Titans in trouble!

[Xman]

How exactly are AFL teams with revenue around double the average NRL team almost insolvent?

because they spend 3 times what NRL teams do you jibbering half wit

They spend what they earn you moron! The teams asking for AFL assistance do so because they want to match the benefits seen with wealthier clubs. You honestly think AFL clubs couldn't cut costs if the had to?

Look at Melbourne. They made a profit last year, in fact they reduced their small debt. Yet they earn less than half Collingwoods income, and collingwood spent all theirs!

[Raiderdave]

How exactly are AFL teams with revenue around double the average NRL team almost insolvent?

because they spend 3 times what NRL teams do you jibbering half wit

They spend what they earn you moron!

yes .. thats why they're 55 Million in debt

[Xman]

because they spend 3 times what NRL teams do you jibbering half wit

They spend what they earn you moron!

yes .. thats why they're 55 Million in debt

Who exactly?

[Raiderdave]

They spend what they earn you moron!

yes .. thats why they're 55 Million in debt

Who exactly?

the cooelctive debt of VFL clubs is in the vicinty of 45 to 55 mill
the VFL has admitted as much
the article was in a thread in these forums

you find it di.ckhead ....

[Xman]

yes .. thats why they're 55 Million in debt

Who exactly?

the cooelctive debt of VFL clubs is in the vicinty of 45 to 55 mill
the VFL has admitted as much
the article was in a thread in these forums

you find it di.ckhead ....

It's 40-50m and it's spread **** 18 clubs. The vast majority is for the richest of AFL clubs including collingwood, Carlton and hawthorn.

Debt by itself isn't bad you dunderbrain! Haven't you got a mortgage?. Unserviceable debt is bad!

Just ask the titans!

[Raiderdave]

Who exactly?

the cooelctive debt of VFL clubs is in the vicinty of 45 to 55 mill
the VFL has admitted as much
the article was in a thread in these forums

you find it di.ckhead ....

It's 40-50m and it's spread **** 18 clubs.

its spread between about 7 of the poorer ones ... theese clubs would be gone if left to their devices
& they're not even including the latest 2 who would be added to that list it if the VFL weren't covering all their bills
VFL .. smoke n mirrors
easy to get away with if your fans are morons ..........

[Xman]

Prove it!

[Xman]

Demetriou said some clubs, such as Geelong with its new grandstand, could afford to carry some debt because they had the capability of paying it back.

But he said: "There are some clubs carrying debt that they are not making inroads into."

He said Melbourne Demons had done "an incredible" job of erasing $5 million of debt under former president Jim Stynes, as Hawthorn had done much earlier.

"There are some clubs, including Richmond and North Melbourne, who are trying to make inroads now," he said.

"They have debt demolitions, and I congratulate them for that.

"St Kilda has got some debt now. Our preference is to have less debt in the competition."

Demetriou said Port Adelaide had been a serious concern in recent years, and would face more challenges before heading to the Adelaide Oval in two years.

Richmond (who have expanded their facilities), Geelong (who have extended their stadium) and Stkilda sure aren't struggling clubs. Nth and Port are but port will be far better off in 2 years when they change stadium arrangments to the Adelaide oval. The other debt is mainly for Carlton with their new grandstand, collingwood with their new home and facilities, and hawthorn with their new facilities.

All of these clubs earn more revenue than the Broncos, one of the NrLs ONLY profitable clubs.

Again, debt is only a concern you cannot service it. Hi Titans!

[Xman]

This now seems to be as complete as its going to be. Ive put it here because i can find it easier when it needs updating.

This now means all Melbourne clubs have submitted Annual Reports, as well as Port, Adelaide and Brisbane. West Coast havent submitted an annual report but IPL has and that information is in the papers. WA clubs will submit to the WAFC who put out one later, GWS/GC probably wont put one out this year, being wholly operrated and funded by the AFL, and Sydneys is available only to members.

The AFL annual report is not included here, and will not be available until March if past years are anything to go by.

