Statements from BU Board, Matthew Benham and BFC Board
We, the Board of Bees United, unanimously support the motion.
We believe that the deal presents the best chance of long term sustainable success for Brentford FC – the very reason Bees United exists.
We have negotiated terms with Matthew Benham that will enable BU to continue in its role of ensuring the club is governed well, of protecting the long term interests of Brentford Football Club, and of giving you, our members, the right of veto over any unreasonable sale of the ground in which Brentford plays, so long as Brentford FC remains solvent.
At the same time we consider that the proposed deal maximises the level of investment into Brentford Football Club, and it is noteworthy that the proposed investment is in the form of equity (shares) rather than debt.
At the end of the five year period the ongoing ownership of Brentford Football Club will be dependent on us – Bees United. If we have the money, and think it advisable, we can pay Matthew back his monies invested, with a fair return (if any, based on the value of the club at the time), and buy back his shares. If we decide not to, Matthew has the choice to take a majority shareholding in the Club in return for converting all his monies currently lent to Brentford (circa £4.5m) into preference shares. These shares would be in addition to the £5m he is investing as equity as part of this deal. If neither party decides to exercise its option, we will continue without further change – BU will be majority shareholder, Matthew will be a significant minority shareholder and major lender, and he will have no obligations of further investment.
We consider that these various scenarios are fair and reasonable, and in every instance leave BU fulfilling its core role – acting to secure the long term future for Brentford Football Club.
Our view is that this is a great opportunity for Brentford and for the members of BU, and as the Board of Bees United we unanimously urge you to vote ”FOR” of the motion.
The Board of Bees United.
Statement from Matthew Benham
I am a committed Brentford supporter, and for several years attended almost all matches, both home and away.
My career is in the football industry. My company, Smartodds Limited, has for several years specialised in the analysis of and mathematical modelling of the results of football matches.
I have a proven track record of helping both Brentford and Bees United financially, with interest free loans totalling £4.5 million. Without this support I believe the club would be in a significantly worse position than it finds itself in today.
To date, I have had no, and asked for no, input into the running of the club or Bees United, save for a representative on the club board.
I am not however willing to invest further money in the club on the same basis as I have done so far. I do make many large charitable donations, but I strongly believe that the interests of the club are not best served by treating it as a charity. What the club needs, in my view, is more investment, which is what, via the proposed 5 year partnership with Bees United, I am offering to provide.
I am offering to invest substantial sums of money into the club, in order to help Brentford become a Championship team.
My business plan is relatively simple. Working from this year's budget my investment of £1 million a year for five years will enable the following to take place:
Recruitment of better players. The success of Brentford FC depends on a successful team, and the provision of funds for player recruitment. Retaining our best players is my priority.
Development of a full time experienced off pitch management team. This is in my view an essential requirement, particularly in the area of marketing. A business needs a backbone of a successful core executive team dedicated to the job in hand. This team will be responsible for the day to day operation of the club, will support the activities of the football team, and will be responsible for all off pitch commercial activities, with the aim of making profits to be ploughed back into the footballing side of the club.
I fully support the club's proposed move to Lionel Road. I recognise that a new stadium is essential for the future of the club and will help the team developing the plans for the stadium when I can. I am also happy to back this statement up with action, in that I am very happy to permit Bees United to retain a “golden share” preventing sale of the ground (the club's most valuable single asset) for “asset stripping” purposes.
I already have a good relationship with and fully support Andy Scott as manager of the club, and recognise the experience and talent he brings to the role of manager of Brentford. I believe Andy has an open and enquiring mind about the game. Final responsibility for player recruitment, team selection and tactics, and similar matters will remain the responsibility of the manager, and no player will be signed without the approval of the manager.
I do believe I may be able to bring expertise to help the manager identify players of potential value to Brentford. As a result of my business experience I have amassed considerable experience of football strategies, as well as a broad knowledge of individual players both in the UK and internationally.
I therefore hope to be able to contribute ideas in areas such as player recruitment, and analysis of opposing clubs which I hope will form another part of the jigsaw necessary to build a high performing club. I am not in any sense a frustrated “wannabe” football manager.
I recognise the community side to the club's activities, want this side of the club to continue to flourish and will give it my full support. I firmly believe that the local community are the club's future core supporters. Brentford has plenty to give as well as receive from the community.
I recognise the commitment and hard work of the current board, and hope that the current directors will wish continue to contribute to the club as directors – their knowledge of how the club operates, their contacts and experience will remain an invaluable part of the off pitch running of the club.
At the end of the five years we will all have an opportunity to see how successful we have been, and decide how best to move forwards. It may be that Bees United buys my shareholding, it may be I buy a significant element of its shareholding, or it may be we continue with Bees United as the majority shareholder and I stay as a minority shareholder. Whatever happens, I am supportive of Bees United remaining a key shareholder, the holder of the Golden Share, and of Bees United continuing its financial support to the Club and its associated presence on the club board.
Finally, I'd like to stress an important point. This is far from a “hostile take-over”. I'm in a fortunate position to be able to make a significant financial difference to the club, and am making an offer to do so. I fully understand that it is for the current owners of the club to make their decision as to which course of action they consider to be in the club's best long term interest, having considered any other alternatives. If that decision results in my offer not being accepted, and some other path being followed that the members of Bees United consider to be in the better long term interests of the club, I'll always remain a supporter.
Matthew Benham
Statement from the BFC Board
We, the Board of Brentford Football Club, unanimously support the proposed deal between Bees United and Matthew Benham.
Brentford Football Club has achieved promotion as Champions to League Division One, and we all want to give the Club and Manager the best chance of further footballing success.
It is clear that the level of investment in the deal would make a dramatic difference to the chance of success on the pitch. Money does not automatically buy success, but when you are competing with the teams currently in League One we clearly need substantial investment to give us a fighting chance.
Without this investment the Board consider that the situation looks bleak. Brentford FC has survived over the last few years with loan financing from a number of sources (including Matthew Benham) but it is clear that this is not sustainable. A number of those loans became due in January 2009, and should the proposed deal not complete, the risk of the Club becoming insolvent is significant.
On this basis, as the Board of Brentford Football Club we would unanimously urge all Bees United members to vote in favour of the motion.
Greg Dyke
Chairman
For and On Behalf of the Board of Brentford FC