- Home
- Birmingham City
- Current Squad
- Adam Legzdins
- Jonathan Grounds
- Paul Robinson
- Ryan Shotton
- Maikel Kieftenbeld
- Robert Tesche
- Stephen Gleeson
- Clayton Donaldson
- Diego Fabbrini
- David Cotterill
- Rhoys Wiggins
- Che Adams
- Lukas Jutkiewicz
- Viv Solomon-Otabor
- Jacques Maghoma
- Greg Stewart
- Jonathan Spector
- David Davis
- Michael Morrison
- Tomasz Kuszczak
- Paul Caddis
- Development Squad
- Academy
- Ladies Team
- Sophie Baggaley
- Alex Windell
- Meaghan Sargeant
- Jess Carter
- Kerys Harrop
- Freda Ayisi
- Kirsty Linnett
- Bella Linden
- Andrine Hegerberg
- Abbey-Leigh Stringer
- Melissa Lawley
- Charlie Wellings
- Chloe Peplow
- Rebecca Lloyd
- Connie Schofield
- Emily Westwood
- Cheryl Edwards
- Corina Schröder
- Ashlee Brown
- Coral-Jade Haines
- Aoife Mannion
- Ann-Katrin Berger
- Out on Loan
- Former Players
- Boards and Advisors
- Appearance Data 2014/2015
- Current Squad
- Factfiles
- Series
- Sponsorship
- Website Info
- Social Media
- Contact Me
Pannu Blasts Paladini in HK Press
In an incendiary interview with the South China Morning Post published this weekend Peter Pannu has slammed Gianni Paladini’s attempts to buy the club.
The piece quotes Pannu as saying
“I support freedom of speech and he [Paladini] can say what he likes in the press, but if anyone wants to buy our club they better prove they’ve got the money to do it before they talk to the British media,”
“There’s been a complete misrepresentation that he’s closing in on a purchase and it’s totally without foundation.”
Pannu goes on to state that Paladini is trying to buy the club on the cheap and that implies that the Solihull-based Italian’s consortium doesn’t have the money to buy the club.
The piece is fairly remarkable bearing in mind the lack of comments Pannu has publicly made to the British press and no doubt will once again inflame the situation again. Indeed, I think that bearing in mind that Paladini was quoted as saying the ball was in Pannu’s court last week that the Acting Chairman of BCFC has now taken that ball and gone home.
Whether this now kills the Italian consortium bid is the question – if it does then it’s down to hoping that one of the HK consortiums that Pannu mentioned in his statement to the Stock Exchange on Friday comes through with the money to buy the club. The alternative doesn’t bear thinking about at present.
Tags: Carson Yeung, Gianni Paladini, Peter Pannu, Takeover
49 Responses to “Pannu Blasts Paladini in HK Press”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
So with this being said and Pannu now having had Paladini’s ball in his court and not returning it are there any other potentially interested parties out there?? Or is it a case of we’re down to the 2 Hong Kong based consortiums??
Gianni Paladini and associates will continue to be interested in the purchase of our club as long as they can grab a bargain and make a few bob, if he really wants the club then he should get his cheque book out and pay the going rate – then support the manager and drift into the background.
I sincerely hope that the club is bought by people with the right intentions. Wouldn’t it be refreshing If the first we hear of the sale is after its been completed – as the only ones benefiting from the leaked stories are the owners of the Evening Mail.
KRO
If Paladini is serious about wanting blues he’ll ignore these inflammatory comments cos he wouldn’t have to work with PP in any event. However, my guess is that this signals the end of the GP bid and we’ll be taken over by a different group of Chinese owners. God knows who they are, but then did we ever know the true identity of the current regime? CY fronted it but personally did not hold a massive stake in the club. Well worth a role of the dice now, I think there’d be (at least) a short term benefit to being taken over, by whoever, even if the feel good eventually fizzles out.