Gross Revenue
Collingwood - $75,232,702
Essendon - $51,416,731
West Coast - $50,200,000
Hawthorn - $49,151,009
Geelong - $48,438,196
Brisbane - $42,297,354
Carlton - $39,950,000
Port Adelaide - $37,017,885
Melbourne - $33,514,371
Richmond - $33,403,202
Western Bulldogs - $32,453,030
Adelaide - $30,546,426
St Kilda - $28,287,336
North Melbourne - $26,017,066

Gaming Revenue and Hospitality
Collingwood - $19,201,114 (inc. Social Club)
Brisbane - $12,641,070 (inc. Social Club)
Geelong - $10,083,082 (inc. food and beverage)
Hawthorn - $10,057,704 (inc bar and bistro)
Port Adelaide - $6,822,171 (inc.licenced venues)
Carlton - $4,504,537 (gaming only)
Western Bulldogs - $3,770,594 (hospitality only)
Melbourne - $3,594,013 (inc. social club)
Richmond - $3,410,144 (inc Social club)
St Kilda - $656,918 (Social Club)
Essendon - N/S
Adelaide - N/S
West Coast - N/S

Membership Revenue
Collingwood - $16,419,687 (does NOT include gate reciepts)
Geelong - $12,121,444 (inc. gate receipts)
Hawthorn - $11,705,117 (inc. gate reciepts)
Carlton - $11,617,793 (inc. gate reciepts)
Adelaide - $10,591,091
Essendon - $10,363,690 (inc. gate reciepts)
Melbourne - $9,727,844 (inc. gate reciepts)
St Kilda - $7,750,153 (does not inc gate reciepts)
Brisbane - $6,918,708 (inc. gate reciepts)
Western Bulldogs - $6,712,710 (inc. gate reciepts)
North Melbourne - $5,745,872 (inc. gate reciepts)
Port Adelaide - Not Specified
Richmond - Not Specified
West Coast - Not Specified

Sponsorship and Marketing Revenue
Collingwood - $22,170,584
Richmond - $17,252,886
Port Adelaide - $16,238,492
Essendon - $15,532,108
Geelong - $15,517,692
Hawthorn - $14,576,422
Carlton - $12,378,037
Brisbane - $11,033,963
Adelaide - $10,647,497
Western Bulldogs - $8,911,027
North Melbourne - $8,782,975
Melbourne - $8,133,129
St KIlda - $6,938,019
West Coast - Not Specified

Merchandise Revenue
Hawthorn - $3,065,244
Geelong - $2,583,088
Essendon - $2,563,026
Carlton - $1,910,251
Western Bulldogs - $1,392,135
North Melbourne - $1,036,064
St Kilda - $980,156
Adelaide - $846,018
Melbourne - $806,732
Port Adelaide - $696,759
Collingwood - N/S
Brisbane - N/S
Richmond - N/S
West Coast - N/S

Football Department Spend
West Coast - $19,800,000
Collingwood - $19,412,167
Geelong - $18,821,742
Essendon - $18,510,078
Carlton - $17,831,197
Melbourne - $16,309,582
St Kilda - $16,974,040
Brisbane - $16,061,596
Port Adelaide - $15,682,596
North Melbourne - $15,280,850
Western Bulldogs - $14,694,994
Richmond - $3,466,748 (all that is specifically named as football spend)
Hawthorn - $2,316,797 (all that is specifically named football spend)
Adelaide - Not specified.

Total Comprehensive Income for 2011 (profit/loss)
Melbourne - $6,040,629
Richmond - $2,752,801
West Coast - $2,600,000
Collingwood - $2,141,436
Essendon - $2,059,379
Geelong - $1,015,912
Port Adelaide - $877,971
Western Bulldogs - $877,175
Carlton - $742,401
Hawthorn - ($4,920)
Adelaide - ($610,942)
North Melbourne - ($1,110,807)
St Kilda - ($1,271,149)
Brisbane - ($1,855,926)

References:
Adelaide - http://www.worldofwookie.com/AFL/report ... fc2011.pdf
Brisbane - http://www.lions.com.au/Portals/0/lions ... %20ART.pdf
Carlton - http://www.rippledirect.com.au/images/c ... s_2011.pdf
Collingwood - http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/portals ... report.pdf
Essendon - http://www.essendonfc.com.au/club/annua ... online.pdf
Geelong - http://www.AFL.com.au/Portals/0/cats_do ... ements.pdf
Hawthorn - http://www.hawthornfc.com.au/Portals/0/ ... Report.pdf
North Melbourne - http://www.kangaroos.com.au/Portals/0/N ... Report.pdf
Melbourne - http://app1.mailout.com/mailout3/user/z ... 2_0682.pdf
Port Adelaide - http://portadelaidefc.com.au/Portals/0/ ... Report.pdf[/URL]
Richmond - http://www.richmondfc.com.au/portals/0/ ... ncials.pdf[/URL]
St Kilda - http://www.saints.com.au/Portals/0/imag ... t_2011.pdf
Western Bulldogs - http://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/Porta ... ort_LR.pdf
List of Clubs that have supplied profit/loss statements but NOT annual reports and the relevant media references
Sydney: $114,956 - http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/tabid/...?newsid=127049
West Coast: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/busine ... l-costing/
Fremantle, Gold Coast and GWS Have supplied no relevant information
SANFL Contributions - Port Adelaide $365,790, Adelaide - $449,195
WAFL Contributions - West Coast $2,200,000
Other News and Media

February 19th, 2012 - "Clubs $40 million in debt" (Heraldsun)

Here's a post from the wookie on BF but is sourced by all the clubs annual reports.

