[DaveO]

Re: £600K loss last year! : Thu Sep 21, 2017 5:25 pm  

Lebron James wrote:

The really alarming thing is that this loss was posted during your super league winning season! It's evident that without IL you wouldn't be in business but this is no different to a lot of clubs. DaveO, if you look at the parent company accounts, the loan made to Wigan rugby club has come from IL personally as it has increased by the same amount as his directors loan in there. Lenagan investments owes IL 5.9m. Money he's never going to see again!

Regards

King James

Where do I see these accounts? I never know where to look. I don't think it's true he won't see all of that money again. If he sold the club and its assets he'd expect at least £3.6m for Orrell. His loss would not be insubstantial at well over £1m but he's not going to be out £5.9m.

As an aside I think the money paid to lease the DW is an absolute bargain. It is dirt cheap considering the pitch relaying but even without it, it's nothing compared to the interest of a loan to build a stadium that cost £25m and it's running costs. Sure you might be able to make a profit on the ground if you owned it but it's hard work and not worth the hassle in my opinion.

Re: £600K loss last year! : Thu Sep 21, 2017 6:15 pm  

Which sports clubs with high(ish) turnover DON'T owe large sums to owners/investors? Ideally the club would be self-sufficient but a lot of the investment has come from IL's own ideas and plans for expansion which will hopefully come to fruition in the near-mid future (e.g. Central Park, Orrell, Wigan TV, 2014 WCC venture in Aus paid for by us?, marquee players, setting up an office in London - I think that happened in the end?). Most other clubs aren't making investments anywhere near that level, the clubs posting profits and with lower debts will be investing on field only whereas IL wants Wigan to become a global brand. If he pulls the plug he will either take the debts with him as shares or a new owner will take them on, there's no way he'll just leave us up the creek.