I think Birmingham were reported to have spent £10m in the season they got back out of L1 so we should be able to reach the Championship under the promised numbers. Doubt we’d trouble the playoff spots there though.

Agreed on the no one knows aspect.

OI - more or less how I see it.

There is no long term guarantee whatever you do. Citeh may be a non-league club next season (OK unlikely). I don't think this guarantees us 5 years, the 16 million used sensibly gets us close to that, any money beyond that may or may not appear. Every option has risks, this one seems the best way for me to enjoy the football for a while.

Trigger - behave!

Tick one box of the other

Who’s stolen Surrey Bob’s login?

Dont panic Mr mainwaring, ENJOY the RIDE

I personally think it’s highly likely given the inherent instability of the tech/AI bubble and Mir’s varied interests that he won’t sustain funding in the longer term.

I think this deal secures the club’s existence as a football league club for the next five years, and will lead to stadium improvements, but impossible to say it is long term security. Can certainly argue that’s better than the current situation but it’s not a “cure”.

The big issue as Erik pointed out is what happens at the end of year 5. Fine to say we get another 12 months to search for another investor if Mir withdraws his backing, but we might be a less attractive proposition at that point and totally at the mercy of a new shark investor. Underlines the importance of using the investment of sustainable endeavours and not trying to buy our way up the pyramid.

Thanks, SB.

Mir's background - his British-African family's background was in Kenya and involved them in two main areas. Railway Infrastructure: His family played a significant role in the physical development of Kenya by contributing significantly to the construction and expansion of the country's early railway infrastructure. Members of his family historically served in Kenya’s armed forces during the pre-independence era. Because of this generational background, Mir has maintained strong philanthropic and diplomatic ties to the country. He serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for The Kenyatta Trust, a non-profit organisation focused on providing education and empowerment to youth from disadvantaged families across all 47 counties of Kenya

The Britishness thing is indeed weird. Mr Mir has an odd voice but there are definitely glimpses of west London in there so why does he need to prove anything?

Mir's motivations are a bit more opaque, although I've previously posted some thoughts on here.

Nick: Cheyne Capital will earn investment management fees, and the key people get (I assume) a carried interest of 1.25% each (i.e. they don't pay for their shares). If you're in the alternative investment market, you want to be seen to be active in a range of sectors, including sports, and we in our own small way are quite a good credential to have in your portfolio of deals done. I wouldn't be surprised if Ryan and Oliver also see this as a stepping stone in their sports management careers.

OI - it was a question about Mr Mir's background.

The other strange thing (that Stu, George Jones, SOW, and me didn't manage to discuss on a podcast going out later today) is why Restricted Actions 4A and 4B are not needed to be voted on, in the view of the DTB.

If anyone was there what was the gist of the question/comment that was cut out? Defamatory towards Mir or another of the group? Releasing confidential information?

SB/DD - I get this. It still strikes me as really odd. Omar owns 95% of this group. Maybe it's just me and my aversion to the sales pitch of things. All this presentation about 'British culture' and the story of Wimbledon - none of that explains why these guys got together and then sought out Mir for further finance. So I'd rather they didn't try that stuff and just say, "we want in football and you're the sitting ducks that will entertain us".

It can't cost £7K for the broadcast element, everything else was done anyway. They didn't have the bells and whistles NickD talked about but that is just fine, as long as I knew who was talking, the vision part was mostly unnecessary. Yes a time limit seems excessive but only if the extra time gets more questions answered, not more time for the first few to tell their life stories before getting round to the question. I guess at least nobody mentioned their dog.

And, just to add, if you are in that line of business, it makes sense to form relationships with people who you expect to have the expertise in the underlying business so as to act as stewards for that, i.e. Ryan and Oliver alongside the corporate finance / governance brains of Hugh and Stuart.

Cheyne Capital are asset managers in alternative investments - of which football is an example. Nothing strange in them seeking out opportunities such as this and then bringing them to potential investors. As SB has indicated, they originally thought four but then, for whatever reason, it was decided that a sole investor was the better opportunity.

NickD - I may be misremembering but in the meeting the other night did not the others indicate they were prepared to invest but Mir wanted to be the sole investor?

At least the doubts about whether Mir existed and why he had never been seen have been put to bed.