Walsall FC have issued a statement in an attempt to clarify some of the confusion surrounding the yet-to-be-published minutes from a recent 'Working Party Meeting' between club officials and members of the Independent Saddlers Supporters' Association (ISSA).
The statement, which you can read below, seeks to offer clarification as to how much majority shareholder Leigh Pomlett paid for the club when he took over from long-serving chairman Jeff Bonser.
The statement, which you can read below, seeks to offer clarification as to how much majority shareholder Leigh Pomlett paid for the club when he took over from long-serving chairman Jeff Bonser.
Published via the club's official website, the statement reads; On Monday, 24th January 2022 the Independent Saddlers Supporters Association (“ISSA”) published on social media their version of meeting minutes for the meeting held between Walsall Football Club and ISSA on Tuesday, 18th January 2022.
These minutes were shared with the Club and a number of inaccuracies and misinterpretations identified. However, ISSA refused to allow the Club to make suggested changes and issued these unapproved meeting minutes unilaterally.
Consequently, the Club were unable to provide the required clarifications and corrections on a number of matters. However, the Chairman will provide further detailed video updates across a range of subjects in due course.
One specific item that requires such clarification and correction to be addressed now is outlined below, and the Club would like to take this opportunity to do so.
Extract from the unapproved minutes:
‘LP (Leigh Pomlett) stressed that he had acquired all of JB’s (Jeff Bonser’s) majority shareholding when purchasing the club, and had also re-paid a £1.3m Directors Loan owed to JB, from which JB had drawn an annual return. The £1.3m is now owed to LP by the club.'.
The Club wish to clarify the above points as follows:
When acquiring the Club, Leigh Pomlett repaid Jeff Bonser’s existing Directors’ Loan of £560,000. He also replaced Jeff’s Personal Guarantee with Barclays Bank PLC for £685,000. The aggregate total of this financial commitment at the time of purchase was therefore £1,245,000, being the £1.3m (rounded up) and discussed in the meeting with ISSA.
This financial commitment by Leigh was in addition to his existing Directors’ Loan of £200,000 at the time of purchase, and he has since injected a further £196,000, meaning the current total amount due to him by the Club is £956,000.
Furthermore, the Club can confirm that Jef Bonser did not draw an annual return from his Directors’ Loan. This was provided to the Club on an interest free basis, as is the case with Leigh’s existing loan.
These minutes were shared with the Club and a number of inaccuracies and misinterpretations identified. However, ISSA refused to allow the Club to make suggested changes and issued these unapproved meeting minutes unilaterally.
Consequently, the Club were unable to provide the required clarifications and corrections on a number of matters. However, the Chairman will provide further detailed video updates across a range of subjects in due course.
One specific item that requires such clarification and correction to be addressed now is outlined below, and the Club would like to take this opportunity to do so.
Extract from the unapproved minutes:
‘LP (Leigh Pomlett) stressed that he had acquired all of JB’s (Jeff Bonser’s) majority shareholding when purchasing the club, and had also re-paid a £1.3m Directors Loan owed to JB, from which JB had drawn an annual return. The £1.3m is now owed to LP by the club.'.
The Club wish to clarify the above points as follows:
When acquiring the Club, Leigh Pomlett repaid Jeff Bonser’s existing Directors’ Loan of £560,000. He also replaced Jeff’s Personal Guarantee with Barclays Bank PLC for £685,000. The aggregate total of this financial commitment at the time of purchase was therefore £1,245,000, being the £1.3m (rounded up) and discussed in the meeting with ISSA.
This financial commitment by Leigh was in addition to his existing Directors’ Loan of £200,000 at the time of purchase, and he has since injected a further £196,000, meaning the current total amount due to him by the Club is £956,000.
Furthermore, the Club can confirm that Jef Bonser did not draw an annual return from his Directors’ Loan. This was provided to the Club on an interest free basis, as is the case with Leigh’s existing loan.
The Independent Saddlers Supporters' Association (ISSA) also released a statement, which you can read, here.