£23 million In ... £1.4 million Spent

[PlasticRoyale]

From what i can make of it Mr Mad owns the training ground and charges RFC £18,000 per year rent for it

Does this mean i should boo?

[Thaumagurist*]

From what i can make of it Mr Mad owns the training ground and charges RFC £18,000 per year rent for it

Rubbish. I had the impression that Mr Mad bought the land and leased it to Reading FC. Reading FC own the buildings that are on that land. I remember reading in one of those threads on here that was slagging off Mr M.

[brendywendy]

From what i can make of it Mr Mad owns the training ground and charges RFC £18,000 per year rent for it

how much do you think the going rate is then?
probably more than that

or he could sell it to us?how much would that cost?

[largetrousers]

I can't quote actual figures, but I have been told by a soon to be former employee of Reading FC that the money they have got from the 1 year sponsorship with Waitrose is greater than the total sum of money Kyrocera gave us over the years they sponsored us.

I doubt it'll ever happen, but it'd be a good move if the Chairman realised the vibe on the street from supporters confused over where money has gone, and published an easy to read one pager in a programme at some point this season. As supporters we are all investors in this club, and should have a right to know this information without being blinded by the jargon of published accounts and so forth. Or maybe im just to stupid to understand things?!

[Ozymandias]

As supporters we are all investors in this club, and should have a right to know this information without being blinded by the jargon of published accounts and so forth.

Sorry Large, we've no more right than if we purchased a pair tickets to a band and then asked them where their money went. Investors we are not !

[brendywendy]

I can't quote actual figures, but I have been told by a soon to be former employee of Reading FC that the money they have got from the 1 year sponsorship with Waitrose is greater than the total sum of money Kyrocera gave us over the years they sponsored us.

I doubt it'll ever happen, but it'd be a good move if the Chairman realised the vibe on the street from supporters confused over where money has gone, and published an easy to read one pager in a programme at some point this season. As supporters we are all investors in this club, and should have a right to know this information without being blinded by the jargon of published accounts and so forth. Or maybe im just to stupid to understand things?!

nope, i can see that being nothing but a good idea
would surely help. it is easy to look at the headline incoming figures and overlook some of outgoings when assessing the prem years
and its always easy to get lost in jargon

[Thaumagurist*]

As supporters we are all investors in this club, and should have a right to know this information without being blinded by the jargon of published accounts and so forth.

Sorry Large, we've no more right than if we purchased a pair tickets to a band and then asked them where their money went. Investors we are not !

We're "customers", aren't we?

[brendywendy]

As supporters we are all investors in this club, and should have a right to know this information without being blinded by the jargon of published accounts and so forth.

Sorry Large, we've no more right than if we purchased a pair tickets to a band and then asked them where their money went. Investors we are not !

bloody right
i went to see rage against the machine at reading, and there were a number of my favourite songs they didnt play
you can imagine the look on their faces as i stormed backstage and demanded a chunk of my admission fee back

[Royal Rother]

Ok, for the ignorant among us, can someone explain, in layman's terms, where the money has gone if, in fact, it ever existed.

Over the past three seasons or transfer fees in/out have been broadly neutral

Our income increased by £30 million odd for two years

Our wageroll increased by about £12 million

I'd just like someone to explain to me where where the money has gone as it's not clear from the accounts. Or maybe everyone in english football is wrong about the money in the Premiership with the sole exception of Reading FC.

Not being prevocative, would just like some clear answers.

Comparison of Accounts 2007 to 2006
Income up by £32m.
Less: Costs up by £19m, (of which staff costs account for £16m).
= Overall gain in 2007 over 2006 of £13m.

2006 loss of £6m, 2007 Profit of £7m = £13m better off (year on year), which is reflected in the sum above.

The fact that the bank overdraft has been reduced by £7m during the year is largely irrelevant - I would imagine the facility is still available should it be required. This is a somewhat inaccurate generalisation but in essence we used the £13m to reduce the overdraft by £7m and sign new players for net £6m.

What would be extremely interesting is to see how we compare to other clubs of similar status (for the same period) who seem a little more free with their spending. How reliant are they on the continued support of the shareholders.... how large are the deficits they are carrying.... etc.

