Royal Elm Park

[Silver Fox]

The Thai's haven't underestimated anything. RFC's share seems to be an appalling £15m.

15 million? Hardly appalling

[muirinho]

The Thai's haven't underestimated anything. RFC's share seems to be an appalling £15m.

15 million? Hardly appalling

+1

People seem to think a carpark is somehow worth megabucks, and each apartment is going to make a billion in profit.

[multisync1830]

Sir John missed a trick here, he should have come up with his own Royal Elm Park model and developed the club land that he effectively already owned, instead he bought the station hill area right before the property market crashed and then had to sell it on at a loss.

it was looked at by SJM but it was deemed a negative due to the state of the land. Once the recession hit the option was no longer available.

Hmm, Have the Thai's underestimated the state of the land? - They do know it's an old rubbish dump don't they?

no: they've had a lot of technical people working on the project here and back in Asia but civil engineering has moved on massively in 10 years or so.

[Forbury Lion]

The Chinese businesswoman linked with the takeover made her money converting old nuclear shelters into underground shopping malls..... maybe we'll end up with an underground complex below the Mad Stad with a tube train to the station and a heliport where the carpark is, or perhaps not.

[One8Seven1*]

The Thai's haven't underestimated anything. RFC's share seems to be an appalling £15m.

15 million? Hardly appalling

It is when you work out the value of each property that will be sold, x approx. 630 homes, plus income from the conference centre which is in competition with ours, and the temp ice rink. Our £15m is loose change in comparison. Bare in mind Nigel Howe has said REP will be great for the club. To think some even likened it to Chelsea's developement.

[Maneki Neko]

The Thai's haven't underestimated anything. RFC's share seems to be an appalling £15m.

15 million? Hardly appalling

It is when you work out the value of each property that will be sold, x approx. 630 homes, plus income from the conference centre which is in competition with ours, and the temp ice rink. Our £15m is loose change in comparison. Bare in mind Nigel Howe has said REP will be great for the club. To think some even likened it to Chelsea's developement.

this is silly.


the value of the land was the value of the land. 15 million for a patch of dirt is very good, theres a similar sized plot available online for 2 million.
on top of what they pay for the land, they must also pay for the construction and infrastructure, which might go some way to making up the shortfall between land selling price, and property selling price.

[multisync1830]

15 million? Hardly appalling

It is when you work out the value of each property that will be sold, x approx. 630 homes, plus income from the conference centre which is in competition with ours, and the temp ice rink. Our £15m is loose change in comparison. Bare in mind Nigel Howe has said REP will be great for the club. To think some even likened it to Chelsea's developement.

this is silly.


the value of the land was the value of the land. 15 million for a patch of dirt is very good, theres a similar sized plot available online for 2 million.
on top of what they pay for the land, they must also pay for the construction and infrastructure, which might go some way to making up the shortfall between land selling price, and property selling price.

In Reading next to the motorway?

I remember someone telling me Richard Benyon sold the Greenpark plot to the prudential for an offer which 'made his eyes water'

[multisync1830]

The Thai's haven't underestimated anything. RFC's share seems to be an appalling £15m.

15 million? Hardly appalling

It is when you work out the value of each property that will be sold, x approx. 630 homes, plus income from the conference centre which is in competition with ours, and the temp ice rink. Our £15m is loose change in comparison. Bare in mind Nigel Howe has said REP will be great for the club. To think some even likened it to Chelsea's developement.

TBF I wouldn't trust Howe as far as I could throw him.. but that's me...

[tmesis]

TBF I wouldn't trust Howe as far as I could throw him.. but that's me...

So, can you throw him more or less distance than the average person?

[Sutekh]

Don't understand the Nigel Howe dislike myself or perhaps it is more a dislike for the role he does. In this case what do you expect him to say publicly - that it's a total disaster and we shouldn't be doing it or to be generally supportive of what is going on?

He has clearer visibility to exactly what's going on and intentions of the board than anyone on here, or in the media, so perhaps he is spot on based on the facts that he has and what he has been told thus far.