As you can see there are only 3 clubs that had a loss of over 1M last year, which isn't very significant given their revenue.

[TLPG]

This is all wasted on Raider, Xman. We all know he has absolutely no idea how to run a business. I think I know what he got at Maths at primary school.

F

Still waiting, Pussycat!

[Xman]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/g ... 6311831859


Titanic meltdown: Gold Coast Titans managing director Michael Searle. Picture: Czerny Kate Source: The Daily Telegraph

TITANS managing director Michael Searle has been siphoning almost $3 million out of the embattled NRL club every year to pay rent and bank interest on the team's Centre of Excellence.

Not even retiring chairman Paul Broughton was aware of the transactions that property experts insist are worth only $1 million a year on the true rental market.

A Daily Telegraph investigation into the financially crippled club today uncovers crushing debts that will almost certainly force the Titans to close before being resurrected under a new structure, similar to the situation when the Auckland Warriors were rebranded as the New Zealand Warriors in 2001.

Massoud: Have your say on the Titans with Josh from 12:30pm Wednesday

Previously unidentified debts to many of the Titans' suppliers worth millions of dollars have been found in recent days. The club is in the process of negotiating repayment plans with many of the creditors.

"Almost every supplier is owed money," according to one insider.

Broughton, who announced he was standing down last night, would not confirm what others have told The Daily Telegraph - that he is one of many owed considerable money by the club.

There were growing calls from senior businessman on the Gold Coast last night for Searle to step aside as sole director to allow the NRL to set up a new constitution.

The club

THE Titans used to be the hottest ticket in town with the fifth highest membership in the NRL. It's now plummeted to 15th.

They used to attract crowds of more than 21,000 to their home games at Skilled Park.

The attendances have now tumbled and average of 10,000 per home game.

At an average ticket price of $35, it equates to a $4 million slump in annual revenue.

Combined with the costs of servicing almost $30 million of debt, it's no wonder the Titans are on the brink of collapse.

Searle's business strategy has been to try to borrow his way out of trouble - borrowing money from the NRL and the banks to sign players like Jamal Idris, Nate Myles, Dave Taylor and possibly Cooper Cronk to get the football team competitive and the missing 10,000 fans back through the gate.

The trouble is that it's angered their 15 premiership rivals who all have to live within their means.

The boss

ACCORDING to real estate records, Michael Thomas Searle has a multi-million-dollar property portfolio on the Gold Coast with two beachfront residences at Currumbin and another house at Currumbin Waters. Other sources say he has up to eight properties, but it is unclear how much is owed on any of them. He drives a top-of-the-range Audi.

He runs a financial planning business called Searle Sessarago from offices at Southport.

He owns or is involved in a number of companies which are or have been in some way linked to the Titans: Goldcal Sports, ISA NRL, MTS Sports , Gold Coast NRL Investments, Opal Sports, Gold Coast Titans No 2, Searle Investments, Gold Coast NRL (online gambling) and Channate Australia.

ASIC records show he is the sole director and secretary of all of those companies.

The complicated structure is one of the reasons the NRL had no idea how serious the financial crisis was.

No one knows what salary Searle pays himself because he does not report to a board of directors. Likewise, he doesn't need approval from anyone to go on his six-week overseas holiday in the middle of the season every year. Attempts to contact him for several days have been unsuccessful. He has not spoken to NRL boss David Gallop or several of his closest confidants.

The image

THEY were once the NRL's showpiece franchise. Almost every game was sold out when they first entered the competition. These days attendances, merchandise and sponsorship have all slumped in what's seen as a backlash over tradesman not being paid and legal disputes over the Centre of Excellence.

In a town where the construction industry is second only to tourism, bad blood between the builders and Searle quickly spread throughout the Gold Coast.

"It left a bad taste in everyone's mouth," said Geoff Smith, a law expert who was part of Searle's original bid team to get the Titans into the NRL. Smith is now a full-time senior legal adviser in Brisbane to billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer.

