Lakshmi Mittal & Family

[SheepRanger]

On the list of billionaires due leaving the country due to Labour's changes to the non-Dom tax rules.

Whether this will impact his involvement with us is anyone's guess.....???

[Abseits]

Sort of linked to club finances..

I invested in the QPR Bond 3.5 yrs ago. Haven't given it much thought since aside from picking up interest each year (5% real cash money + 3% QPR cash). Anyway, I swapped current accounts recently so had to log into the Bond's holding account to update my details. I discovered a request there to complete some forms. I think these were some sort of FCA compliance requirement and a way of ensuring I understood the risks involved.

The gist of all this was nothing I didn't know already.... no guarantees, might lose all yer money, not covered by FCA etc etc BUT, the tone was quite stark: I'm NOT invested in the club, if the club go under I have eff all recourse, if the club fail to honour the bond it's tough tit, the Bond administrators are immune from anything. It was all very black & white.

Now I'm used to investing in all manner of weirdness and nonsense but even I was thinking blimey is there any upside here??? Are they trying to tell me something?..

So, these bonds mature in about 18 months in November 2026, ie next season. I can't remember how much the bond issue raised but I recall a figure of 6/7 £million. That means the club has to fork out that figure back to investors. That's a massive chunk of money and suggests we will have buggerall to spend this summer even if we somehow raise several £million in a firesale of players.

Now maybe all those T&Cs I had to accept today were the first baby steps towards the club whelching on paying some or all of that money back? Maybe not though because even if it were legal it would be ruinous from a credibility and reputational perspective. Either way, club has to be ready for dealing with the cheques they wrote back in 2021 when 2026 seemed a long way off.

Oh, my bond is signed by Amit so dunno how he would be affected by his father-in-law taking his non-dom ball home?

[SheepRanger]

I was listening to LBC this morning at Skopje airport and Nick Ferrari clearly stated that the whole family are going to leave. However, later a Labour MP stated that he read the Times article and referenced that LM was "considering" leaving..??? Apparently LM is Labour donor. The whole segment focused on an estimated 500,000 millionaires may be leaving and taking their investment ideas and nous with them, whilst bring replaced by people arriving in Kent on inflatables.

Whilst we're losing these people, it seems other countries are actively chasing the wealthy to boost their "wealth creators". But our Govt seems to be doing everything possible to p1$$ ours off. The focus was on how the economy would fare with less tax receipts etc.

As far as your bond is concerned, as an ex-Compliance Consultant, it seems odd that they're getting you to reconfirm your understanding of the risks mid contract. Does that suggest a weakness in the disclosures at the point of sale and you've now signed away your rights to redress through private means?

I think that bond was to build the new training facilities, and I guess they could repay the bond holders by selling the training ground and entering into a rental agreement. But, with a worsening economy would the sale generate enough to pay back the bond holders? Let me guess, they get their investment back, but it's the bond holders who shoulder any write-down in value????

Scarily enough........I'm watching "The Big Short" on Netflix right now!!

[Abseits]

Obviously I dont want to take a haircut on these bonds but I wouldnt overly worry. I knew the risks and in the bigger overall "life investment picture" I'm well up so c'est la vie! Even if it goes belly-up I will still have a brick with my name on it at the Training Ground.

My main concern is the club having this debt to pay off next year. But I suppose they are always borrowing from somewhere or other and they probably have a portfolio of rolling loans they're servicing, paying down and paying off so its nothing alarming in their eyes, just normal business. Plus, there's still the possibility of me picking up a 20% bonus for us getting promoted. That'd be very nice all round!

[Darkranger]

Sort of linked to club finances..

I invested in the QPR Bond 3.5 yrs ago. Haven't given it much thought since aside from picking up interest each year (5% real cash money + 3% QPR cash). Anyway, I swapped current accounts recently so had to log into the Bond's holding account to update my details. I discovered a request there to complete some forms. I think these were some sort of FCA compliance requirement and a way of ensuring I understood the risks involved.

The gist of all this was nothing I didn't know already.... no guarantees, might lose all yer money, not covered by FCA etc etc BUT, the tone was quite stark: I'm NOT invested in the club, if the club go under I have eff all recourse, if the club fail to honour the bond it's tough tit, the Bond administrators are immune from anything. It was all very black & white.

Now I'm used to investing in all manner of weirdness and nonsense but even I was thinking blimey is there any upside here??? Are they trying to tell me something?..

So, these bonds mature in about 18 months in November 2026, ie next season. I can't remember how much the bond issue raised but I recall a figure of 6/7 £million. That means the club has to fork out that figure back to investors. That's a massive chunk of money and suggests we will have buggerall to spend this summer even if we somehow raise several £million in a firesale of players.

Now maybe all those T&Cs I had to accept today were the first baby steps towards the club whelching on paying some or all of that money back? Maybe not though because even if it were legal it would be ruinous from a credibility and reputational perspective. Either way, club has to be ready for dealing with the cheques they wrote back in 2021 when 2026 seemed a long way off.

Oh, my bond is signed by Amit so dunno how he would be affected by his father-in-law taking his non-dom ball home?

I too am a bond owner. I wouldn't be surprised to receive some form of sweetener in 18 months time. That would require holding said bonds for a longer period of time. It would be in the club's interest to have more of a phased withdrawal of investors, thus extending the payout time whilst reducing the initial outlay of funds.