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Wrexham Article (Eye opener)
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Wardy
NSC's Benefits Guru
Clued-up football supporters have for years suspected that the parade of businessmen arriving from nowhere to "save" imperilled clubs are, in reality, too often motivated by grabbing clubs' historic grounds on their prime town-centre sites and making a coin from developing them. Wrexham, crisis club of the moment, has, following a high court ruling last week, finally, emotionally, been reunited with its famous Racecourse Ground - home, with a small break, since 1872. It gives the club, which is still in administration, a fighting chance of survival.
Article continues
The ruling undoes the manoeuvring of Mark Guterman and Alex Hamilton, the Cheshire-based property developers who bought the club in March 2002, acquired the Racecourse Ground freehold and transferred it to Hamilton's company, then changed the terms of Wrexham's lease. Hamilton, last July, gave the club 12 months' notice to quit, saying he wanted a "big cheque" for the ground or it would soon be a retail park.
Wrexham fans campaigned, formed a trust, enlisted support nationwide, but were told throughout that although Guterman and Hamilton's thrusts were sharp, they were entitled to make them. The judge, Alistair Norris QC, ruled comprehensively last week that this is in fact not so, saying Guterman was in breach of his duties as the chairman and a director of the club when he bought the Racecourse Ground for his own and Hamilton's benefit. Ordering Hamilton to return the ground to the club, the judge said: "It is fanciful to suggest that Mr Hamilton acted in good faith."
The decision followed the discovery of agreements Hamilton and Guterman made when they first embarked on what they called "the Wrexham project". The judge highlighted one sentence in particular, in which Hamilton and Guterman clarified their intentions: "The management and control of the football club is to be on an equal control basis," they set out, "with the main or sole objective to realise the maximum potential gain from the property assets of the football club for the benefit of [Mr Hamilton] and [Mr Guterman]."
Cut it out, frame it, post it on messageboards. This is a landmark, the revelation of an agreement, in writing, signed by two property developers, that the "main or sole objective" of their becoming involved in a 133-year-old, fondly and fiercely supported football club was to make as much money as they possibly could from its ground.
Guterman went to Hamilton with "the Wrexham project" in February 2002. Wrexham were owned by a local newspaper wholesaler, Pryce Griffiths, and although the finances were draughty the club enjoyed security of tenure at the ground - in 1998 Griffiths' Wrexham paid £750,000 for a 125-year lease at a peppercorn rent to the brewery that had long owned the ground.
Griffiths agreed to sell to Guterman in March 2002. Hamilton, according to the judgment, lent Guterman money in exchange for sharing profits of any property deals, and Hamilton also provided the cash for "the Wrexham project" by paying Griffiths £50,000 for the club.
Guterman became a Wrexham director and the club chairman, although he was not formally appointed until June 1, and began negotiating to buy the freehold from the brewery, agreeing a price of £300,000. In fact, he was buying the ground for Hamilton's company, Crucialmove; Guterman and the club's secretary, David Rhodes, signed a document stating that the club was acting only as a "trustee" for Crucialmove. When, on June 25 2002, the club completed the purchase, the ground was immediately transferred to Crucialmove.
In June 2003 Guterman and Rhodes went to Hamilton's home in Cheshire, asking for more money to pay an Inland Revenue bill. Hamilton says he was furious. He agreed to give them £300,000, but insisted that, in return, the club rip up its 125-year lease. This is an odd episode - Hamilton owned both the club and the ground, so he (the landlord) says he was incandescent with himself (the tenant). The three men scrawled a document, in which the club "surrendered" its security and accepted a new lease which could be terminated with 12 months' notice. From paying nothing, the club was now to pay £30,000 rent a year. If the freehold were sold, the club was to be paid £1m, or one third of its value, whichever was greater.
That was Hamilton's plan: to get the club off the Racecourse, sell the site to some superstore chain he thought might pay up to £20m, give the club a third of the proceeds to build a new stadium on the edge of town, and Hamilton would walk away with the rest.
Wrexham fans were horrified - when they found out - but Hamilton insisted it had all been done properly. A year ago, he went through it all with me. I found the handwritten surrender of the 125-year lease, possibly the most dismal of all the assorted pieces of paper club owners have used over the last 15 years to make money out of football. Hamilton insisted that the way he and Guterman had relieved Wrexham of its ground was, at all times, strictly proper.
