An update of conversations that CAST have held this week concerning the present takeover situation and future plans.
1. At the invitation of a fan, we held an online meeting with James Rodwell, part of the generally called ‘Methven Group’. He was COO from late December to early February when that group had an exclusivity arrangement with Thomas Sandgaard. The meeting was introductory. Rodwell confirmed a consortium approach and we outlined fan expectations of any future ownership. Should negotiations with Sandgaard progress successfully, Rodwell will provide us and fans with clarity on the investment structure and future plans in short order.
2. In response to our open letter to Thomas Sandgaard, we had a call with Peter Storrie who said to us everything that he put into the video and article that the club published later that day.
3. Yesterday, we met with Storrie again. With the first stage season ticket period about to close, we emphasised the importance of ensuring that watching Charlton remained affordable especially for families. We also made it clear that it was Thomas Sandgaard’s ownership that was the primary reason for people holding back as shown in recent CAST survey results. The club confirmed that season ticket sales were lower than this stage last year. However, as our survey indicated, quite a few fans have bought their tickets or definitely intend to. At that meeting, Peter Storrie said again that there was more than one group interested and that he and others were under various NDAs. We inferred that there could be three or four parties, including the Spiegel group and the Methven group but who knows really? He said that none of those groups is interested in buying The Valley and Training Ground from Duchatelet. The reason he cited was that the overall amount of money required to buy the club and show the EFL a purchaser could fund the loss-making club for two years, was already a considerable amount to raise. He also said that the financial ‘data room’ for any potential buyer was in order, but the legal due diligence connected with the sale is much more complicated.
Supporters will be well aware that various pieces of information are being fed to individual fans, message boards and groups to suit various parties. We are prepared to engage on a formal basis with any / all parties while remaining neutral and questioning of all at this stage.
We want Sandgaard to sell the club and we made this clear to him last December. The Addicks’ Charter underlines what fans expect from anyone coming in.