Wasps 22 Discussion Threads

[barondene] 16/6/2022 17:43

Check out the default clauses in the lease

[dandigirl] 16/6/2022 17:40

PUSB: Please substantiate your comment "so a sale of the stadium itself wouldn’t benefit Wasps or bond holders" when part of the security is "a first legal mortgage ..... granted by ACL2006 with respect to all of its rights, title, interest and benefit existing now and in the future, in and to the Arena .... in the lease dated 29 January 2015 made between Coventry City Council and ACL2006 .......

I don't know how long the lease is. Do you?

[barondene] 16/6/2022 17:36

Why should Coventry Rate payers bail out this failure? They had millions to refurbish parts of stadium yet to be fully completed. There is no professional valuation as required by your Bond nor interim accounts. Also remember Compass also have a secured loan on Stadium - how will that be cleared?

[pusb] 16/6/2022 17:21

The stadium is only worth what someone will pay for it. There probably isn’t a huge number of potential purchasers for a stadium on the outskirts of Coventry. The stadium itself remains under Coventry City Council ownership, so a sale of the stadium itself wouldn’t benefit Wasps or bond holders. A sale of the lease will not attract many potential customers either, especially given the need for remedial repairs which have been claimed to potentially cost £25million.

Given previous challenges to local authority subsidy, Wasps poor financial performance including lack of local fan base and the impact of costs of stadium repairs - any potential lender will presumably be extremely cautious. Worrying given only 2 weeks until the revised settlement deadline.

[l2s] 16/6/2022 17:17

Thanks dandigirl - the link worked and once again demonstrated the poor level of BBC headline writing "Wasps ask for millions of pounds of public money". Unless I am totally misunderstanding the situation the application is for a possible LOAN not a handout as the headline suggests. As part of the re-financing arrangements it shouldn't come as any surprise that Wasps are pursuing all avenues of finance and even if the HSBC assistance is forthcoming, as we Bond Holders very much hope (and expect), the company can't just sit still and assume that everything will return to normal in the future.

[dandigirl] 16/6/2022 17:12

This seems to be the relevant clause.



(b) Breach of Other Obligations: the Issuer, either Guarantor or ACL2006 does not perform or comply with any one or more of its respective other obligations under the Bonds or the Transaction Documents which default is in the opinion of the Trustee incapable of remedy or, if in the opinion of the Trustee capable of remedy, is not in the opinion of the Trustee remedied within 30 days after notice of such default shall have been given to the Issuer, either Guarantor or ACL2006 by the Trustee

[fastcat99] 16/6/2022 16:57

Gilbert's insight that Wasps approach to WMCA has come via the City Council Chief Executive APPARENTLY WITHOUT CONSULTING THE POLICTICAL LEADERSHIP smacks of the bad old days.

Bondholders really DO need reassurance that US Bank Trustees (notionally @ 5th floor 125 Old Broad St, London E@C2 ECR) are available to receive comments, and to go on the public record as to what they are doing to protect our interests.
In the absence of any email address for them (even on the detailed Consent Solicitation papers in October 2020), I emailed Stephen Vaughan about this, but without reply.

We still don't know for sure whether the Trustees consider Wasps Finance to be in default over OUR bond !

[135791113] 16/6/2022 16:50

Interesting. It doesn't look great, but the bonds are held against the stadium company not Wasps. The article also says Wasps have liabilities of £54m (inc bondholders) and the stadium is worth £52m, so given the other assets too, if the worst came to it then the bondholders should still be repaid in full, assuming a buyer could be found for the stadium.

[dandigirl] 16/6/2022 16:28

Hope this link works.....

[fastcat99] 16/6/2022 16:05

@OzzieDog - WE didnt know that Wasps Finance were seeking £13m from the local Combined Authority!!

Simon Gilbert will be live on BBC CWR at about 16:10 - surely worth a listen !

[a0002577] 16/6/2022 12:55

A hospitality business that thrives on loyal fans and goodwill from all mem etc is not doing itself any Favours by keeping stum on this. A regular (and frequent) update would keep more people on side in what is now turning out to be a saga.