In his role though I would expect him to be raising the issues and concerns being aired on here, regarding future ownership and revenues generated, with the board and expecting that those concerns are satisfactorily addressed in the ongoing ownership discussions (I would also presume that it is in the interest of any incoming owners to want get every possible revenue stream into the club so would not expect this area to be un-negotiable).

As with anything though only time will tell whether he, like us, is being led up the garden path.....

[multisync1830]

TBF I wouldn't trust Howe as far as I could throw him.. but that's me...

So, can you throw him more or less distance than the average person?

It's a personal thing so averages or how far anyone else can throw him (or not) isn't really relevent

[multisync1830]

Don't understand the Nigel Howe dislike myself or perhaps it is more a dislike for the role he does. In this case what do you expect him to say publicly - that it's a total disaster and we shouldn't be doing it or to be generally supportive of what is going on?

He has clearer visibility to exactly what's going on and intentions of the board than anyone on here, or in the media, so perhaps he is spot on based on the facts that he has and what he has been told thus far.

In his role though I would expect him to be raising the issues and concerns being aired on here, regarding future ownership and revenues generated, with the board and expecting that those concerns are satisfactorily addressed in the ongoing ownership discussions (I would also presume that it is in the interest of any incoming owners to want get every possible revenue stream into the club so would not expect this area to be un-negotiable).

As with anything though only time will tell whether he, like us, is being led up the garden path.....

not a dislike thing for me but as I say I'm not willing to discuss further or be specific but my own personal view remains unchanged.

[tmesis]

TBF I wouldn't trust Howe as far as I could throw him.. but that's me...

So, can you throw him more or less distance than the average person?

It's a personal thing so averages or how far anyone else can throw him (or not) isn't really relevent

I think I just like the idea of Nigel Howe being thrown around the car park by various people. Its use as an indicator of trustworthyness is just a bonus.

[Forbury Lion]

15 million? Hardly appalling

It is when you work out the value of each property that will be sold, x approx. 630 homes, plus income from the conference centre which is in competition with ours, and the temp ice rink. Our £15m is loose change in comparison. Bare in mind Nigel Howe has said REP will be great for the club. To think some even likened it to Chelsea's developement.

this is silly.


the value of the land was the value of the land. 15 million for a patch of dirt is very good, theres a similar sized plot available online for 2 million.
on top of what they pay for the land, they must also pay for the construction and infrastructure, which might go some way to making up the shortfall between land selling price, and property selling price.

Especially if they employ their own building company.

[Sutekh]

Latest from the EP

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/readin ... m-12628637

Reading FC chief executive Nigel Howe is hoping plans for Royal Elm Park will go before council planners in the next few months.

In an interview with the Thames Valley Property website, Mr Howe said there was now light at the end of the tunnel after a series of delays and believed talks are now ‘down to the minutia’.

The club had hoped the £500 million scheme for a convention centre, hotel, 600 homes, various bars and restaurants and new public realm, would reach Reading Borough Council's planning applications committee last summer.

But a series of delays and technical requirements has put the current hoped-for date back to March or April at the earliest.

Extra monitoring stations on the former landfill sit were among the additional requirements.

Mr Howe said: "Everybody knows outside of football, the property stuff is the most incredibly frustrating process.

"I don’t blame anybody for it. But it’s a pity we've never been able to get it all in apple pie order. We knew about contamination but it is being examined more closely."

Mr Howe revealed he and the Thai investors in the club, which form the property company behind Royal Elm Park, had been inundated with people wanting to become involved as joint venture partners in the scheme.

However, if work begins next year as he hopes, completion would still be six or seven more years away.

Mr Howe said the scheme was viable within the existing transport infrastructure but also revealed that discussions had taken place about making the proposed Green Park station bigger.

Reading UK CIC has been in talks about lengthening the platforms, adding more car parking and more facilities.

He believed park and ride facilities would eventually connect the area to a much wider network but admitted it would take time to change people’s habits.