KRO – it’s the only thing we can do! Good times will come back and it’s now we should do our best to support the club, we will after all be part of BCFC long after the next owners, manager and players have gone… let alone the current! It’s frustrating but i don’t see what we can do, people who aren’t fans themselves couldn’t give a sh1te about us when it comes to personally making/saving £millions. Support the club like those, that we are, are in it for life. We dont care about Carson…
Its my ball and your not playing. think pannu has been drinking if he actually said that. dont beleive it for a second
It seems clear to me from Pannu’s statement to HKSE on Friday that the finer points to a takeover are being made. New owners want a restructuring of debt before the takeover, Yhey want to know if any money is owed from the previous takeover and they look like they are seeking a reduction in the debt owed to Carson. They seem to be doing business correctly rather than whinging that they had to pay to see the books. Paladini is a chancer, just like the current manager.*
*as stated by Thongs in August – give him 10 games they shouted, you can’t sack him yet they said, he’ll come good they lied.
Isn’t pannu contradicting himself as when yeung brought Birmingham where was there money to support the club
This is all very strange.Why didn’t Pannu ask the italaian consortium to pay 10 Million into a lawyers Escrow account at the same time as asking them to sign the N.D.A? This is not a huge amount of money for somebody apparently intent on purchasing a football club.If they then didn’t like the figures they get their money back but are still bound to keep their mouths shut.At least a show of 10 Million would have exhibited a certain amount of credibility.Did PP not ask for proof of funds? Again a fairly normal step before entering into negotiations on a costly acquisition .Its a little late for PP to now say ” they better prove they’ve got the money”.This should have been taken care of ages ago.All this vulgar and unprofessional washing of our dirty laundry in public is sure to scare off any dream buyers on the sidelines.We should have gone into administration at the start of the season and taken the points hit.We could have then chosen from a wider pool of potential owners who could have purchased new players and appointed a better manager.End result in Mid table in the championship with all to play for next year with a supportive fan base behind the new owners.We need to take radical action now!
Peter Pannu must be very confident one of the HK consortiums are going to buy the club or he’s cutting off a chance here. I’d rather have Paladini rather than another owner from the Far East, out of the wok into the frying pan.
You’d rather have Paladini, why? Theres no evidence he has money, he’s played it out in the media, trying to scare supporters, and who are his backers? The mans a chancer, and people like Mel Eves in the Mail are only supporting him as he sees it as another chance to make money like he did with him at QPR! Paladini no thanks!
According to Paladini, they have spent a lot of money in regards to trying to push through a takeover, so i cant see them pulling out after this latest Pannu statement. But it seems to me that Blues are to remain in the ownership of Hong Kong based investors.
Hypocrite Pannu. says he won’t talk publicly due to non disclosure confidentiality, then talks publicly. I don’t believe these HK groups exist at all.
More importantly has Clark resigned or been sacked yet?
All that claptrap above is out of our control. I want action on getting Clark out now.
The only way Clark will go is new owners…
It’s either Clark or no manager at all, until and if, we get new owners. So until that happens,if you are proper bluenoses,we have to get behind the manager and the team. They need all the help we can give them ! KRO
With all these balls it sounds a load of bo!!ocks to me. Our clubs a mess fact we can’t string a win together and ain’t got a pot to p in… How about Pannu gets on and sells the place instead of moaning about someone trying to buy the club on the cheap… At the minute we’re bargain bin and if the club brought a nice house and wrecked it that’s there problem
Sounds like a clever statement to me, and very bullish….
Accusing a wannabe big shot like Paladini of having no money….. Either Paladini walks away with his tail between his legs and doesn’t look his mates in the eye again or he stumps up the funds and pays the going rate (which is actually a bargain!).
What do you think Paladini’s ego will push him to do?
I think Pannus ego will end up with the club in admin, i’m not the type to scaremonger but i’m pretty worried now, from my view we have a owner who can’t do anything, a n mouth piece who seems intent on being a ass, a manager who is way out of his depth and a team that can’t or won’t perform.
