Super Ronnie Jepson
Well-known Exeweb poster
Would the wages be decreasing because we're currently operating with an enhanced playing budget after the sale of Ollie, Amps etc?As Al has suggested, the risk may be more around the financial robustness of the preferred contractor so care should be taken to ensure the contracts contain appropriate performance bonds. For sure, the contractor’s balance sheet is remarkably skinny and the year-end debtors (at £1000k) suggests their turnover is modest so this is a very sizeable contract for them. In my view, it is unfortunate that a ‘community club’ could not find a local contractor to perform the work.
From the projections, it would appear to be affordable although I have some concerns around future wages (which are projected to decrease over the stathe next few years), as previously noted by Matt Phillips. If the figures are right, they deserve an explanation. If they are wrong, it calls into question the accuracy of everything else!
For me, the bigger issue is whether most/all of the stated objectives can be obtained without having to spend as much as £2.2m. To an extent, that is dependent upon your thoughts regarding the academy. Some may argue its reputation already attracts the local talent; others might believe far superior facilities are needed. Relative to turnover, this is huge expenditure at an uncertain time and I am not sure a simple ‘yes/no’ on a single proposal is the right approach. The more prudent amongst us might see value in doing a two stage project.