Clarification from Paul Barber on Dick Knight Selling his shares

[Arthur]

A conspiracy theory.

Dick knows that he will not be able to sell his shares to fans but says it anyway = day of book launch gets 100 times the publicity it would have without this offer.

Withdraws offer later in the week and blames the club.

Job done.

(by the way I love Dick!)

How do you do it Holmes?

IF the club says 'no' then the only reason they will have to do so is to stop shares being owned by the common and garden fan - if this is the outcome then I will be very disappointed in the other shareholders and ultimately TB, the major share holder.

We've got fans as shareholders now!?! I'm struggling to see why you keep banging this drum on various threads. It'll mean **** all anyway.

Knight is just coming across as a very bitter man. What he did for the club should never be forgotten but the club have moved on. It seems as though Knight hasn't and based on his radio interview yesterday it all stems back to the fact that he didn't get to hand the reins over to TB at the first game at the Amex.

Knight as ever is desperate for the limelight, TB as ever doesn't want to know. In my eyes that makes TB the bigger man.

As I said yesterday Knight could have walked away from the club a hero in the eyes of everyone at the club. Now sadly he trying his damnedest to upset the apple cart all in the name of flogging a few books.

 

[Greavsey]

Anyone feel like the club are now in a position where they might have to honour the sale of the shares to fans rather than absorbing them into Tony's share to discourage any bad feeling? Might now be the honourable thing to do, and probably exactly what DK wanted having backed them into a corner.

Feels like a gesture that could be made on the proviso that there is one nominated representative of the fans shareholding...

 

[Ernest]

ANYONE who thinks Dick Tight has now GOT a TARNISHED reputation is talking bollocks as he NEVER had a reputation to TARNISH. All he is DOING with this LATEST stunt is RIPPING people off like he DID when he was chairman

 

[The Merry Prankster]

Why the **** should they let us have any shares?
Standard business practice for Knights shares to be offered first to existing shareholders and in this case obvious that they would take them up. Knight would know this. Cheap trick for Knights benefit at our expense. Shoddy behaviour.

 

[attila]

Even if in legal terms it's only a gesture, my heart tells me it's a brilliant one. My head says not to say any more until I'm back from Germany, have read the book and found out exactly what is going on. I don't think Dick is desperate for the limelight, he's just doing what comes naturally

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

I am simply pointing out that there would be things DK could do that would tarnish his reputation.

Reading this thread and the others, it seems to me that the people who are complaining about what DK seems to be doing are concerned inter alia about:

1. Why has DK gone public without first telling the club that he wishes to sell his shares?
2. Does he intend to ignore the requirement in the Articles to give the club 28 days notice of intent to sell his shares? If so, why?
3. If he is so keen to have fan ownership, why did he not put it into practice during his 12 years of Chairmanship?

To those people, it appears petty &/or vindictive, and rather more than simply plugging a book.

3 very good questions which really need to be answered

 

[y2dave]

Why the **** should they let us have any shares?
Standard business practice for Knights shares to be offered first to existing shareholders and in this case obvious that they would take them up. Knight would know this. Cheap trick for Knights benefit at our expense. Shoddy behaviour.

Is this really just a publicity stunt or DK prompting the board to fully buy him out and boost that 400k retirement fund?

I reckon Knight will get enough interest to sell a fair chunk of his shares and it seems like fan demand will force the existing shareholders to act.

 

[Simster]

As far as I'm concerned there are a small number of posters on this thread who have a shocking lack of respect and perspective. Any true BHAFC fan knows DK is a legend and there is nothing he can possibly do to tarnish his reputation. The man is a hero. It is one thing putting up £125m when you have billions in the bank, but it is quite another putting your entire life and a far greater proportion of your wealth into a football club when nobody else wants to know. I am stunned to read so many people whining about DK going to lengths to promote his book. Have you not realised how releasing a book works? It is generally a good idea to let people know it is available. It is also a good idea to reveal one or two snippets of information that whet the appetite of your potential audience and grab some headlines. Just look at Sir Alex only a few weeks ago, or Sven the other day. DK is not as well known as them, so using every marketing trick in the book is a shrewd move. He has played a blinder today and his book will do well. His is a fascinating story and it will be a hit not only in Sussex. I read Simon Jordan's autobiography on holiday in the summer and it was brilliant (despite my obvious loathing of his club), and I consider DK's story to be comparable in terms of appeal and readership but actually more interesting and amusing than his.

