Rent and Rates the Truth

Business rates deal for Plymouth Argyle

THE city council has struck a new deal with Plymouth Argyle over the payment of business rates.

The football club paid no rates for two years after it was rescued from bankruptcy in 2011.

Under the new arrangement Argyle will now pay half the full amount this year.

Argyle's business rates should be more than £100,000 a year.

The business rates relief is not without precedent, and is allowed for in government legislation.

The club plunged into administration in 2011 with debts of more than £17million.

The council agreed in October 2011 to buy back Home Park in a £1.6million deal to help rescue the club from financial collapse – the crisis came five years after Argyle had bought Home Park, with surrounding land, from the council for around £2.7million.

The £1.6million buy-back deal included annual rent of £135,000 through a 30-year lease to the club.

The club has actually been paying about £40,000 a quarter in rent to the city council since the 2011 rescue deal.

The 2011 move came as part of a rescue package by businessman James Brent.

There was cross-party support for the plans, put forward by then council leader Vivien Pengelly, which not only saved Argyle from folding but also protected more than £10million the club brings into the city's economy each year.

A Plymouth City Council spokeswoman said: "We value Plymouth Argyle immensely and given its importance as a sporting and entertainment venue, plus its contribution to the city's economy and profile, we support the club wherever possible.

"In light of this and as part of the commercial package agreed when the council purchased the ground, 100 per cent business rate relief was granted for the first two years of our ownership (2011/12 and 2012/13).

"We have recently agreed with the club that we will offer 50 per cent rate relief for this financial year (2013/14) to support the creation of jobs."

The spokeswoman said: "Rent for Argyle has been paid up until September 2013 and payments for the last quarter are expected at the end of November as agreed.

"Likewise, business rates have recently been agreed with the club and payments set to begin in November."

Under the 2011 deal Argyle's rent will increase by 150 per cent if the club reaches the Championship, and quadruple if it gets to the Premier League.

The deal also handed the Pilgrims land at Higher Home Park – currently its car park, offices and club shop – and removed covenants that prohibit non-footballing development there.

Mr Brent's Akkeron group has since won planning permission for a £55million development of the land, which includes building a new grandstand for the club.

The council will claw back a significant share of the profits.

City Cabinet member Cllr Chris Penberthy said: "Argyle is making a contribution to the city and Plymouth would be a poorer place without not only our own football team but the spirit that team engenders in the local community.

"For example, one of the events we do each year is 'Show Racism the Red Card', and Argyle has always been supportive of that."

Plymouth Argyle declined to comment.

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Damon and Greenjock was right all along. Well done

Meanwhile, we learned yesterday that some 7,000 people have been driven into debt because, since April, everybody in Plymouth has to pay at least 25% of their council tax, regardless of income. This wasn't a government measure: councils had a choice, and Plymouth chose this approach. That is, Plymouth City Council chooses to screw the last penny out of people who haven't got anything, while giving discounts to a commercial operation.

Sick doesn't begin to express it.

You'd think they had something to hide.

Peggy wrote:

Meanwhile, we learned yesterday that some 7,000 people have been driven into debt because, since April, everybody in Plymouth has to pay at least 25% of their council tax, regardless of income. This wasn't a government measure: councils had a choice, and Plymouth chose this approach. That is, Plymouth City Council chooses to screw the last penny out of people who haven't got anything, while giving discounts to a commercial operation.

Sick doesn't begin to express it.

Peggy I have e-mail my councillor to ask why Brent is given so much of Plymouth rate players cash and land and do not help the people of Plymouth.

It may be that the deal was important to help sustain Argyle as a club - important to Plymothians, the city's wider image as well as to football supporters.

But it's the fact that it has been kept quiet that I find difficult to accept.

None of this surprises me - thruth benders!!

Good timing too............ just before the pre Avivafest love in.

knecht wrote:

It may be that the deal was important to help sustain Argyle as a club - important to Plymothians, the city's wider image as well as to football supporters.

But it's the fact that it has been kept quiet that I find difficult to accept.

Agreed, these deals are probably pretty common and probably do benefit the City of Plymouth on the whole (as well as Br*nt) however, keeping it quiet stinks. As Tring says, that's cleared that one up before the Br*nt love-in........how convenient.

Jack Sheppard wrote:

knecht wrote:

It may be that the deal was important to help sustain Argyle as a club - important to Plymothians, the city's wider image as well as to football supporters.

But it's the fact that it has been kept quiet that I find difficult to accept.

Agreed, these deals are probably pretty common and probably do benefit the City of Plymouth on the whole (as well as Br*nt) however, keeping it quiet stinks. Well done Tgwu, where did you get the info from ?

The article is in todays Herald. The link is at the bottom of TG's cut&paste.

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I expect we won't see Hairy for a while though...

Missed that on first read Czarcs and have edited accordingly old boy.  

And a very big well done to Damon who endured a ton of shit from the Club's betrayers when he first disclosed this favour that our overwhelmingly generous Councillors have seen fit to provide to their man of the moment and I wouldn't mind betting that had Damon not raised it we would still have known nothing about it!

