WREXHAM FC has this afternoon released a statement on the club's financial position.
Club chairman Ian Roberts released the 'financial update' below to fans on the official club website.
Reaction and analysis of the statement will follow on www.leaderlive.co.uk and in tomorrow's Leader.
THE STATEMENT
REGARDING the request for clarity, I wish to make the following statement, please note that this statement will be available to view in its entirety on the official Club website so there can be no reporting inaccuracies.
It saddens me to read in the local newspaper, articles concerning the possible sale of the Football Club to a fan led consortium. I originally arranged for reconciliation talks with the Wrexham Supporters Trust, as I have made it public knowledge I wanted to try and improve the links between the fans and the Club and hopefully reach a stage where we could have some fan participation in the running of the Club.
The Club has been requesting some financial help for a number of years, to help towards the cost of running our Youth Academy which has now lost its funding, for replacement seats and more recently a request from Dean for financial help to bring some key players to the Club. A request was also made for manpower help in gaining sponsorship etc.
It however became clear at the meeting that there was to be no financial support but only the desire from the WST board members present to own and run the Club themselves.
I took the opportunity to tentatively discuss the likely price we at Wrexham Village would sell for, it must be stressed however at this stage that it was nothing more than exploratory talks and that both parties would need to discuss their position further.
It was also agreed that we would hold further talks at a later date and that this preliminary discussion would not be mentioned as it would not be in the best interests of the Club if it became public knowledge, at the time both parties agreed to this.
Unfortunately events regarding our former CEO and the additional work required because of his departure took precedence for us, which resulted in us not being able to meet with the WST as quickly as we had wished, I did however keep the dialogue open via emails.
So, here we are today and as promised we have deposited the 2009 accounts admittedly later than we had initially intended. This was largely due to the auditors requiring to double check the information in light of the unproven allegations against our former CEO.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff and players for their continued support during this difficult and unnecessarily stressful time especially during their preparation for a new football season. It also saddens me that a recent published press article made suggestions that, we the board of Wrexham Village do not care what happens to the Football Club.
With regard to the continued comments regarding the student development - it was always the intention of the Club to dispose of the development land to help pay off its debts, this was achieved and all the profit/proceeds of that sale plus more has gone directly into the Club to clear its historic debts.
I also recently promised that we would release details for all to see regarding the financial position of the Club since it came out of administration and address the complaints from some quarters of the lack of clarity regarding the finances and future of Wrexham Football Club and the holding company Wrexham Village.
The History
During the administration period the Club made a profit (pre-administration costs) of circa 200K. However the administration costs and legal fees incurred during the administration amounted to approximately £1.62 million, this figure was part of the payment made by the Moss/Dickens consortium upon its purchase of the Club, and so in reality there was a £1.42 million loss.
As a point of reference, on exit from administration the Club owns the Stadium and Colliers Park Training Ground, but had debts of circa £3.3 million.
Since then the debt has risen due to the Club trying to fund firstly its survival in the Football League, then two managers, two new teams and the attempt so far to unsuccessfully gain promotion back into the League.
An attempt to sell the development land to help pay off the Club debt failed as the proposed developer could not raise the finance in the 2007/2008 period.
The Solutions To Date
The revised solution was for the group to restructure and to develop the site themselves. This has now started by raising private equity and bank finance and working with the Council and University to ensure that we have a long term, profitable solution.
Having gained planning permission we now have a developer in Roberts Homes that is sympathetic to the future of the Club and has already been a major contributor to the viability of this scheme, as has Geoff Moss by both continuing to fund the development.
Wrexham Village now has circa £11million worth of debt but owns the development land, and a near complete block of 156 student rooms, plus the old Dickens garage site. The Club now owns the Stadium and Colliers Park Training Ground but is not burdened with any major debt or interest payments to make, unlike many other clubs both large and small.
The group also contains Crusaders RL which has inherited debt, but at present a neutral profit contribution to the group. It does however help share the costs of the Stadium and its facilities and contributes to the in-house sale of food and beverage with a six figure income.
Effectively we have ensured the immediate future of the Football Club by transferring the debt from the Club to Wrexham Village.
The development land was valued at circa £3 million and Wrexham Village agreed to purchase it for circa £6 million thus relieving the Club of its post administration debt and its debt incurred in the form of losses since, making it one of the few debt free clubs in the UK.
The Football Club has therefore already benefitted enormously from the Village Venture, it is now down to Wrexham Village to continue the student accommodation development in order to pay off its own debts. Meanwhile the Club is free to stand on its own if that is the desired outcome for the board or any interested parties.
The Clubs assets are still held as security by Mr Moss as he is a major investor in the development land but it was agreed that he would not take any security over the development land to allow the bank and private equity investor to hold that security.
This security over the Stadium is of minimal benefit to Mr Moss as he is owed circa £6 million by Wrexham Village, it also offers security to the Football Club should the development fail. This however will be removed when Mr Moss recovers his debt from Wrexham Village or in the event of a third party wishing to purchase the Club and Stadium.
The Future
When the development is complete (subject to further funding requirements) and the debt is paid off the group as a whole will benefit from the income generated. However this will be a good few years away yet.
The Crusaders', being tied by the Super League salary cap will not be a drain on any future income but will in fact be a positive for the development of the Racecourse Ground as a sporting venue.
The Club is seeking funding arrangements with various entities regarding the development of a new Kop Stand and this is still integral to the long term plan of development for the Racecourse Ground.
During the 2009/2010 season Wrexham Village Ltd continued to support Wrexham FC with payments of around £950k and it continues to do so into the 2010/2011 season.
The losses in the Football Club have to be addressed and that has been partly achieved by reducing the player's budget and management costs, reducing the administration staff costs and further cutting unnecessary overheads and seeking to increase commercial income.
As much as football stirs the passion in all of us we have to remember it has to be run as a business so we need the support of you its fans to come and support the team on every occasion during these difficult financial times, for which I thank each and every one of you in anticipation of your continued support.
Yes we don't always get it right and yes we have made some mistakes in the past but as we look forward to a new season we all need to 'be in it together' as they say and stop the negativity that seems to breed amongst some quarters. So get behind the team, accept where we are and hopefully together we can climb back to where we all want to be,
We the board firmly believe that the Racecourse Ground is best served by offering itself as a multipurpose sporting, entertainment and business venue for Wrexham and North Wales as a whole and not just as a football stadium, to this end we intend to continue to extend its promotion as a venue in many varied ways.