One other thing, to all those who make sarcastic comments about DK milking the money out of this book, may I just ask why on earth that is a problem? I'm sure he does want to sell lots of copies and make plenty of money, that is generally the point of writing a book. But more importantly than that, after he paid out several million pounds to keep BHAFC going over the years, I think a good return on his book is the least he deserves. Even if the book was rubbish (which I am convinced it won't be), I'd more than happily hand over £15 to buy it anyway as a token of my appreciation. It's a pretty small price to pay to recognise the achievements of a man without whom thousands of us wouldn't be going to football every Saturday afternoon.

Very much this.

 

[Giraffe]

3 very good questions which really need to be answered

Indeed

1) PR for the book
2) PR for the book
3) He said at the time it was too expensive to put in place and administer, other things were more of a priority.

 

[Tory Boy]

The club wouldn't have existed without Dick.

The Amex wouldn't have existed without Tony.

I love them both.

TB

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Indeed

1) PR for the book
2) PR for the book
3) He said at the time it was too expensive to put in place and administer, other things were more of a priority.

So it's really just a PR gimmick, best ignored, along with a wish to saddle the club with ongoing expense, which he himself didn't want to pay when in charge

Not worth worrying about then, just his parting shot at Tony. Sad.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

I don't think anyone can begrudge Dick Knight making some cash out of his book, or even his shares if he ends up selling them.

I got the book last night for £15. If it is possible, I'll probably buy a few shares. Just for the novelty factor really.

I am quite happy that £20 in Dick Knight's pocket is the LEAST I could do for the fact he saved our football club.

 

[Don Tmatter]

Anyone know what credentials fans need to have, for DK to allow them to apply?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Why the **** should they let us have any shares?
Standard business practice for Knights shares to be offered first to existing shareholders and in this case obvious that they would take them up. Knight would know this. Cheap trick for Knights benefit at our expense. Shoddy behaviour.

Will the existing shareholders want to buy them at £1 a share though? This price seems grossly inflated which will probably prohibit existing shareholders wanting to snaffle them up. But it seems to be an attractive price for fans who want the novelty of owning a part of the club.

This also raises the question as to whether Knight can legally hold on a price which makes it impractical for the club to buy them? I know this is not always possible with PLCs.

 

[Bold Seagull]

So it's really just a PR gimmick, best ignored, along with a wish to saddle the club with ongoing expense, which he himself didn't want to pay when in charge

Not worth worrying about then, just his parting shot at Tony. Sad.

Is it a parting shot at Tony or football in general? Isn't it Dick's desire to leave a lasting legacy of a football club not being owned by a sole individual? Isn't this both a PR opportunity for the book, and at the same time a point to be made to the media? I note the Guardian picked up on the story today http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/nov/13/dick-knight-brighton-fans-shares

by Amy Lawrence

Not content with masterminding his club's survival and the construction of a beautiful, modern home nestled in the Sussex downs, the former Brighton and Hove Albion chairman Dick Knight has come up with a legacy designed to protect the club from the dangers of being exclusively owned by any one person.

Knight has decided to sell his shares to Albion's fans. Actually he is more or less giving them away. Financial rules insist they be sold rather than a gift, so any supporter eager to own his or her percentage of their club will need to pay Knight a pound for the privilege.

And that is exactly how he sees it: a privilege. To have the right to a say on how the club is run, to have a chance to fight against the tide of corporate influences in football that present clubs as businesses and fans as consumers, something he loathes, is at the heart of his decision. It is a grand gesture that few chairmen or owners would ever even consider, let alone do.

