ask catwomen1 shes thinks she knows all the answers.

I doubt anyone can answer these questions as the board probably have no idea either.

Which questions need answering and what clarification do you/we want before confidence would be high enough to get behind this rescue initiative?

The obvious ones are

* What is the extent of the debts beyond the imminent tax demand
* Exactly how much of the ground purchase money much have we received in percentage terms and who is the balance payable to
* Does Ted or any other director own any part of Belle Vue
* If the club staves off the HMRC on 31st January are there sufficient finances available to meet the club's other financial obligations ie, player & staff wages, utilities etc.

£500k is not enough to see us through the season BUT it I expect that it will be enough to pay off the debts that need to be paid at the beginning of February, pay this month's wages and give sufficient working capital to see us through to the February payment from Sky.

RL is a seasonal business - the club will always have more money coming in during the playing season than during the off-season.

I doubt that the loan from SRW is something that he is expecting back in the next few months. He will have kept it as a loan simply to protect his position if the club went into Administration soon after the tax bill he was covering was paid off.

its my understanding that none of the three directors of the company wish to stay on in any capacity other than spectators on the terrace!

Thanks RDM, while some of it is speculation I think that gives all of us a better understanding

It is a seasonal business but ours is a seasonal business that has been losing what would appear to be a serious amount of money year on year. We have received our Sky payment in prevous seasons and still owe all this money so that's hardly going to bail us out. In short are we not just going to run at a similar loss to all the previous seasons? Who is going to pick up the loss the 500 mug punters?

I do know that we HAVE NOT draw down an advance from the SKY money!
It's also my understanding that the £500,000 would settle the tax bill and leave us with enough working capital to reach the point where seasonal revenue streams become available.

This year's budget has been calculated very realistically,IMO, based on an average attendance of 5000

I still think that is placing a lot of faith in the judgement of people who have proved less than qualified in these areas in previous years.

Like you say, the business has lost money year on year for most of our recent history. Is this always because of the actions of the BoD? IMHO - No. The single most important factor about the club's financial performance is the performance on the pitch. We all know that it's easier to get people through the turnstiles if the team is performing well on the pitch and that if we're on a losing run attendances will fall.

RL is not a business that is massively profitable. I suspect that most clubs budget on breaking even for the year, while those fortunate enough to have someone willing to bankroll the club regardless can afford to budget for a certain level of losses.

I've said in previous posts (either on this thread or one of the others) that anyone looking to pay into this £500k fund should consider the transaction as an EXPENSE rather than an investment. It's almost certain that they won't make a profit on the tranasaction and they will only get their money back if the club is sold at a later date.

Recovering the losses is not something that can reasonably be done over the course of a single season. It will certainly be made easier by moving out of BV and not having the high cost of maintaining the crumbling stadium just to keep it open.

I'm not suggesting we should just take their word for it, at some point during the process and before a decision is made about how to use any money raised someone qualified to do so needs to look at the figures

I totally agree that some financial due diligence would be requierd before utilising the funds - indeed if I end up putting money in I would want to see the recent accounts and budgets myself rather than just relying on the opinion of someone being paid a few grand to review it for us.

And quite rightly so,
I would hope that a number of individuals, possibly involved in the new supporters trust, could offer a variety of professional skills and services rather than paying through the nose for someone to do it.

I agree it is not all bods fault and as such nothing is going to change re higher attendances. It is not a case of it being an investment it is more a case of is this 500k going to get swallowed up within the season and we will be back in the same position but 500k lighter by summer.