I have no doubts that this will drag on and we will end up with the best of our players sold in january to fund the club, followed by either demotion to the first division or the tolal failure of the club, unless something happens soon, i’m certainly not keen on having more Chinese owners who in all hoinesty will not care less about us the supporters, the club will just be another way off increasing standing in china not a passion for football.
i wish everyone would leave pannu to just get on with his job of selling our beloved club.i dont think most people realise that not selling the club on the cheap is the best possible move for all involved.if paladini wants to buy on the cheap imagine our transfer purchases.i think paladini and consortium are in it to make money only and they wont have the fans or clubs best interest at heart.pannu,your right to rebuff these cheapskate plonkers,sell to someone who will actually take us forward and not bleed us dry.and to all u moaners about LC.lets see what he can do WITH funds and not just loans. KRO
Couldn’t agree more!
on the cheap how is £30 mill cheap?
What do you think the club is worth?
take us forward there is no-one to take us forward, no-one has actually done due diligence not even Paladini so untill that happens nothing can move forward.
that would take a month then we need the shareholders to vote so we are into Feb so more sales in Jan means the offer will reduce becuse the assets have reduced.
Who’s going to pay £30 mill when Butland and whover else have been sold.
Some of your sentiments are to be supported but what exactly did Lee Clark do when he had three season’s worth of funds at Huddersfield? And why did Huddersfield sack him?
How about it gets sold to much the same people who currently own it, whether that price turns out to be more or less than what is being offered by Paladini. You shake the tree and a few apples will fall off and take some of the ‘devaluation’ with them.
If a previous owner buys his share at a lower price but retains the same share (plus receiving the price he paid for his share, mi nus comission) the people who lose are those who take the hit and don’t buy back in.
Retain control, lose a few people who you used to be on board with but are now not, and never have to release too much information about failed accounts with BIHL as the company no longer holds the club and can fold.
None of this is new. There are many instances of clubs entering administration where the bidders after administration are the same people who owned the club when it went into administration.
I don’t think we will get that far, but the net result is the same.
I could see that happening and i think this is the gamble Carson is taking linked to his belief he will get off those charges and get back his £60 million and he would still be a major player in the club.
Trouble is he ain’t got nothing to lose but as fans we have in terms of admin, relegation and even bankrupcy if his gamble fails.
Admin wont be the end of the world as long as we amass sufficent points to stay up!
I think it’s now quite clear that Pannu et al care only what the HK press think of them and they’ve lost a huge amount if respect with me. They should be talking to our local press first to keep those that matter in the know – US.
Pannu has already stated that talks with a HK group are in an advanced stage, so this statement makes me believe that he is confident that the HK group will complete the purchase.
I also feel that CY and PP want this HK group to take over and I would bet that they are negotiating in such a way that CY and PP retain an interest, CY with a minority share holding and PP to remain as CEO.
Agree, but they haven’t done due diligence yet and who knows what they may find and may then pull out and it’s all time which we haven’t got.
Carson wants £40 million and some on here call that a bargain!! and pay up, show your money etc , you are utterly and totally deluded.
The club AT BEST is worth £28 million, £10 mill for ground and land, £2 mill for training ground and £8 million for the team plus about £5 to £8 mill for Butland and Redmond if we are lucky.
Then we owe £20 mill to BIHL & Carson, so our net worth is £8 million but some deluded people on here slate Paladini for wanting a bargain at around £30 mill of which £15 mill is payment to BIHL & Carson as creditors.
I don’t see anyone else offering anywhere near this and as Swiss Jonny says Pannu’s unprofessional washing of our laundry is getting us no where and may put off buyers.
Everyone slating Paladini seem to be in dreamland, there are no other offers and the club will go into admin in the next six months unless it sells Butland etc and this is only delaying the inevitable, unless we get new owners or investment with current owners staying put.
