Burnley announced planned sell off of the Turf!

By Turftalker
November 27 2004

Burnley Football Club tonight announced plans to sell Turf Moor and training ground Gawthorpe to a new company set up by Chairman Barry Kilby, and director/property tycoon John Sullivan. The deal is worth £3 million pounds.

The following is what the Longside can garner about the proposed deal, that has been accepted by the board, but will be voted on by shareholders in December.

- Turf Moor and Gawthorpe will be sold for £3 million. This will more or less wipe out our £3.6 million debt and allow us to avoid paying large interests payments (last year £297k approx)

- The stadium will be leased back to us for 99 years, while Gawthorpe will be leased back for 35 years.

- The football club will pay £320k rent per annum.

- The club can buy both assets back within that 99 year/ 35 year period. The price is set at £3.3 million for the next 10 years.

(More details are still coming out - and exact figures may be slightly different)

This deal on face values looks good, but from a personal view point I have deep concerns that it is merely a short term solution to a long term set of problems.

It does not pay off the entire debt, it leaves us with rent payments which are larger than the interest payments and within 10 years the new owners will have recouped the initial outlay and could ulitmately charge us any figure to buy back the assets.

Why has Gawthorpe only got a 25 year lease? Why are we paying 10.7% of the sale price in annual rent? Who else is part of this new company and what happens if Barry Kilby sells it? How can we afford to pay £320k rent and save £330k per year to buy the ground back in 10 years?

These are just a few questions - the debate is set to go on, but with the major shareholders backing it, it is likely to go through. Burnley FC will no longer have any stable assets.

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