The Bernard Halford mystery / boardroom update

It appears that reports of Bernard Halford's demise are much exaggerated. But I'm still puzzled about what's gone on here.

Here is the document that was posted at Companies House, dated Oct 8th, which clearly states that the 67-year-old had his contract terminated on Sep 23rd:

(click on image to enlarge)



However, an announcement on the official site yesterday evening revealed that Halford is to remain in his role as Club Secretary. I'm still trying to find out what brought about this turnaround, though maybe the club should have known better than to mess with a guy dubbed Darth Vader.

The club's official announcement also revealed that Greek shipping tycoon Victor Restis has joined the board. According to the MEN, Restis is a Thaksin nominee and will represent, along with existing director Taweesuk Jack Srisumrid, the 10% stake Thaksin has retained.

Here then is the new board in full:

Chairman
Khaldoon Al Mubarak

Executive Chairman
Garry Cook

Directors
Martin L. Edelman
Simon Pearce
Victor Restis (Thaksin nominee)
Taweesuk Jack Srisumrid (Thaksin nominee)

Another mystery is the role of property lawyer Martin Edelman. In its original story about the boardroom changes published last night, the MEN stated that 'club officials have stressed he (Edelman) is not providing advice on the acquisition of property in and around the Sportcity complex'. That was removed from a re-write of the story this morning, with the paper stating that Edelman was brought in 'for his high powered legal prowess and for his in-depth knowledge of sporting takeovers, having been part of the team that concluded the £1.1billion sale of NFL franchise the Miami Dolphins in February this year'.

A lot has been made of Edelman's involvement in the Miami Dolphins takeover (he was one of 15 lawyers who worked on the deal) but it is important to stress that Edelman is first and foremost a high-powered property lawyer.

In fact, everything about the City takeover shouts 'property deal'. The original spokesman for the takeover, Sulaiman Al-Fahim, is CEO of real estate firm Hydra Properties, while our new chairman has extensive interests in real estate and is a board member of Aldar Developments. Victor Restis is the founder of the Assos Property Group, and represents a recent trend among Greek shipowners to diversify into property, and Thaksin himself has been eager to become a property developer, announcing plans in May to build a new city in Cambodia.

I suppose only time will tell on this one. But it is worth noting that Dubai International Capital's attempt to buy Liverpool last year was based around plans to redevelop Anfield, with The Telegraph revealing that DIC hoped to make an estimated 25% annual return over seven years from its redevelopment.

New directors appointed / Sportcity redevelopment gathers momentum

Manchester City Football Club now has a new board, according to documents filed at Companies House on Friday.

Six Thai directors - Thaksin Shinawatra, his daughter Pintongta, son Panthongtae, sister Yingluck, Sasin Monvoisin and Worawi Makudi, president of the Thailand FA - have now quit the board. Bryan Bodek, who joined the board in 2000 after BSkyB bought a 9.95% stake, also leaves.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak has been officially confirmed as Chairman while Simon Pearce, the director of strategic communications for Abu Dhabi's Executive Affairs Authority, becomes a director as had been predicted.

But the most interesting appointment is American property lawyer Martin L. Edelman, who becomes a director. Described by New York property magazine, The Real Deal, as 'one of the top real estate attorneys in the city', Edelman (pictured) specialises in complex multi-million pound property transactions, including institutional and international joint ventures.



The appointment is the strongest indication yet that our new owners have major plans to redevelop the 38-acre Sportcity site. Shortly after the takeover was announced last month, the the MEN revealed that the City Council were looking for developers to bankroll a £300m redevelopment of the site. The Council also issued a prior information notice for the project, which described its plans for a 'visitor destination attraction of national or international significance'. The Council hopes the development 'will be internationally distinctive in content and scale' as well as offering 'a cultural and educational experience that caters for a wide consumer audience.'

It's possible that negotiations between the club and the Council are already at an advanced stage. The prior information notice is a legal requirement under European Union law (rather like a firm having to advertise a job vacancy even if it's going to filled internally), so doesn't necessarily mean the Council are actively looking for other bidders. Meetings have already taken place between City and the Council, and Council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein recently revealed that another meeting with City's new owner Sheikh Mansour is 'scheduled for the next few weeks'.

According to this weekend's Sunday Mirror, the club are hoping to buy CoMS and the surrounding area, but Edelman's expertise at arranging joint ventures, and the Council's known reluctance to sell the land and stadium, suggests that a deal involving joint ownership is looking more likely at this stage.


City's top bananas: Cook, Mubarak and Pearce at the Portsmouth game

~ For an idea of what a redeveloped Sportcity might look like, this site has some interesting pictures of new developments in the UAE, including the Dubai Sport City.

~ A part of City history came to an end last week when club secretary Bernard Halford left his job after 35 years at the club. So far the news has not been announced on the official site, but hopefully they'll see fit to write some sort of tribute to the man dubbed 'Mr Manchester City'.
His departure also makes me wonder who the longest serving City employee currently is. If anyone knows please drop me a line.