The club has been up for sale for a year or more and no-one is interested, END OF.
We are doing just what Coventry have done for the last few years, waste the parachute money on too high a wage bill, sell our best players and have a board that are inept.
That we have many players out of contract at the end of the season (i’ve heard it’s 14?) means they walk for nothing meaning the club has even less assets and only kids left, it’s one way of cutting the wage bill but as Portsmouth are finding, taking on a whole squad of free’s mainly young ones at that, doesn’t work in League One nevermind the Championship if we are lucky to survive.
Chris, your missing one major asset… the clubs propensity to make money, ie. the fan base
As the business is in a service industry, this is its main (although in-tangible) asset. This is why it is so hard to value a club. Your right in what you say in as much that one persons opinion may be that as fans apathy is at a low, the ‘in-tangible asset’ (fans) value is low. However, this changes like the wind… a good run, or a change in direction could change all that and the value would rocket again.
So, it is difficult to say whether £30m is a bargain or not…. A couple of years ago, we all knew £80m was too much, but we would never have said that £30m was over priced.
Admin may be a better option than a Paladini buy out
How could admin be better than Palladini ? We must have the most stupid fans in the country. We deserve carson yeung and his so called “sale” There is no sale of BCFC only a restructure with yeung behind it. I will be writing to the football league to demand they carry out a right and proper person test any connection with Yeung or pannu should end the takeover I hope
Rupert.
Sadly you have too much faith in the owners and director’s test – it is very, very hard to fail. The FL are very laissez-faire in their attitude.
Chris.
You said: “The club has been up for sale for a year or more and no-one is interested. END OF”.
So the FOUR interested parties Collin Tattum insisted were interested suitors as recently as a couple of months ago (where two of themn may have currently cooled) were all phantoms, were they?
totally agree with kaje. we the fans get official club statements and no face to face time with the local press by pannu yet he can openly talk to chinese media about our club. pannu you ignorant sod this is our beloved club and we are the ones that that deserve to be spoken to honestly and up front and not behind offiacial club jargon. sell the club now and get over here and show us fans some damn respect and talk to us face to face.
Almajir I can remember receiving a bit of a snotty mail from you way back when I made a statement about our board being crooks, moving in those sorts of circles etc.. It was a personal view and that hasn’t changed. I accept your point about legalities of such opinions and so will refrain from such accusations. You are correct so enough of all that. My point now is… why won’t Pannu and Yeung talk to a British based consortium? Why must it be back out in HK, way “offside” from scrutiny. No one really knows the state of the finances nor what is going on, again….why??? We MUST question motives here for our very survival. I foresee receivership by the seasons end and you seem to be the only relevant conduit for questions to be raised.
The gist of what Pannu says is correct –
“There’s been a complete misrepresentation that he’s closing in on a purchase
and it’s totally without foundation.”
So why then go public with a “hoping to complete the deal in 10 days” statement ?
Peoples jobs are on the line here , & some respect should be shown , instead of an open public slanging match through the UK & HK press.
I wonder if all these people who are saying that Pannu should sell whatever Pladini offers, would be willing to let me have their houses for well below market price? If so please get in touch ASAP.
I think if I were in negotiations with Paladini I’d be ready to have a public rant by now as well, the geezer is a wide boy, he should have stayed at QPR, he and Arry would have made a great double act.
Firstly, you would have to make the distinction between what the selling party believes the goods are worth and what the actual value of the goods are.
Unfortunately, Birmingham City Football Club is simply not worth upwards of £40m. Pannu et al bought the club at a premium and paid over the going rate at the time, the value has since dropped further and a valuation of around £30m is not unrealistic.
It’s the equivalent of buying a house worth £100,000 for £200,000.
So, it’s not a case of someone allowing you to buy their house for below market value – it’s a case of selling their house FOR market value.
comment edited
At least, Paladini is talking to the BRITISH press. Is there a reason, why Pannu won’t talk to the british press,is it because he has something to hide ? A little bit of honest information would go a long way,but I don’t think that will be forthcoming !