Meanwhile, nursing homes close, schools are run down and roads are turning to dirt tracks but it seems that Brenty is excluded from these times of hardship and austerity. Disfuckinggraceful!

GOB wrote:

And a very big well done to Damon who endured a ton of shit from the Club's betrayers when he first disclosed this favour that our overwhelmingly generous Councillors have seen fit to provide to their man of the moment and I wouldn't mind betting that had Damon not raised it we would still have known nothing about it!

Meanwhile, nursing homes close, schools are run down and roads are turning to dirt tracks but it seems that Brenty is excluded from these times of hardship and austerity. Disfuckinggraceful!

Any sign of any apologies over there ? will the   and his cronies be man enough..........i doubt it.  

Jack Sheppard wrote:

GOB wrote:

And a very big well done to Damon who endured a ton of shit from the Club's betrayers when he first disclosed this favour that our overwhelmingly generous Councillors have seen fit to provide to their man of the moment and I wouldn't mind betting that had Damon not raised it we would still have known nothing about it!

Meanwhile, nursing homes close, schools are run down and roads are turning to dirt tracks but it seems that Brenty is excluded from these times of hardship and austerity. Disfuckinggraceful!

Any sign of any apologies over there ? will the     and his cronies be man enough..........i doubt it.   

PL2 3DQ
From that article it looks to me that the Plymouth Council and Plymouth people value PAFC and have helped the club out within Government legislation.

X Isle
Again, some people continue to fail to understand Argyle's position remains fragile post administration. JB is trying to clear the debts while keeping us (but presently failing) firmly 'within our means'.

porky
When we, the Argyle fans, sold the idea of the council buying back the ground, one of the many arguments we used was the fact that Argyle is so important to Plymouth as an entity. The vast majority on Pasoti backed that concept and thought process.

I'm an average Janner, I pay my Council Taxes on several properties and I have no axe to grind.

The leader of SG rent a gang

Here we go again will we ever get back to being just a football club and the only talk is football,more ammunition for the stirrers to have a pop if a deal has been negotiated will that not be the benefit to the football club.
The OP is weighted towards some sort of special deal, I would suggest all good business would do the same, if I could get my council tax reduced I would.

"Argyle is so important to Plymouth as an entity" that Brenty and PCC decided to swap us a mini stand for a cinema, ice rink, hotel and half a dozen Big Macs!

That's £200,000 extra that was spent on the team - wages etc. I'm sure the taxpayers of Plymouth are delighted that Guy Branston has been able to live in the manner to which he's become accustomed.

Of course we shouldn't overlook that Brent's fat cat pension fund has benefitted by proxy.

Porky says he's an average janner and pays his council tax on several properties.
How average is that?

I know that I live in West Devon Borough council area not Plymouth nowadays and as such should STFU but, I had to close down a business because WDBC insisted that we pay full ubr on both floors of a building even though we only used half of the downstairs of one property. Dozens of businesses in Tavistock have closed with no UBR relief offered. I know for a fact that the businesses have pleaded with PCC for UBR relief to help them survive post shopping mall Plymouth and have been ignored, I mean it makes no sense, it's almost as though the council look down upon small business men whilst they can't wait to get the lube out every time a multi millionaire shows his face, if only we all had a COMMON PURPOSE?
FWIW I am not against Argyle being given a bit of help this way, what I don't like is the unlevel playing field for businesses in this country from national to local level, and what really stinks is the fact that it's taken weeks for The council to come clean about this. The fact that Argyle have tried to keep it quiet doesn't surprise me, Brent has treated the fanbase with absolute disdain ever since he showed his face at HP.

I think that I could forgive Brent for being a greedy asset stripping bastard, it's the way he's been raised, he probably believes that he's a nice guy, its the enablers, the union turncoats, the Tenpoles and Porkies that bear the real burden of shame in this debacle, we should have our own rememberance day, lest we forget what these people have helped turn our club into.

Brent. Its your feckin club. You own it.
Its your feckin bill.
Pay your feckin bill you feckin cnut.
What's the matter? Things not so easy in a tax paying duristiction in the developed world?

The PCC should hang their heads in shame.

GOB wrote:

"Argyle is so important to Plymouth as an entity" that Brenty and PCC decided to swap us a mini stand for a cinema, ice rink, hotel and half a dozen Big Macs!

Exactly!!

Will Brenty be getting the same deal for his Millbay and Civic Centre developments? That's what I want to know!

Will the ice rink, hotel, cinema and KFC's be getting a nice little helping hand from Tudor and Viv?

keep the 1% richer and sod the other 99% this is all this article screams too me

Not me - others did the digging and found out, and it was Jock who posted here first. Keep digging boys, plenty more where that came from I am sure.

Writings on the wall. Can't even pay his council tax in full without blubbing to PCC. Doubt if HHP goes ahead now. This guy has nothing. Sorry but unless he sells we are going under. The chump has got nothing and I reckon his investors have told him to go and get fecked and are heaping some REAL pain on those narrow shoulders. First the cost of concrete, now this. See ya Brent.