Knight's new book, Mad Man, which details his life in football and the compulsion of a boyhood fan to step in during the club's hours of greatest need, is concluded by a invitation on the last page, for fans to cut out and send him an "Expression of Interest" in a stake of his shareholding. Any eager party needs to inform Knight not only of their contact details, but there is also a requirement to give "a brief synopsis of your Albion-supporting history". Fans will have to convince him that they would have the best interests of his club at heart. Albion's life president intends to vet all potential new shareholders.

"It goes back to when I first took over the club," he explains. "We had an 18-month struggle to overthrow a guy, Bill Archer, who had run the club into the ground. I pledged to the fans at the time: no one person would control the club again. During my time as chairman I never had a majority shareholding.

"Now, because of the economic situation, and the credit crunch that hit as we were building the new stadium, which we were able to do because of [the current chairman] Tony Bloom's generosity, one person has just over 90% of the shares. I simply feel that the very club where the fans stepped up to save it, future boards should continue the tradition of always having fans involved and listened to. It is important they will always have a voice.

"Generally in football fans are patronised most of the time. This is to make sure that is not the case at our club. It is especially pertinent as without the fans would there even be a Brighton and Hove Albion?"

Knight's move is impassioned and imaginative – the combination of personal resources he drew upon to rescue the club in its desperate days. He has over a million shares, but insists this handover has nothing to do with raising some funds, and everything to do with ensuring a say for Albion fans directly to the board, at annual general meetings.

Mad Man tells of the extraordinary renaissance Knight inspired. The book's subtitle is "From the gutter to the stars" which more or less sums up how Albion were at rock bottom, and fought for years for an even footing. Their plight when he took over – in a homeless, debt-ridden nightmare under the ownership of a DIY tycoon who slowly stripped the club of its assets – and the rebuilding process that took them to a healthy position as thriving club with a terrific stadium and big aspirations, remains a cautionary tale about the perils of bad ownership.

The passing of the baton to the fans in the form of his shares is his way of hoping the club's best values remain intact.

 

[Simster]

Is it a parting shot at Tony or football in general? Isn't it Dick's desire to leave a lasting legacy of a football club not being owned by a sole individual?

It's a parting shot at Tony. Clearly.

As has been said, why didn't he offer shares when the club was on HIS watch then? He did a great thing running the club in difficult times, but lets not pretend he wasn't driven in part by his own ego, surrounding himself with his own inner circle rather than expanding ownership to a wider circle of fans.

 

[Gullflyinghigh]

Anyone know what credentials fans need to have, for DK to allow them to apply?

To allow them to apply; buy the book.

I would imagine that anyone that applies would be successful, the book's already been sold, job done.

 

[jgmcdee]

Why the **** should they let us have any shares?
Standard business practice for Knights shares to be offered first to existing shareholders and in this case obvious that they would take them up. Knight would know this. Cheap trick for Knights benefit at our expense. Shoddy behaviour.

Another point on this is that the shareholders' agreement might provide details on assigning a value to the shares if they are to be purchased by existing shareholders, so they may well cost the existing shareholders far less to purchase them than the £1/share that DK is proposing.

 

[Wozza]

Is it a parting shot at Tony or football in general? Isn't it Dick's desire to leave a lasting legacy of a football club not being owned by a sole individual? Isn't this both a PR opportunity for the book, and at the same time a point to be made to the media? I note the Guardian picked up on the story today http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/nov/13/dick-knight-brighton-fans-shares

Thanks for that, Captain Yesterday.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Knight has decided to sell his shares to Albion's fans. Actually he is more or less giving them away. Financial rules insist they be sold rather than a gift, so any supporter eager to own his or her percentage of their club will need to pay Knight a pound for the privilege.

I've asked this already, but not seen an answer - has it actually been clarified, that the intention IS to sell ONE share for ONE pound? That is NOT what the above Knight quote actually says.