Today’s announcement that Saab will face “an orderly wind-down of operations” is yet another indication of the sheer depths to which the current economic situation has plunged.
Saab
The news that Saab’s owner, General Motors, has failed to find a buyer for the trusted marque has left a number of my work colleagues, who are avowed Saab-groupies, glum-faced. Andy, Frank, Leena – take a bow.
It follows hot on the heels of the news this week that FlyGlobespan – Scotland’s premium air carrier – will also be wound up.
Personally speaking, I’ve never driven a Saab, but by reputation and recommendation, I hold the marque in extremely high regard as a manufacturer of well-engineered, reliable and trustworthy cars.
Fly Globespan
I have, however, had experience of FlyGlobespan and have nothing but good things to say about them. They’ve transported me and my family on numerous holidays, and we’ve never had the kind of grumbles (late planes, plans cancelled prior to travel, surly staff, etc) which I’ve experienced through the likes of Easyjet and Ryanair.
Aside from the personal inconvenience of having to make alternative holiday arrangements, these recent events provide a clear and stark indication of the depths to which the economic situation has plummetted, when trusted and accomplished businesses are forced to wind up their operations.
And whilst we’re on the subject of brands which are steeped in tradition and known for operating in their field with distinction and have a global heritage for doing things ‘the right way’, please spare a thought for my football club, West Ham United.
West Ham United
The way that things are going, I genuinely fear that West Ham United will be the next such respected brand which meets an untimely end as a direct result of the economic downturn. Granted, some appalling mismanagement of the club’s affairs by West Ham’s recent Icelandic owners has played no small part.
But, for what it’s worth, I urge Straumur (the consortium appointed to represent the interests of the creditors of Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, West Ham’s former Chairman) in the strongest possible terms to take some decisive action to prevent the inevitable.
As we move ever closer to the January transfer window, West Ham seem incapable of picking up points on the pitch, making the prospect of relegation increasingly inevitable. If relegation were to happen, West Ham (already reportedly £80 million in debt) would have little realistic chance of avoiding administration – which would see a 10 points deduction and the prospect of Division 1 football (at best) for the start of the 2011 season.
Messrs Sullivan and Gold (formerly owners of Birmingham City) have reportedly had a £50 million bid for West Ham turned down by Straumur. This raises the interesting (although disastrous) prospect that Straumur (who by their own admission are money people and have no interest in football) may elect to cash in on West Ham’s prize assets in the January transfer window. By selling the likes of Carlton Cole, Matthew Upson, Scott Parker and Robert Green (all of whom have no shortage of suitors), Straumur would, in a stroke, make an equivalent sum of money to that which Sullivan and Gold were offering whilst in the process removing the spine of West Ham’s team.
The stadium and the London property upon which it stands would be the remaining prime asset, and I’m sure there would be a deal to be done with a housing developer or supermarket. And all of a sudden – from a financial perspective, this seems like a more attractive proposition than that which Sullivan and Gold have made.
But (and it’s a big ‘but’) this option only becomes attractive as a short term way of stripping the asset if (and it’s a big ‘if’) relegation of West Ham from the Premier League becomes an inevitability. It isn’t yet. However, decisive action (a change in ownership and inflow of new net funds before January) is required to avert this.
It’s perhaps ironic that FlyGlobespan isn’t the first airline to go bust in recent months. XL Holidays – who had been until that point West Ham’s shirt sponsor – went into administration just over a year ago. Who would have thought at that time that West Ham United could go the same way?
Posted by Howie 