[dandigirl] 16/6/2022 12:46

A bit naughty of Mr Gilbert to start this hare running and then fail to reply.

[135791113] 16/6/2022 08:39

CC2014; the other option, and most likely, is that refinancing by the owner is taking longer than expected. Why do you think that they are necessarily in talks to sell the Arena?

I doubt the BBC know anything that anyone else doesn't.

[ozzie_dog] 16/6/2022 08:20

The BBC probably do not know any more than we do, and they must know that the bondholders don't know what is going on either.

[cc2014] 16/6/2022 07:53

Either:

a) there's a buyer for the Arena in excess of the bonds outstanding or
b) the whole thing is a complete financial mess and repayment of the bonds in full is at risk.

Would the BBC be contacting bondholders if they were going to get repaid in full? That doesn't sound like a story to me. I could be wrong and have been before.

[ozzie_dog] 16/6/2022 06:53

Does anyone know what is going on? Is this just standard procedure, or is it worse than that?

[dandigirl] 15/6/2022 22:44

Hi - At what time please? Will it be on the BBC News site? See your Wiki page has lots on the Ricoh - hope it is good news!

[thesimongilbert] 15/6/2022 18:02

Hi, I'm a BBC journalist who has been covering the story of the Arena and Wasps for over a decade now.
I would really like to speak to some bond holders about the situation here.
If anyone would be up for speaking to me about their feelings on the current state of play - please get in touch.
We are looking to cover a new development on TV, Radio and online tomorrow.
You can reach me at [e-mail]
Thanks

[fastcat99] 09/6/2022 14:58

PPS IMPORTANT clarification

My two previous posts were triggered by another, now possibly deleted, which suggested:

1) the Trustee has issued a "notice of default" on the bond,
2) although they do not intend to enforce it at this time

the source of that info was (apparently) unofficial

[cc2014] 09/6/2022 14:52

I can't really help Fastcat. And as I've said before I don't own the bonds as I felt them to be far too risky, which is what they seem to be turning out to be.


As an aside the accounts for Arena Coventry still aren't filed although they've stopped the gazette strike off notice.

[fastcat99] 09/6/2022 14:06

PS this fiddly stuff is all the more vital, because we cannot rely on RNS now that the LSE listing has been suspended.

[fastcat99] 09/6/2022 14:01

@CC2014 In these interesting times, "Procedural stuff" is all we have to go on.

Could you PLEASE disclose where/how this Notice has been communicated?
Also the precise language explaining "although they do not intend to enforce it at this time"
And indeed any detailed information on how best to communicate with "our!" Trustees:
- the contact info on the last page of the Consent Solication documents in October 2020 quoted 125 Old Broad St London EC2 1AR as an address for US Bank Trustees; (actually the same 5th floor as for the "Principal Paying Agent" (??!), Elavon Financial Services DAC, UK Branch
- at the EGM (I believe I was the ONLY bondholder to attend, even remotely) the Trustees nominated Alex Biles, partner of Ashurst LLP, to chair the meeting, while the "Trustee team" itself was composed of Laurence Griffiths and someone called Sarah, both from Linklaters; so yet another layer of legal delegation.

In order to address the Trustees, we (obviously) need to know who they actually are, and when any communication has legally been received
Bondholders might wish:
to request an EGM to be (provisionally) tabled for Thursday 30 June,
or (less likely) to hear now more details of the assurances/info offered by Wasps Holdings to justify this 'temporary postponement' of redemption/refinancing

@Jonnyhatesrap - you have twice referred to "additional default interest" - can you please quote chapter and verse ?

[cc2014] 09/6/2022 12:03

I understand the Trustee has issued a notice of default on the bond.

I guess it's just procedural and the Trustee following the process of what they have to do.

[barondene] 26/5/2022 15:59

Bondholder - A gift that loses money?

The WASPS Accounts / Financials have been propped up by "grants" for building improvements; sale of PL Shares and Catering Franchise monies. Any lender or purchaser cannot rely on these or similar appearing again

And there is still the overhanging problem over the cost of dilapidations

[barondene] 26/5/2022 15:51

Do remember the Bond Holders effectively paid the first 3 payments to themselves!