made on 12p

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

So, we are losing 8m a year to fund a team to make it to the Premiership where we will almost certainly make even greater loses. Can someone tell me what the point of all this is.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

So, we are losing 8m a year to fund a team to make it to the Premiership where we will almost certainly make even greater loses. Can someone tell me what the point of all this is.

IF we're losing 8m a year it's almost certainly guaranteed to be due to aggressive expansion of the stadium. And if it isn't, then we might as well pack it in right now and go back to Withdean.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Yes ok but have you honestly considered the match day implications and the problems that go with that?

And what are they.

Sorry but when a company ask another to supply it., it gives out it requirements, that company responds and only then if the first company is happy that its requirements can be fulfilled which would be cost and supply mainly then a deal is struck. The first company would not be interested in the other companies problems etc only that their service is as agreed. If it isn't its a breach and good bye.

 

[Steve.S]

Reading the last few pages, you would think it all come down to the pies.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

A £3.00 bottle of wine has £1.30 tax on it
A£20 bottle of wine has £1.30 tax on it.
Is the £20 wine making more profit or is £3.00 so cheaply made its rotting your guts!

How much is the £3.00 bottle making in profit when you take the £1.30 tax and a £1 off for the supermarket to sell it?
0.70p? You haven't even allowed for bottling labelling and getting it to the shop yet - the wine must be worth about 0.12p how much profit is made on 12p

I think you are getting confused I'm afraid.

We are the sodding supermarket in this example so made £1 less our costs (A shelf to put it on!). The profit on the 12p is the winemakers problem. Think you need to read up a bit more on selling stuff.