MSP Sports Capital

[Billy Dean]

MSN

Moorad wrote: "At MSP Sports Capital, we only pursue investments with operational control or significant influence.


"Fundamentally, investors are attracted to the disproportionate annualised returns available in sports, with limited relative downside risk. In order to achieve favourable risk-adjusted returns, investing discipline remains critical in an industry where emotion can easily take hold of the uninitiated. We believe it’s critical to evaluate both macro dynamics (trajectory of the sport, league management, league competition, regulatory environment) and micro dynamics specific to the asset (management team, brand power and digital presence, fan/sponsor loyalty, local market dynamics and real estate opportunities).”

 

[chazzle_dazzle]

When did the exclusivity agreement start? do we know if it was 30 or 60 days, because I guess we are unlikely to have anything finalised before that.

I imagine end of this month with some interim people in till then.

 

[OnlyTheBestIsGoodEnough]

MSN

This is my understanding of them as well, all the talk about 'they will come in and asset strip us' is so over the top the only asset we have is the stadium and it would be very silly of them to do that since it will probably make them the most money in the long term. Let's just stop trying to predict the future and what they will do and just keep an open mind about them.

 

[Billy Dean]

This is my understanding of them as well, all the talk about 'they will come in and asset strip us' is so over the top the only asset we have is the stadium and it would be very silly of them to do that since it will probably make them the most money in the long term. Let's just stop trying to predict the future and what they will do and just keep an open mind about them.

I think we don't have a choice but to do this. The only other alternative is staying with the status quo which is close to getting us relegated.

 

[Exeter_Gently]

MSN

Decent interview with Moorad on YouTube if you wanna get a better insight of the man.

 

[Billy Dean]

Decent interview with Moorad on YouTube if you wanna get a better insight of the man.

Cheers, will look it up later

 

[OnlyTheBestIsGoodEnough]

I think we don't have a choice but to do this. The only other alternative is staying with the status quo which is close to getting us relegated.

Absolutely, it can't get any worse can it

 

[Neiler]

I am concerned about a company like MSP taking over Everton as they are all about profit. They don't care about our History. We go along with the assumption that the more successful we are the more profitable we will be. But what happens if making us successful requires a level of investment that means the owners would never make a profit or have to invest billions before the club starts seeing a profits like the state owned clubs are doing.

MSP wont be like that. What happens if the way to make Everton profitable is to cut down dramatically on wages/ transfers and we then become a yo-yo club where we are still profitable as a championship because we are getting periodic seasons in the premier league with the tv revenue and then parachute payments whilst in the championship.

At the moment the Premier League is 6 teams (extending to seven with the inevitable rise of Newcastle) followed by 13 championship clubs and Everton. the 13 championship clubs are clubs in the premier league that are on a conveyor belt with the clubs that are in the championship, swapping places when it is there turn to go up or down. Sometimes along that journey when promoted they have good or great mini periods i.e Leicester and Brighton before invariably getting related again

Everton are a club in limbo. We are not good enough to join that 6 or 7 and would require massive investment from a sugar daddy to get there and stay there. However even though we have been so poor the last two seasons we still cant put ourselves as one of the rest, the championship club 13 because we have never been related from the premier league so have never been part of that conveyor belt. Leicester had finished 5th twice and 8th in the previous 3 seasons before last season and were champions 5 seasons ago. The season before last we just avoided relegation yet when it came to it last season they went down and not us, because they are a championship club at the end of the day and we aren't yet

I am really proud that we have been a top flight club for 121 out of the 125 seasons of football and I worry that that record starts to be chipped away at because we have ruthless owners who think nothing of that and only profits and if cutting costs to make a profit means 1 or 2 seasons out of every 10 we could be in the championship then not only are we never going to be one of the 6 or 7 top clubs again we would be also losing the very thing that sets us apart from the rest

The only way to make profit really in my opinion mate is asset appreciation - i.e. you buy the club, it appreciates and you sell it on. The bet is that there are a limited number of clubs, that in itself creates desire and value, in 8-10 years - when you sell inflation brings a return on your initial outlay. If you improve the club or make it more competitive then the value of the investment increases - whether the competence of the people coming in will achieve that is the thing we have to watch. They prob wont be majority shareholders of a couple of years, i think they might build a stake incrementally toward a majority.