"Questions need to be asked about the NRL and how the licence was given to one man in the first place and what's happened since," Smith said. "History will show Michael has been too greedy by taking the licence himself.

"There was a group of committed businessman involved with the original bid.

"Basically he hijacked it from the other businessmen who were doing it for the community. To save the club, he's got to relinquish power and show the NRL he's no longer a one-man show.

"Mike's got to understand he's made a mistake and he needs to come clean and say I've stuffed up and get it back to being a community club."

The future

NO one on the Gold Coast is giving up on the Titans.

There is a common belief they can survive, even with arch-rivals the AFL pouring $100 million into the area over the next four years.

Paul Donovan is chairman of Gold Coast Tourism and many believe he should replace Broughton as Titans chairman on a restructured management plan.

"Michael's tried to do too much as a sole person," Donovan said. "They need a board in there behind him and they need to offload the Centre of Excellence so they can focus on the footy team. It's a great pity it's ended up like this. People on the Gold Coast want to follow winners. They'll get fans back when they start winning.

"Everything needs to be flushed out and and all the decisions need to be aided and abetted by a decent board that observes good corporate governance. It's important for tourism because when there is a good away game, we see an influx of people coming to support their team."

The NRL is determined to keep a Gold Coast team in the competition to such an extent that independent commission chairman John Grant and board member Gary Pemberton are personally involved in the rescue attempt with CEO David Gallop.

 

[cos789]

There is a common belief they can survive, even with arch-rivals the AFL pouring $100 million into the area over the next four years.

WTF. That's a big figure.

[Beaussie]

It's all over, red rover.

Gold Coast Titans set to have assets frozen
Peter Badel
The Courier-Mail
March 29, 201212:00AM

THE cash-strapped Titans could have assets and bank accounts frozen within days, with the Commonwealth Bank appointing a receiver to oversee a debt recovery operation on the troubled Centre of Excellence.

In a move that threatens to cripple the Titans' property arm, The Courier-Mail understands the CBA has placed international auditing firm Deloitte on standby to recoup at least $13.4 million owing to the bank on the Centre of Excellence project.

An industry source said last night: "The bank would be furious . . . they could move on the Titans any day now."

The development comes as a potential buyer delivered a fresh setback to the Titans, aborting plans on Tuesday to make a $5 million offer for the Centre of Excellence.

Should the Commonwealth Bank officially move on the besieged Titans' property arm, the controversial building will be seized and staff removed.

All bank accounts will be frozen and subjected to a forensic audit.

The foreclosure of the building would be a crushing blow for the teetering Titans group, which has haemorrhaged an estimated $35 million.

Deloitte is no stranger to financial probes of NRL clubs, with its forensic accountants having been called in to investigate the Storm's books during the Melbourne salary cap scandal in 2010.

The Commonwealth Bank, which authorised a $13.4 million loan in 2009 to fund construction of the Centre of Excellence, is said to be alarmed by reports of the Titans' crippling financial state.

That concern was exacerbated last week when a Federal Court judge found Gold Coast Titans (Property) Pty Ltd, which owns and operates the Centre of Excellence, to be "prima facie" insolvent.

Reed Constructions, which is seeking $1.046 million, will move to wind up the Titans' property arm on April 20, but the CBA has the power to repossess the Centre of Excellence immediately and sell the building to recoup the millions owed.

Compounding the bank's concerns are valuations by Gold Coast commercial property experts, who claim the Centre of Excellence's current worth could be as low as $7-10 million.

A sale in that vicinity would fail to payout the existing loan on the project, leaving the Titans football club, which acted as a guarantor on the CBA loan, responsible for any residual debt.

"The receivers have very broad powers and once they come in they are brutal and ruthless," a banking source said last night.

"They will do whatever is necessary to recover the money they are owed on the property.

"This isn't a big commercial lend for the CBA but it's still a huge embarrassment to the Commonwealth Bank brand.

"If a bank chooses to foreclose, they can do it within five days and they will freeze all accounts over the property."

Titans boss Michael Searle revealed last week he would put the Centre of Excellence up for sale.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl ... 6312793993

[Xman]

While Titans boss Michael Searle spruiked the estimated $18.4 million sale as a positive step, Gallop was less enthused as he confirmed the NRL club was liable for a multimillion-dollar web of debt that could still trigger its demise.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/g ... 6319020480

[King-Eliagh]

It certainly looks bad for the titans. Such a shame they lost their way but there's always been something about them which doesnt appeal. Poor management is a big part of the process as the people of the GC love their RL, as indicated by the large crowd numbers in their first few years returning.