The judge has trashed that assertion. He found that when Guterman became chairman, the club no longer held regular board meetings, then at the first one, on June 10 2002, the minutes do not record Guterman even mentioning the club having contracted to buy the ground, that it was doing so "on trust" for Hamilton's company, that Guterman was also a director of that company or that the pair were to split between them any profit from developing the ground.
Four of the club's directors gave evidence that they were unaware of the ground deal. Guterman, as the club's chairman and director, had, the judge found, "fiduciary duties" to act in the best interests of Wrexham, the trust deed was improper, and Hamilton must, or ought to, have known that.
"A fiduciary position in the club has been misused for the benefit of those interested in the exploitation of its property assets," the judge said.
The administrator, David Acland of the firm Begbies Traynor, brought the court challenge, and the restoration of the Racecourse Ground to the club gives him a fighting chance of selling the club to people who might be interested in taking better care of it. Arriving at a press conference to announce the judgment, Acland found 400 people outside, fans ecstatic, grown men crying. "It shows how important football clubs are to their supporters," Acland said.
Hamilton still owns the club, and is likely to make money from a sale, which should pay off Wrexham's creditors, including the Inland Revenue, in full. It is not yet clear whether Hamilton will seek to appeal the decision.
Rob Griffiths, of Wrexham Supporters Trust, which has raised over £200,000 and is now running the club's shop and merchandising operation, said he hoped this ruling is a milestone. "If you are determined and stand your ground, you can make a difference. We looked at what was done and said it couldn't be right; now we have proof that it wasn't."
Despite the hurdles to overcome, the Guardian understands that over the weekend a number of Wrexham's campaigning supporters did allow themselves quite a lot to drink.
Article continues
The ruling undoes the manoeuvring of Mark Guterman and Alex Hamilton, the Cheshire-based property developers who bought the club in March 2002, acquired the Racecourse Ground freehold and transferred it to Hamilton's company, then changed the terms of Wrexham's lease. Hamilton, last July, gave the club 12 months' notice to quit, saying he wanted a "big cheque" for the ground or it would soon be a retail park.
Wrexham fans campaigned, formed a trust, enlisted support nationwide, but were told throughout that although Guterman and Hamilton's thrusts were sharp, they were entitled to make them. The judge, Alistair Norris QC, ruled comprehensively last week that this is in fact not so, saying Guterman was in breach of his duties as the chairman and a director of the club when he bought the Racecourse Ground for his own and Hamilton's benefit. Ordering Hamilton to return the ground to the club, the judge said: "It is fanciful to suggest that Mr Hamilton acted in good faith."
The decision followed the discovery of agreements Hamilton and Guterman made when they first embarked on what they called "the Wrexham project". The judge highlighted one sentence in particular, in which Hamilton and Guterman clarified their intentions: "The management and control of the football club is to be on an equal control basis," they set out, "with the main or sole objective to realise the maximum potential gain from the property assets of the football club for the benefit of [Mr Hamilton] and [Mr Guterman]."
Cut it out, frame it, post it on messageboards. This is a landmark, the revelation of an agreement, in writing, signed by two property developers, that the "main or sole objective" of their becoming involved in a 133-year-old, fondly and fiercely supported football club was to make as much money as they possibly could from its ground.
Guterman went to Hamilton with "the Wrexham project" in February 2002. Wrexham were owned by a local newspaper wholesaler, Pryce Griffiths, and although the finances were draughty the club enjoyed security of tenure at the ground - in 1998 Griffiths' Wrexham paid £750,000 for a 125-year lease at a peppercorn rent to the brewery that had long owned the ground.
Griffiths agreed to sell to Guterman in March 2002. Hamilton, according to the judgment, lent Guterman money in exchange for sharing profits of any property deals, and Hamilton also provided the cash for "the Wrexham project" by paying Griffiths £50,000 for the club.
Guterman became a Wrexham director and the club chairman, although he was not formally appointed until June 1, and began negotiating to buy the freehold from the brewery, agreeing a price of £300,000. In fact, he was buying the ground for Hamilton's company, Crucialmove; Guterman and the club's secretary, David Rhodes, signed a document stating that the club was acting only as a "trustee" for Crucialmove. When, on June 25 2002, the club completed the purchase, the ground was immediately transferred to Crucialmove.