The thing we need to watch for is where the money for the investment is coming from and ensure its not leveraged - it doesn't seem to be the case with MSP as they are a fund so the money is coming from private investors.

 

[Villa_Fan]

This is my understanding of them as well, all the talk about 'they will come in and asset strip us' is so over the top the only asset we have is the stadium and it would be very silly of them to do that since it will probably make them the most money in the long term. Let's just stop trying to predict the future and what they will do and just keep an open mind about them.

MSP is not an asset stripping company, people suggesting otherwise are just being emotional about it. However, there is merit in removing the stadium from the ownership of Everton and renting it back to Everton but although this will realise a nice profit for the part of MSP that would own the stadium it would reduce the profit on their holding of EFC which is counterproductive and wouldn't make much sense. MSPs history suggests that they want control at a board level in Everton to be able to make the club increase profit and with a sports organisation this means it needs to make EFC more successful. It is a good time to buy into Everton as the value will be about as low as it gets in the PL. Main investor is gone, a half built stadium, owner can't afford to complete the stadium, two years just avoiding relegation, unhappy fans etc all means that Everton was at a low value. This makes it much easier to make a profit as simply finishing top half and having a half decent transfer policy and MSP will be making profit. It should be an exciting time for Everton fans

 

[Villa_Fan]

I am concerned about a company like MSP taking over Everton as they are all about profit. They don't care about our History. We go along with the assumption that the more successful we are the more profitable we will be. But what happens if making us successful requires a level of investment that means the owners would never make a profit or have to invest billions before the club starts seeing a profits like the state owned clubs are doing.

MSP wont be like that. What happens if the way to make Everton profitable is to cut down dramatically on wages/ transfers and we then become a yo-yo club where we are still profitable as a championship because we are getting periodic seasons in the premier league with the tv revenue and then parachute payments whilst in the championship.

At the moment the Premier League is 6 teams (extending to seven with the inevitable rise of Newcastle) followed by 13 championship clubs and Everton. the 13 championship clubs are clubs in the premier league that are on a conveyor belt with the clubs that are in the championship, swapping places when it is there turn to go up or down. Sometimes along that journey when promoted they have good or great mini periods i.e Leicester and Brighton before invariably getting related again

Everton are a club in limbo. We are not good enough to join that 6 or 7 and would require massive investment from a sugar daddy to get there and stay there. However even though we have been so poor the last two seasons we still cant put ourselves as one of the rest, the championship club 13 because we have never been related from the premier league so have never been part of that conveyor belt. Leicester had finished 5th twice and 8th in the previous 3 seasons before last season and were champions 5 seasons ago. The season before last we just avoided relegation yet when it came to it last season they went down and not us, because they are a championship club at the end of the day and we aren't yet

I am really proud that we have been a top flight club for 121 out of the 125 seasons of football and I worry that that record starts to be chipped away at because we have ruthless owners who think nothing of that and only profits and if cutting costs to make a profit means 1 or 2 seasons out of every 10 we could be in the championship then not only are we never going to be one of the 6 or 7 top clubs again we would be also losing the very thing that sets us apart from the rest

I think that is completely wrong. MSP may not have an emotional connection with the history of EFC but MSP will understand the value of it. The value of EFC is not just the stadium and its position in the PL. It is the brand that is 'Everton Football Club'. This brand is worth millions of $$$. Brand damage is something that companies are very aware of and very scared of. If MSP ignores the history of Everton they risk damaging the brand and thus devaluing their investment. In an ideal world, you would find a local Billionaire that grew up a Toffee and bleeds blue. But that is unlikely and having an organisation that wants to make a profit is a positive. If you have some rich prince that treats EFC as his plaything the risk with that is huge. It is not sustainable and when the prince gets bored or the Gulf State believes that their sports washing strategy is complete the money will be stopped and you will be left with a club that spends more than it earns. The more self sufficient a club is the better imo