Almajir, a quick question…what is now the criteria for a club’s owners to pass the fit & proper person’s test? If the secrecy of the Chinese/HK regime continues, isn’t there a distinct chance that the Football League will refuse to sanction any takeover deal??
On a separate note, i would like to point out to all those who are questioning Paladini’s motives for buying Blues, that he has raised his family in the Solihull area and they are Blues fans (his daughter is at least), so it is worth bearing in mind that he may have a vested interest in “saving” the Blues, as well as the financial rewards to his backers & the kudos he would get from the local Bluenoses should he turn things around!!
Whatever happens we must continue supporting the boys in royal blue & hopefully the lads will be able to turn things around on the field…admittedly it looks pretty grim at the moment! KRO!
I think it’s fair to say that PP does not publicly make a statement that is founded on lies or contains lies. What he does, is very economical with the truth and makes a statement that is lawyer speak which does not implicate him or those in he represents. There is also one thing he is very good at, and that is obeying the rules on confidentiality and only making a statement when he needs to. The reason this whole mess is so frustrating is that we only have Paladini’s version of events to go on ..and only a couple of statements from PP in HK ..thousands of miles away.
It only stands to reason that the fans are screaming out for closure when it appears the current owners are in HK and we can deduce that we need investment as soon as possible.
Swissjonny has rightly highlighted the vulgar and unprofessional way in which Gianni Paladini conducts his business. And isn’t the local/Solihull angle (of Paladini) rather heavily undermined when it has become public knowledge that Paladini’s men want to buy Blues via instalments?
They can’t have much financial poke behind them and is this not all the evidence needed to be convinced the Paladini consortium is penny-pinching even whilst in the process of bidding for the ownership of Blues?
I seem to recall David Gold saying “show me the money” to Yeung when he first came sniffing round in 2007, then we got relegated it went quiet, then when we got promoted in 2009 Yeung came calling again David Gold said “show me the money” again but a bit more sternly as he rightly thought he was being messed about, finally Yeung came up with the £81M, the point is Pannu’s trying to get Paladini to show his hand, same thing happened in reverse a few years with Yeung…what comes around goes around eh?
A hong kong consortium is gonna be the same as carson yeungs consirtium. Just get one person in. Everyone knows consortiums never work. All they interested in is making money. I think all bluenoses should get together and write to the fa to do a proper fit and proper investigation otherwise i can see us bein in the same boat as now. Or worse as portsmouth.
I would be inclined to see Pannu’s ranting in HK as a good sign that he is in the pain zone on the only real offer he has to deal with – 30 million from the Paladini camp. A 51 million haircut is extremely hard for anyone to take, but CY & co met their match with G+S. Given the state of the club, its performance and player equity, $30mill is more than fair. I reckon this is an insolvency sale by another name – take it and go gnash the teeth elsewhere.
I’m bored with this now, it’s like a playground dispute over a toy. It’s a bit rich for Pannu to question other peoples integrity given BIH’s track record, and Paladini should just get on with the negotiation if he is serious. Can someone also explain to Lee Clark the definition of insanity. Playing the same team with the same tactics and expexcting a different outcome!
[…] offensive in his bid to buy Birmingham City FC. Having been “insulted” by Pannu’s comments to the South China Morning Post on Saturday, Paladini has demanded two weeks exclusivity to buy the […]
i personally think 30 mil for our club is under value a price of around 40-50mil is more realistic 80 mil we all know was over the price but 30 mil please that is way under,its only the fans who r panicking that want a quick cheap sale.dont be fooled ,paladini and co wont invest sufficently and if they do end up as owners we would be a championship side for many years to come.hopefully someone with more money and spending power will buy as i think we only need 3 half decent players in jan to grab a play off place.centre back centre mid to play alongside morrison and a striker along side king.