Rumours Rumours Rumours

Re: Ownership and twists : Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:39 pm

Apparently this was the article in todays press, I have copied from the Bulls facebook page. Hope the mods are okay with this

THE crisis-hit Bradford Bulls drama took yet another unexpected twist last week when the three directors of the club withdrew their interest, following news of ‘draconian’ penalties being imposed by the RFL.

Mark Moore, Andrew Calvert and Ian Watt felt they had no option but to walk away from the beleaguered Super League club after being hit with the maximum six point penalty deduction as well as being put in ‘special measures’, effectively meaning they could sign no new players this season, as they battled to stay in the top division.

On Tuesday Moore led a scathing attack on the RFL which was met with a vigorous response by Chief Operating Officer Ralph Rimmer (see right). As a result of that, the three men have started legal proceedings for defamation, claiming Rimmer is effectively accusing them of lying.
As coach Francis Cummins tried to keep his squad focussed on the visit of fellow basement strugglers London, news emerged that prop Nick Scruton was departing for Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.

Moore, Calvert and Watt along with fellow director Robbie Hunter-Paul put yesterday’s game on but the three investors say that was their last action on behalf of the club.

Administrator David Wilson was due to meet RFL officials at 8.30am today (Monday) to discuss the situation.

An RFL spokesman indicated that there had been two more “expressions of interest” in the Bulls as recently as Thursday and Friday, on top of the three that had already been submitted, those interested parties being Bradford Park Avenue Football Club, London-based businessman Richard Lamb and – reportedly – renewed interest from Omar Khan.

IT WAS the fairytale romance, the dream marriage that has hit the rocks before the wedding register has even been signed. And it is turning into as bitter as any acrimonious divorce, with lawyers hovering on all fronts. It appears there will be no happy ever after for Mark Moore, Andrew Calvert, Ian Watt and their hopes to restore the Bradford Bulls to the club’s former glories.

The three men who have poured all their energies – and significant amounts of money – into trying to salvage the Bulls over the past five months have launched a blistering attack on the way the RFL has treated them, and spoken out to set the record straight.

Among their allegations and revelations are that:
+ Rival Bulls bidder Richard Lamb told them in advance they would be docked six points by the RFL, claiming he had been told that by RFL Director of Compliance Blake Solly;
+ The true level of debt they inherited from Omar Khan and OK Bulls Ltd was almost £1.5 million;
+ That they had pledged to pay back all creditors except Omar Khan in five years or less;
+ That they were led to believe by Blake Solly and Ralph Rimmer that their rescue plan met the approval of the RFL, with a suggestion initially they would receive no points deduction, and even after the club went into administration that it wouldn’t be worse than four points;
+ Defamation proceedings have been started against the RFL following comments by Ralph Rimmer last week which they say implies they are liars.
Mark Moore also insisted: “Can we reassure fans that we have not walked away because of the six point penalty, as has been widely portrayed. It was because of the incompetence of the RFL and the dirty tricks of the RFL.
“With the points deduction, the special measures, the financial penalties, basically we were going from being Omar Khan’s minions to the RFL’s minions.
“We couldn’t get any new players – and in addition they wanted us to put our houses up as guarantees. If we weren’t in Super League next year they would come after us personally!
“We have every faith in Francis Cummins and that group of players that they can overcome the points deficit. This is about much more than that.”

Ian Watt said of the penalty: “I think they (the RFL) expected us to roll over and take it.”
Moore said: “We have tried to negotiate with them and suggested going to an independent tribunal which they indicated was possible and would take seven to 10 days to set up.
“But when we asked how independent it would be, we were told the RFL would put the panel together – and then Ralph Rimmer asked what we wanted a tribunal for? We knew the writing was on the wall.”
MARK MOORE and Andrew Calvert came on board last year as Omar Khan looked for 14 investors to contribute £50,000 each to keep the Bulls afloat.
Once the Asian restaurateur walked away through ‘ill health’ Moore, first with Ryan Whitcut and then later with Calvert and Watt, threw himself into trying to save the club.
Eventually, as they kept discovering new black holes of debt and Omar Khan kept moving the goalposts in terms of selling his shares to the men, they resigned. “We couldn’t operate within a structure in which we had no power to make decisions with Omar able to just come in and just sack us if he wanted,” said Moore.

They agreed to keep the club running temporarily as the RFL tried to find a long-term solution. A big blow to their ambitions, and which ultimately forced the club into administration, was discovery of a £150,000 loan Ryan Whitcut had taken out, at punitive interest rates.
On January 23rd they had a meeting with Solly and Rimmer at which they are adamant that they were told that if they met all the creditors no points would be deducted, but that the decision would have to be ratified by the RFL Board.
They also said that as part of that process they were given only temporary permission to operate the club – for 28 days – so that the RFL ‘could go through the motions’ of looking for a better offer for the club.
On February 7th they presented the RFL with a business plan which showed them requiring a £500,000 advance on next year’s tv money in order to get through this season.
By Thursday February 20th, the day before the RFL board decided their penalties, and with progress being made on a range of both cost cutting and new sponsorship deals, they had updated that projection to just a £100,000 shortfall for 2014.
The men said they went back to see the RFL last Monday hoping for the go-ahead.
“We went in with our plans and they weren’t interested,” said Watt. Calvert added: “Nigel Wood said he had only seen our cash flow (forecast) 20 minutes earlier.”
Moore said there wasn’t even an agenda for the meeting. The men described it as being a situation where the RFL Chief Executive was “the bully” and Blake Solly “the executioner”.
ONE of the sticking points between the Bulls directors and the RFL has been a debt of around £170,000 to HMRC. Although they said they were willing to meet that debt, they have been told – by the RFL, not HMRC – that unless all creditors are paid in full, HMRC will not accept payment by a new business.
In addition the RFL says the tax authorities are now insisting that whoever comes into take over the business must have a six figure bond, owing to the business having failed twice in such a short period of time.
Moore, Watt and Calvert say they have not even had the chance to have that conversation with HMRC.

THE THREE men say not only themselves, but their families have paid a massive price over the past five months, trying to keep the Bulls afloat.
“The fact is,” said Andrew Calvert, “that this has only ever been about the survival of the Bulls. We’ve always said that if a Roman Abramovich figure came in we would happily step aside.” Moore added: “I was even chairing meetings for the two prospective buyers (Bradford Park Avenue and Richard Lamb) because that was when Richard Lamb told us he already knew that we’d be deducted six points.”
Last weekend alone Ian Watt’s wife spent 40 hours at Odsal helping to stage an event.
Andrew Calvert said: “We’re speaking out because people need to understand about the governance of Rugby League and people have to know the RFL will say one thing in private and another thing in public, not just about the Bradford Bulls. We’ve been the victims of a stunning about turn.
“People have to know because this could happen to Wakefield, London, Widnes – anyone.