But he would have to remain chairman for three years and run commercial operation
Batchelor – blasted last week by supporters for his idea to rebrand Mansfield Town as fictional TV team Harchester United – says this would enable them to stop his renaming plan.
- If you have a question for Batchelor about this plan, leave a comment below and he will reply
- John Batchelor's bid for the club is discussed in this week's Stags Talk. Click here to listen.
He told Chad: "This is a win, win, win situation. The fans get to own their club, Keith Haslam would be gone and I would gain a commercial advantage."
And he threw down a challenge to the supporters and the town, saying: "So now it's over to the people of Mansfield, how much do you want a professional club that YOU own?
But the possible future owner stressed that this is a business idea and not a supporters trust scheme.
In effect, he would be brokering a deal for the fans to buy Mansfield Town FC - which he would first acquire for a £500,001 investment - for £625,000.
Of the £125,000 profit for the football club, he would earn a commission of 25% (£31,000) should the club be in profit at the end of its first year under the fans ownership.
Batchelor, said to be the only bidder on the table by Stags owner Haslam, aims to acquire the club for £1 early next week.
He will also have to invest £500,000 cash (working capital required by Keith Haslam) – after showing interest in several clubs recently, including Accrington Stanley, Rotherham and Macclesfield.
He would then offer a strictly limited number of shares, probably 2,500, for a 100% ownership of the club (a limited company) at £250 each. And says: "If the fans want to own it all, that's fine. I won't even have one. I just want to be chairman for at least three years, that is all, and obviously take my already stated 25% from the profits.
"There is a risk for me . . . the fans may not take up all the shares and I would not recoup my investment. But I am confident they will want a part of this and I am confident I can bring money into this club and get it making a profit."
Buying a share – and fans could purchase as many as they want – would also give them the opportunity to become a director, says Mr Batchelor.
He said: "Shareholders would not have to become a director, but why wouldn't they want to be a real director of a club.
"With each share certificate issued would be a 288a form to fill in (registration of a director) if you wish to be a director. With that come risks and responsibilities and anyone wishing to be a director should take separate legal advice.
"The reasoning behind this is that the people of Mansfield, including the 300 who have already called me, want two things, first that Mr Haslam sells the club, and secondly that we DON'T change the name to Harchester. I can guarantee one and hopefully arrange the other i.e. We will remain as Mansfield Town FC.
"Anyone doing the maths on this deal will realise that if all shares are purchased, then it produces a profit for me. As I have said previously, on any commercial deal I would keep 25% and put the rest into the club. I will take no salary, so I have an incentive to make it work for all of us."
Of the £625,000 made from selling 2,500 shares at £250 each, £0.5m would repay Batchelor's buyout deal and he would then take £25% of the £125,000 'profit' at the end of the first year.
Batchelor added: "This gives interested fans ownership, but also responsibility. This is NOT a Supporters Trust, this is a business, where anyone prepared to get involved has to understand that, they have responsibilities, (unlike trusts where individuals just shout their mouths off but risk nothing). Although should individuals choose to act only as shareholders, should they choose not to become directors, the only risk is the value of their shares, which would attract a dividend if we are successful."
He says the day-to-day running of the club would be done by a steering committee, elected by all directors.
The would-be owner guarantees to supply and fund an additional management team – reported earlier this week to include former York City boss Terry Dolan.
He would also want to be chairman for a minimum of three years, a position then voted on by shareholders, so that he could earn his commission on commercial deals brought to the club.
And as chairman he would want 'a contract to run the club in all of its commercial activities'. He added: "But again I re-inforce that I would take 25% of the profit on any deal, but only when the club is in profit on an annual basis.
"And I promise that ALL transactions would be transparent and open to public scrutiny."
Batchelor went on: "And any plans to buy the stadium would be dealt with as it would be by any board of any company, in other words we have to find a method of purchase that is cheaper than the rent asked for by the landlord."
When asked by Chad what would happen if the club continued to lose money – reported to be around £250,000 a year recently – he replied: "There are four options: We all re-invest, we do a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), we go into administration or we sell the shares on to a new buyer."A CVA is a deal between the company and its creditors; unsecured, trade and tax, to repay them from future profits (or a deal may be written to sell assets and pay back creditors from the proceeds).He added: "The club would not under any circumstances revert to Keith, because we would have purchased both it and hopefully by then the ground. As far as creditors are concerned, exactly what would happen to any creditor of any company that goes bump i.e. They are stuffed!
"But the reason that I think that this will not happen, however, is that the ownership of the club by the fans, the exit of Haslam and the enhanced profile will, if nothing else, fill the ground to a greater degree than it is now.
"That ignores TV interest, sponsorship deals and any other 'insane' ideas that I might come up with that the board (of potentially 2,500 people or their representatives) will allow me to put in place.
"If we only increased the gate to the number of people that went to the Notts County away game, we would be in profit, if you include the removal of Keith Haslam from the club."
Batchelor admits that in theory he could then be left with no shares or ownership in the club. And after three years no job, if the directors then decide to replace him as chairman
He added: "I don't need to own the club, I just speak on its behalf on a commercial level with a perceived degree of gravitas – that is how I will make my money, for three years at least!"
If you have a question for Batchelor about his plan, leave it below and he will reply.The full article contains 1310 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
