Hayes wins control of Wanderers (From Bucks Free Press)
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Hayes wins control of Wanderers
10:52pm Monday 6th July 2009 in
MULTI-Millionaire Steve Hayes is the new owner of Wycombe Wanderers after fans voted tonight to hand control of their 122-year-old club over to him.
The 48-year-old businessman, who also owns groundshare tenants London Wasps Rugby Club, seized control by a huge majority after an at times bitter takeover battle.
The Founder Shareholders voted 81 per cent in favour of his £3m bid after being given an accept it or sink ultimatum. The shareholders then followed up with a 99 per cent vote in favour.
Hayes, who has ploughed almost £7m into the League One club in the form of loans, warned fans that he would stop funding the club if they voted against his plan to write off £3m of that figure in return for full ownership.
Club directors backing the Hayes plan then beefed up that threat by saying a no vote would result in the club going into administration and being docked ten points.
No other alternatives were put on the table.
The supporters were given just over a fortnight to decide whether to accept the plan of managing director Hayes.
It is a momentous change in the club’s history with fans voting away the last trace of the supporter-ownership which served them on their rise from the Isthmian League to the professional ranks.
Throughout that period Wanderers were run by a structure in which fans who had held season tickets for three years could pay one pound to become members. That gave them a stake in the club's ownership and the right to elect the directors.
The first controversial change to that system came in 2004 when the board argued it was holding the club back from securing new investment and called for it to become 75per cent owned by individuals, with fan-members holding just 25 per cent.
The change was approved allowing Hayes to take a 25per cent shareholding and become the club’s MD.
But despite him ploughing £7m into the club in the form of loans the club’s debt has mushroomed to where it is now, standing at £7.2m at the last set of accounts.
Hayes has admitted he has made mistakes along the way but called for the fans to trust him.
He says he intends to continue working with positive members of the Supporters Trust.
And fans can expect big changes under him with Hayes the driving force behind plans for his two clubs Wanderers and Wasps to share a new 20,000 community stadium at Wycombe Air Park.
Comments(25)
true blue
says...
12:03am Tue 7 Jul 09
ferrellcat
says...
12:53am Tue 7 Jul 09
ferrellcat
says...
1:22am Tue 7 Jul 09
ivor
says...
2:02am Tue 7 Jul 09
What would Frank Adams say?
The last thing the town needs is a new 20,000 seat stadium....
Have you read Ivor’s blog today? Click on the “YOUR SAY” link at the top of the page then click on “BLOGS”.
DeepThinker
says...
6:55am Tue 7 Jul 09
Everything will now be concentrated on Wasps Rugby Football club.
Wanderers will left to decline. Watch out for Conference football within 5 years.
Then Wanderers will be told that the pitch at the new stadium can't sustain Rugby and Football.
Guess who has to make way.
Goodbye Wanderers.
Hayes and Wasps get EXACTLY what they want - exactly what they planned.
A sad, sad day for an historic football club.
Final note: With all the talk/rumours(?)of "buttering up" certain councillors, etc, you will have to be squeeky clean Mr Hayes ... we're watching you.
tom.marlow
says...
8:46am Tue 7 Jul 09
But possibly not as sad as going into administration and getting points deducted before a single game gets played in League One.
Maybe DeepThinker's scenario will turn out to be true, maybe it won't. Who knows what will happen over the next few years. Maybe the football club will do a lot better than the rugby club.
I can't help thinking that probable money on the table is better than no money on the table.
Anyway good luck for the coming season. I'm looking forward to it.
TheT0nemeister
says...
9:04am Tue 7 Jul 09
WycombeBodger
says...
9:38am Tue 7 Jul 09
Hans Schmit
says...
10:53am Tue 7 Jul 09
So he blackmailed them?
TheT0nemeister
says...
1:38pm Tue 7 Jul 09
Hans Schmit wrote:I can't see the problem really. If we had not had the funding we would have gone backwards and into the ryman laegue with our own large dept.
"Hayes, who has ploughed almost £7m into the League One club in the form of loans, warned fans that he would stop funding the club if they voted against his plan to write off £3m of that figure in return for full ownership." So he blackmailed them?
This way if Hayes botches up we just go into administration and get a 10 point deduction and then start again, maybe in this league or the league below.
win win situation!
NW1963
says...
2:26pm Tue 7 Jul 09
tom.marlow
says...
2:43pm Tue 7 Jul 09
NW1963 wrote:He hasnt split it down the middle. He got a huge majority - the article says
He has completley blackmailed us. The bloke is not stupid why has he managed to run us up debts of 8 million, most of that has been since he has been making the decisions, then 2 weeks to change 122 years of history. I hate what he has done. He has split the club down the middle with this. It will never be the same.
NW1963
says...
3:45pm Tue 7 Jul 09
In line with the Trust Board’s previous advice to members, those votes which were cast as “discretionary” (i.e. members had given the Trust Board the right to vote as the Board saw fit) were counted in favour of the proposal, following signing of the legal agreement between the Trust and Steve Hayes on the morning of 6th July.
So, voting on the Founder Shares was 75% in favour and 25% against. On the Ordinary Shares, voting was 73% in favour of the proposal. The Trust’s shares were therefore voted in their entirety in favour of the proposals for restructuring at the respective EGMs of Founder Shareholders and all Shareholders.
tom.marlow
says...
4:55pm Tue 7 Jul 09
wayneo
says...
7:51pm Tue 7 Jul 09
The 'supporters' club are out of their minds to allow this.
wayneo
says...
7:54pm Tue 7 Jul 09
Laneender
says...
8:42pm Tue 7 Jul 09
tom.marlow
says...
11:00pm Tue 7 Jul 09
Laneender wrote:Perhaps they are not so stupid as you seem to think are simply because they disagree with you.
What a bunch of idiots. They have effectively given up land that is worth millions, they've given the club away by debts engineered by this greedy so-in-so. Why are people so stupid?
Laneender
says...
9:01am Wed 8 Jul 09
Yes, I would call that stupid.
tom.marlow
says...
10:10am Wed 8 Jul 09
You are so clearly right and everyone else is wrong.
Laneender
says...
10:36am Wed 8 Jul 09
tom.marlow wrote:Right on this case!
Of course you would. You are so clearly right and everyone else is wrong.
You've not written anything to prove otherwise have you?
tom.marlow
says...
1:01pm Wed 8 Jul 09
Laneender wrote:No but equally I dont go round saying that people who disagree with me are stupid.
tom.marlow wrote: Of course you would. You are so clearly right and everyone else is wrong.Right on this case! You've not written anything to prove otherwise have you?
Although your analysis may turn out to be right, I think it unlikely. Many others share my view, hence that is why they voted the way they did.
wayneo
says...
6:32pm Wed 8 Jul 09
best-land
timmyo
says...
9:19pm Thu 9 Jul 09
He's got to agree a new place to go and moving to the airfield's not a done deal. And he's going to have to pay for that land isn't he?
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nuno diaz says...
12:03am Tue 7 Jul 09
First read in the guardian