For the full story visit http://www.tvproperty.co.uk/news/light- ... ark-tunnel.

[The Quiet Man]

Noted in the same bit of Get Reading in the article where the Head of Forest is resigning that the school is in talks with RBC about siting the covered domes (indoor training area?) at the school which may suggest the housing will be the first thing going up at the site. Nobody ever asks about the new academy now so I suppose it is mothballed unless we get promotion?

[Sutekh]

Noted in the same bit of Get Reading in the article where the Head of Forest is resigning that the school is in talks with RBC about siting the covered domes (indoor training area?) at the school which may suggest the housing will be the first thing going up at the site. Nobody ever asks about the new academy now so I suppose it is mothballed unless we get promotion?

Believe Reading have had their Academy status recently revisited by the authorities and they're still happy with things on that front. Think we have 2/3 years to get it complete before there's any danger of losing our the rating. And I think work is expected to start in the next few months once plans for the actual layout of the site and completion of removing the relevant trees and shrubbery etc. is completed.

[multisync1830]

Latest from the EP

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/readin ... m-12628637

Reading FC chief executive Nigel Howe is hoping plans for Royal Elm Park will go before council planners in the next few months.

In an interview with the Thames Valley Property website, Mr Howe said there was now light at the end of the tunnel after a series of delays and believed talks are now ‘down to the minutia’.

The club had hoped the £500 million scheme for a convention centre, hotel, 600 homes, various bars and restaurants and new public realm, would reach Reading Borough Council's planning applications committee last summer.

But a series of delays and technical requirements has put the current hoped-for date back to March or April at the earliest.

Extra monitoring stations on the former landfill sit were among the additional requirements.

Mr Howe said: "Everybody knows outside of football, the property stuff is the most incredibly frustrating process.

"I don’t blame anybody for it. But it’s a pity we've never been able to get it all in apple pie order. We knew about contamination but it is being examined more closely."

Mr Howe revealed he and the Thai investors in the club, which form the property company behind Royal Elm Park, had been inundated with people wanting to become involved as joint venture partners in the scheme.

However, if work begins next year as he hopes, completion would still be six or seven more years away.

Mr Howe said the scheme was viable within the existing transport infrastructure but also revealed that discussions had taken place about making the proposed Green Park station bigger.

Reading UK CIC has been in talks about lengthening the platforms, adding more car parking and more facilities.

He believed park and ride facilities would eventually connect the area to a much wider network but admitted it would take time to change people’s habits.

For the full story visit http://www.tvproperty.co.uk/news/light- ... ark-tunnel.

"Apple pie order"

WTF

[Forbury Lion]

TBF I wouldn't trust Howe as far as I could throw him.. but that's me...

So, can you throw him more or less distance than the average person?

It's a personal thing so averages or how far anyone else can throw him (or not) isn't really relevent

In theory, if you chopped him into smaller pieces you could throw each piece further than if you tried to throw him in one piece. I'm not sure how that relates back to the original statement though.

[Elm Park Kid]

it was looked at by SJM but it was deemed a negative due to the state of the land. Once the recession hit the option was no longer available.

Hmm, Have the Thai's underestimated the state of the land? - They do know it's an old rubbish dump don't they?

The Thai's haven't underestimated anything. RFC's share seems to be an appalling £15m. The accounts later will be very interesting indeed. The Thai's have the bulk of the share and will convert to property and make their hundreds of millions and get what they came here for. RFC at best get a conference centre as mentioned previously. No cut of the property etc.

I think you're forgetting that RFC = Thais / Thais = RFC. They own the entire club, hence they own everything that the 'club owns'. How much of those resources they decide to allocate to the football club is entire up to them. They paid the $$$ for the privilege - if anyone thinks it's unfair then why don't they spend multiple millions on the club and do differently . .. .

I don't know what world people are living in that they think someone would be able to buy a business for £50m (or whatever they paid) if it had land worth hundreds of millions attached to it . . .