In June 2003 Guterman and Rhodes went to Hamilton's home in Cheshire, asking for more money to pay an Inland Revenue bill. Hamilton says he was furious. He agreed to give them £300,000, but insisted that, in return, the club rip up its 125-year lease. This is an odd episode - Hamilton owned both the club and the ground, so he (the landlord) says he was incandescent with himself (the tenant). The three men scrawled a document, in which the club "surrendered" its security and accepted a new lease which could be terminated with 12 months' notice. From paying nothing, the club was now to pay £30,000 rent a year. If the freehold were sold, the club was to be paid £1m, or one third of its value, whichever was greater.
That was Hamilton's plan: to get the club off the Racecourse, sell the site to some superstore chain he thought might pay up to £20m, give the club a third of the proceeds to build a new stadium on the edge of town, and Hamilton would walk away with the rest.
Wrexham fans were horrified - when they found out - but Hamilton insisted it had all been done properly. A year ago, he went through it all with me. I found the handwritten surrender of the 125-year lease, possibly the most dismal of all the assorted pieces of paper club owners have used over the last 15 years to make money out of football. Hamilton insisted that the way he and Guterman had relieved Wrexham of its ground was, at all times, strictly proper.
The judge has trashed that assertion. He found that when Guterman became chairman, the club no longer held regular board meetings, then at the first one, on June 10 2002, the minutes do not record Guterman even mentioning the club having contracted to buy the ground, that it was doing so "on trust" for Hamilton's company, that Guterman was also a director of that company or that the pair were to split between them any profit from developing the ground.
Four of the club's directors gave evidence that they were unaware of the ground deal. Guterman, as the club's chairman and director, had, the judge found, "fiduciary duties" to act in the best interests of Wrexham, the trust deed was improper, and Hamilton must, or ought to, have known that.
"A fiduciary position in the club has been misused for the benefit of those interested in the exploitation of its property assets," the judge said.
The administrator, David Acland of the firm Begbies Traynor, brought the court challenge, and the restoration of the Racecourse Ground to the club gives him a fighting chance of selling the club to people who might be interested in taking better care of it. Arriving at a press conference to announce the judgment, Acland found 400 people outside, fans ecstatic, grown men crying. "It shows how important football clubs are to their supporters," Acland said.
Hamilton still owns the club, and is likely to make money from a sale, which should pay off Wrexham's creditors, including the Inland Revenue, in full. It is not yet clear whether Hamilton will seek to appeal the decision.
Rob Griffiths, of Wrexham Supporters Trust, which has raised over £200,000 and is now running the club's shop and merchandising operation, said he hoped this ruling is a milestone. "If you are determined and stand your ground, you can make a difference. We looked at what was done and said it couldn't be right; now we have proof that it wasn't."
Despite the hurdles to overcome, the Guardian understands that over the weekend a number of Wrexham's campaigning supporters did allow themselves quite a lot to drink.
Tommy Cook reporting
New member
Er, does this mean that we can have our Goldstone back, sue Archer etc for the money we've spent on the Planning application, Withdean, going to Gillingham and so on, and still get a brand spanking new ground?
Thanks Wrexham!!!
Thanks Wrexham!!!
attila
1997 Club
This is the decision we should have had over 10 years ago.
It will go a good way to stopping pinstriped vultures from shafting football fans.
Well done, Wrexham!
It will go a good way to stopping pinstriped vultures from shafting football fans.
Well done, Wrexham!
Barrel of Fun
Abort, retry, fail
If only we it was a backdated ruling as well!
One day Archer et Al will get what they deserve, if I was religious I would say hell. But I would never want to be detested by so many people. Can they sleep at night? I couldn't
One day Archer et Al will get what they deserve, if I was religious I would say hell. But I would never want to be detested by so many people. Can they sleep at night? I couldn't
Leekbrookgull
Well-known member
Amazing,not covered by SCOOP,hARRY hARRIS
According to the Red Passion messageboard Hamilton is going to try and seek leave to appeal.
http://www.red-passion.com/
http://www.red-passion.com/
hamilton
Yep! The looney one has asked for leave to appeal, this could be just his way of wasting some time as if we are still in administration at the end of the season, under current rules we would be thrown out of the league!
P.S. Hope the decision goes your way tomorrow!
Yep! The looney one has asked for leave to appeal, this could be just his way of wasting some time as if we are still in administration at the end of the season, under current rules we would be thrown out of the league!
P.S. Hope the decision goes your way tomorrow!
Leekbrookgull
Well-known member
Read,Hamilton/Gutterman aka, Archer and Stanley 