Rooks consortium bid letter in full

On Friday morning he sent the following letter to a consortium which had put forward a plan to take control at the Dripping Pan:

I have been asked by the board to respond to the document headed "Business Takeover Plan"

The document makes no reference to making an offer for the shares and as such we are unable to give it any detailed consideration.

As background you will be aware that Steve King along with Jim France his son and 2 accountants had a meeting some time ago with the view of this group getting involved with Lewes FC.

At that meeting Jim expressed a desire to purchase a controlling interest in the club. After explaining that the board were looking to work with new people along side the existing board for a period to assess the possibility of an eventual sale, Jim confirmed that that's not what he wanted and he would only be interested in taking control.

At the same time we had another group who were interested in working with the board they would introduce new sponsors who were also very interested in the community development scheme the partnership with Active Lewes Ltd and the creation of a new sporting hub.

No formal offer was made by Jim France and although we recognised his interest the Board took the view that the only workable solution for the club was the other consortium, especially as they had provided detailed budgets with well thought out assumptions.

An e-mail to David Field acting on behalf of Jim on the 18 February did explain the current position:-

"Since our initial discussions with Jim France we have had to reassess the position re selling the owners shares. The current situation reflects the negotiations still continuing with Lewes District council (LDC) on the Ham Lane Wall and the possibility of taking over the trust that is run by LDC which owns the football ground and surrounding area.

We are also involved as part of the Active Lewes project, in discussions with the Sussexdowns College in trying to secure land that could be used for the community sports scheme. With these issues still unresolved we believe that it would not be in the interest of the club or the community project to change ownership at this time. However we do wish to work with someone with the view of them taking over the club as the opportunity presents itself."

With regards to the budget presented to us I would be very sceptical that this could be achieved. The assumptions made on the attendances alone are far too optimistic.

We have been preparing budgets and running a successful football club for over 7 years, in that time we have been congratulated by the FA Financial Advisory unit on two separate financial reviews and believe with this experience that the budgets we are currently working with are prudent and achievable without the need for large donations from the directors.

We are some what surprised at the document that has been received as the press and radio seem to have been advised that Steve King and his consortium are putting a bid together to buy the club, in fact Bright FM on Wednesday suggested he is getting his job back!

You will be aware that we received an e-mail from an Eastbourne accountant and a copy of that e-mail and response is attached below.

In it we confirm the club is not for sale but that the board would consider an offer if one was received, no offer has been received.

The matter is now closed and the board will be confirming the current set up with Kevin Keehan as manager.

Yours Faithfully

Martin Elliott

Managing Director