[Arch]

Maybe I misunderstood this. I thought the fact that our overdraft went down by 7m was directly related to the amount of the profit. The HSBC overdraft was presumably the basis on which we were able to function while running a 6+million loss in 05-06. When there was a net profit in 06-07, the overdraft was paid down by about that amount. Interesting, incidentally, how JM's bashers haven;t noticed that there were two large outstanding loans at the end of 05-06 - one to HSBC and the chairman's loan. The HSBC loan was paid right down (agreed it's presumably a line of credit that could be run right up again) while the chairman's loan was unchanged. How's that for stuffing the loot in your back pocket? I imagine JM does not foresee ever getting that 8+million back.

[brendywendy]

he will when he sells, but no one could begrudge him that surely

[Arch]

I wonder if the recent rumour of HSBC "calling in" a 7m loan was actually closing that line of credit.

[Royal Rother]

Maybe I misunderstood this. I thought the fact that our overdraft went down by 7m was directly related to the amount of the profit. The HSBC overdraft was presumably the basis on which we were able to function while running a 6+million loss in 05-06. When there was a net profit in 06-07, the overdraft was paid down by about that amount.

In my experience that would be unusual, as banks would rather be lending to profitable companies, but could be...

Interesting that the Directors' Report states that "The Board... recognises that to remain competitive within this league it needs to continue to invest in players..."

Some might say it's a shame Steve Coppell isn't on The Board...

[Arch]

Well, what I meant was, if 06 income-costs = [6m] and 07 income-costs = 7m, then on 07 I don't suddenly find myself with an extra 13m to (a) pay off the overdraft and (b) buy a bunch of players. I find myself with an extra 7m to (a) pay off the overdraft. Is that wrong?

[Royal Rother]

I wonder if the recent rumour of HSBC "calling in" a 7m loan was actually closing that line of credit.

This was the post that mentioned it in the first place I think. Don't know how well-informed Scutts is but it would seem extremely unlikely that during the course of the trading year ended June 2007 when we finished 8th in the PL that HSBC would "call in" a facility. (Maybe he's referring to something that has just happened - wouldn't know.)

HSBC have called in £7millions worth of RFC's loan with them, so that's a chunk of the money gone right there.

[Royal Rother]

Well, what I meant was, if 06 income-costs = [6m] and 07 income-costs = 7m, then on 07 I don't suddenly find myself with an extra 13m to (a) pay off the overdraft and (b) buy a bunch of players. I find myself with an extra 7m to (a) pay off the overdraft. Is that wrong?

No that's absolutely right of course, but I don't think there would have been a requirement to pay off the o/d. (I think we're heading for cross-purposes here...)

Probably caused by me saying...

This is a somewhat inaccurate generalisation but in essence we used the £13m to reduce the overdraft by £7m and sign new players for net £6m.

I've underlined the relevant bit; the post would probably have been less confusing without it as on reflection it's more than somewhat inaccurate!

[brendywendy]

I wonder if the recent rumour of HSBC "calling in" a 7m loan was actually closing that line of credit.

This was the post that mentioned it in the first place I think. Don't know how well-informed Scutts is but it would seem extremely unlikely that during the course of the trading year ended June 2007 when we finished 8th in the PL that HSBC would "call in" a facility. (Maybe he's referring to something that has just happened - wouldn't know.)

HSBC have called in £7millions worth of RFC's loan with them, so that's a chunk of the money gone right there.

i think this is since relegation
which would make more sense

but i cannot confirm

[Royal Monk]

Rubbish. I had the impression that Mr Mad bought the land and leased it to Reading FC.

Ok if you want to split hairs he leases it to RFC for £18,000 per year


From the accounts .... "the company also paid rent for the training ground of £18,000 (2006 £18,000) to R.J.Madejski"

I'll accept your appology when you give it

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

The training ground is a odd one because it makes no sense to build where they are currently located cause of all the buildings that will be left when the army moves.

[West Stand Man]

The training ground is a odd one because it makes no sense to build where they are currently located cause of all the buildings that will be left when the army moves.

I assume that you are implying that when (if) the Army vacates the neighbouring barracks then RFC could buy some of the buildings and expand a bit?

That is certainly in the list of possible activity. The nearest building to the Hogwood site is a very large sports hall and astro sprots pitch that the club was interested in adding to the deal from the outset. The sports hall has several changing rooms and space for a cafeteria etc too. The MoD was not willing to sell that just yet, but it is possible that they might be more interested when they know what they want to do with the Arborfield site overall. I wouldn't plan on the Army totally vacating Arborfield though, as the withdrawal from Germany over the next few years will increase the requirement for good locations in the UK.