John Stevens · @pzj_1
2nd Jun 2015 from TwitLonger
The Lennoxtown Sale unravelled.
The sale of Lennoxtown grounds to Celtic PLC has been discussed by The Football Tax Havens and he has clearly outlined and detailed in great depth.
But while reading again his magnificent work I looked again at this very telling document.http://library.nhsggc.org.uk/mediaAssets/library/Report%20to%20Chief%20Exec%20and%20Dir%20of%20Finance%20of%20GGHB%20-%20Proposed%20purchase%20land%20at%20former%20Lennox%20Castle%20Hospital%20by%20Celtic%20FC.pdf
Read it very carefully. Here The Greater Glasgow NHS Board very clearly are outraged by Celtic PLC and their CEO about how they are conducting their business in the sale of the 50 Acres of land.
Now please observe in the above document when they describe selling land ''off market'' and the strict guidelines that must be observed. This could only occur according to these guidelnes when it was proved there is explicit agreement between the property adviser and the independent valuer that an ''off market'' sale will deliver a clear advantage over an open market sale.
So what did the Property Adviser and the independent Valuer say?
Property Adviser in this case was Pollock and Buchan, here is what they said https://footballtaxhavens.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/pollock-buchan-comment-developers.png
Very clearly they say that if the land was exposed to the open market they believed that property developers would be prepared to pay restricted sums on a speculative basis with a view to securing a residential release in the future.
No mention at all about the clear advantage an ''off market'' sale to Celtic PLC would give over an open market sale.
Now to the Independent Valuer's opinion. Inglis is the Valuer. https://footballtaxhavens.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/inglis-comment.png
His opinion is even more explicit. In fact he believed that there was an inevitability that the 'brownfield' designated Lennoxtown Upper Site would in the future be changed, meaning it would be designated 'residential'.
Again if you read their opinion they yet again are emphatic, that if the land is exposed to the open market that National House Builders' would be prepared to take a long term view when purchasing the land with a view in his own words that it is ''inevitable' that this land in the future would be designated residential. He believed there was an insatiable appetite by developers for developement.
What is clearly missing from both the Adviser and the Valuer is any mention of the special circumstances ''when it was proved there is expicit agreement between the property adviser and the independent valuer that an ''off market'' sale will deliver a clear advantage over an open market sale''.
So again that takes us back to our original document posted at the beginning when it is very clear from the whole context of the document that Greater Glasgow NHS Board were not comfortable with any of the negotiations around the sale.
In fact they appear disgusted at the offer Celtic PLC CEO had given them in writting. We know from The Football Tax Havens this was £42,000!!!! https://footballtaxhavens.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/knockback-letter.png
So the exceptional circumstances in this ''off market'' sale was to offer a pittance and derisory offer, (a mere £800 approx per acre) while the Property Adviser and the Independent Valuer had advised them there would be a clear advantage by putting this land out to the open market for best exposure and price were there would undoubtedly be interest due to the insatiable appetite from developers.
At that point the Greater Glasgow NHS Board should have immediately withdrew from negotiations with Celtic PLC and placed Lennoxtown on the open market for full exposure, because no way at that point could it be justified that an ''off market'' sale was a clear advantage to anyone and particularly when selling public land.
Now please bear in mind also, that Lennoxtown was never exposed to the 'Open Market' and yet Celtic PLC knew to make an offer in November 2004 on land that was never offered for public exposure.
How did Celtic PLC know to bid for land that was not offered on the open market?
I am pretty sure it had nothing to do with John Reid who would later make his way onto the Celtic PLC Board and who just happened to be made Secretary of State for Health in June 2003. This was just coincidental even incidental that the Greater Glasgow NHS had land that was soon to be up for sale.
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I am pretty sure that after Lennoxtown was opened and the said Mr Reid was appointed on the Celtic PLC Board that was due to his proven ability of being on a Football Club's PLC Board and was due to his previous successful post.
There is much more in the opening document posted, and indeed deserves our attention and more will be posted.