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Published on: 5/24/2008
Last Visited: 5/10/2009
Charlton plc shareholders approved the sale of the club's training ground and other properties to several Addicks directors on Wednesday as football club chairman Richard Murray pledged to maintain the club's fabled academy.
Charlton plc shareholders approved the sale of the club's training ground and other properties to several Addicks directors on Wednesday
The sale of several of the company's freehold assets, apart from The Valley, to existing members of the board will lead to an injection of around £1.5m of working capital into the club.
And although a restructuring process has begun across the club, Murray insisted the Addicks would do everything possible to keep Charlton's renowned youth structure intact.
"The three resolutions were all approved, so that was good," said Richard.
"We explained the logic behind the decisions, and that Charlton won't suffer but will only benefit."
Under the deal, Murray (acting through Alliance Trust Pensions Limited) and honorary life president Sir Maurice Hatter (acting through The Maurice Hatter Foundation, a registered charity) will purchase the Aries Sports Ground, used by the professional sections of the club, and the former Charlton Park rugby ground, at which the Charlton Community Trust has its all-weather facility, for a £1m sum.
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"The three key points are that the assets are in friendly hands, it's a 25-year lease, and if the club wants the facilities back, it can buy them back," said Murray.
"Of course, this needs to be explained to fans because if you just read it in black and white it might look like asset-stripping is going on, but that certainly isn't the case.
"It's totally for the club's benefit.
The 25-year lease means the club has security of tenure and if, by any chance, the club came into some money which it wanted to invest back into the training ground, it's got an option to buy the training ground back."
Richard added: "As most people will be aware, the directors have pumped a lot of money into the club and unfortunately, people like myself have just come to the end of their financial clout.
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All the deals were approved on Wednesday morning, and matters then turned to an informal discussion with Murray about more general football matters.
Football club chairman Richard Murray has pledged to maintain the club's fabled academy
"There were a lot of passionate shareholder fans there, and they understandably wanted to answer questions about the team, and about next year," said Richard.
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Murray was also asked about the club's academy, which has produced eight players who have made their first-team debuts since May 2006.
"We are going to try to keep our academy going," pledged Richard.
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