 

[OnlyTheBestIsGoodEnough]

MSP is not an asset stripping company, people suggesting otherwise are just being emotional about it. However, there is merit in removing the stadium from the ownership of Everton and renting it back to Everton but although this will realise a nice profit for the part of MSP that would own the stadium it would reduce the profit on their holding of EFC which is counterproductive and wouldn't make much sense. MSPs history suggests that they want control at a board level in Everton to be able to make the club increase profit and with a sports organisation this means it needs to make EFC more successful. It is a good time to buy into Everton as the value will be about as low as it gets in the PL. Main investor is gone, a half built stadium, owner can't afford to complete the stadium, two years just avoiding relegation, unhappy fans etc all means that Everton was at a low value. This makes it much easier to make a profit as simply finishing top half and having a half decent transfer policy and MSP will be making profit. It should be an exciting time for Everton fans

Selling the stadium and renting it back to us as you have suggested would give MSP a nice steady income but also would make us less attractive to certain buyers if and when the time came for them to sell their stake in Everton. I would also reiterate that it's in their best interests to not do this if they want to sell Everton for more money in the long run.

 

[Villa_Fan]

Selling the stadium and renting it back to us as you have suggested would give MSP a nice steady income but also would make us less attractive to certain buyers if and when the time came for them to sell their stake in Everton. I would also reiterate that it's in their best interests to not do this if they want to sell Everton for more money in the long run.

I agree, I was only highlighting it as an option available to them and one that I think many fans are concerned about. A big negative of selling the stadium to themselves would be the loss in revenue for EFC which would negatively impact profit and thus reduce the scope for player investment. Also, lets say for argument's sake that MSP acquire 30% of the parent company. They would only 'own' 30% of the stadium. The stadium will be valued at 400m+ so they will only own 133m worth of the stadium. If they wanted to separate the stadium from EFC they would have to cough up a further 270m. That is a lot of money to have to come up with

 

[OnlyTheBestIsGoodEnough]

I agree, I was only highlighting it as an option available to them and one that I think many fans are concerned about. A big negative of selling the stadium to themselves would be the loss in revenue for EFC which would negatively impact profit and thus reduce the scope for player investment. Also, lets say for argument's sake that MSP acquire 30% of the parent company. They would only 'own' 30% of the stadium. The stadium will be valued at 400m+ so they will only own 133m worth of the stadium. If they wanted to separate the stadium from EFC they would have to cough up a further 270m. That is a lot of money to have to come up with

I knew you were playing devil's advocate, I think you and I both know that if you do take the emotion out of it, MSP we do right by the club because at the end of the day it's in their best interest to do so to maximise their profit when it comes to selling their share.

 

[twoblue]

Make far more money by making Everton profitable in the 1st place, the stadium will massively increase our value. If we are in the PL still.

No sure where people get this idea from about Americans being tight and only in it for profit
The RS spend a fortune
Chelsea fella spent stupid money
It’s have spent a fortune(yes they take money out but still spend)

I think Americans are coming in with an eye on the bottom line.
Russians and Arab owners were largely happy to splash stupid money buying prestige.

 

[Villa_Fan]

I knew you were playing devil's advocate, I think you and I both know that if you do take the emotion out of it, MSP we do right by the club because at the end of the day it's in their best interest to do so to maximise their profit when it comes to selling their share.

It would also mean there is more chance of finding a future buyer. If for example MSP invest 300m and in 3 years time they believe their 300m is worth 1Bn they may decide to cash in and realise their 300% profit. I would guess that MSP would have a far better network to find a future buyer of EFC than Moshiri would