From the Athletic: Rupp Looking to Sell?

The pack suggests we have an average attendance of 18k....that says to me this pack was created a while ago because we are now averaging 20.5k. I reckon this was created and sent out last season before we got promoted. Its been no secret we have had enquiries - some American firm was rumoured and those crypto boys.

Rupp made no secret he was open to offers - but there is no harm in having a pack ready for potential suitors. It doesnt mean he is actively looking to sell...and why would he sell at this moment? Bradford as a Championship club are worth more than Bradford as a L1 club.

 

Just to be devils advocate on the first point, i imagine the figure quoted will be last seasons as it is a confirmed average for the full season. For example of it's updated next season it might quote this season which is obviously higher. It's just a guess though

 

Well if I was Rupp and an offer came in I would sell now.
12 months time we could be fighting relegation back to league 2, with crowds dwindling and the atmosphere turning toxic.

Just saying! things turn quickly in football

 

End of the 2022 season, MK Dons were 1 point away from automatic promotion to the championship.... 12 months later they were relegated to L2. Orient were in the play off final last year, they look like they are in for a struggling next few months. Blackpools last two finishes were 8th and 9th but they are facing a challenge to survive too rather than being back around the play off pack. There are a fair few examples in recent seasons of a team going from potential promotion to certain doom inside of 12 months. It doesn't feel like that's around the corner here but like you say you never know in football these days.

He's done the full U turn and got us back to where he found us. If he gets a good offer and the plan feels right, i can see him selling up this year. I don't mind Rupp, it would be interesting to know if these sale decks have gone out previously? Or if this is a move to show he is actively looking for offers, rather than in recent years when the noise has been he'd listen but he's not looking for an out.

 

They could also buy Woodhouse Grove and rent part of it back to the school. Hey presto we would then own our training ground

 

Rahic did that to us , two playoff campaigns followed by years of decline

 

Market value would be between 10 and 12x annual rent for an 8-10% yield. The current rent is circa £500k per annum.

So around £5-6m is likely to be a commercial valuation.

City has the problem at the end of the lease in making good dilapidations - i.e., putting it back into the condition it was 25 years ago. That could be £2m+++ -

It looks like Rupp wants to kick the can down the road and renew. Pass the time bomb onto someone else.

It would make sense for a new owner to buy it. It would be cheaper to raise commercial finance than pay the rent.

 

I agree. I think its the perfect time for him, for us, and for a new buyer - so long as its the right one. For Rupp, the value has probably topped out in terms of sale price. We're on an upward trajectory and if he can effect a sale before the summer, it has the basis of a great deal for all concerned. Without new ownership, we won't progress to being a stable Championship club, which has to be our aim.

 

And you're the man who would know that .

 

Yes aware what delaps are. The commercial “ value “ is land ground ownership valuation AND rental income which would be nailed on for 25 years …yes?

 

We are also now "middle of the road" with season ticket prices.

The recent increases would mean any new owner wouldn't be burdened by "low prices" and turn bad guy in year one by lumping up fan costs

 

The BBC Leeds podcast is worth a listen on the subject . Confirmed it’s old news .

 

Fairytale of New York?

 

More speculation : https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/ai-values-bradford-city-wigan-athletic-at-as-potential-sale-looms/

 

Old news recycled.

 

So it seems, I didn't want any City fan to miss out, glad I didnt click other links on there.

 

Land value - and leasehold value with a commercial tenant are vastly different.

The value of Valley Parade, empty with no football club, will be based on redevelopment and a change of planning use. The cost to remove the structure and address the issues around it, as a community asset, would severely limit its value. It would be significantly lower than a commercial valuation backed by a 25-year lease. The multiple x rent is based on the tenant's quality (tenant covenant). If it were Lloyds Bank, the value would be more like 20 x annual rent, £10M. That's because they are likely to still be around in 25 years and therefore a good bet to pay the rent. For City, yes, we'll be here, but football club Limited companies are flakey at best! We've had 2 Admins in 25 years. 3 since 1983. Based on the number of clubs going into admin, the multiple will be lower. Kieran Maguire would have a better idea of multiples.

A ChatGPT review of clubs with insolvency events shows the precarious nature of having a 25-year lease with the football clubs as tenants. The relevance being that an Administrator has the power to walk away from lease liabilities.

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Using a strict EFL-member / administration definition for the last 25 years — 11 March 2001 to 11 March 2026 — I make it:

32 clubs
36 administrations

If you also include Bury’s 2019 CVA / insolvency event (which the EFL treated like an insolvency event for points-deduction purposes, but which was not technically an administration), the total becomes:

32 clubs
37 insolvency events

Clubs that entered administration in that period
Numbers in brackets show how many times each club entered administration in the 25-year window.

• Aldershot Town (1)
• Barnsley (1)
• Bolton Wanderers (1)
• Bournemouth (1)
• Bradford City (2)
• Bury (1 strict administration; 2 if you also count the 2019 CVA/inso event)
• Cambridge United (1)
• Chester City (1)
• Coventry City (1)
• Crystal Palace (1)
• Darlington (2)
• Derby County (1)
• Halifax Town (1)
• Hull City (1)
• Ipswich Town (1)
• Leeds United (1)
• Leicester City (1)
• Luton Town (1)
• Notts County (1)
• Oldham Athletic (1)
• Plymouth Argyle (1)
• Port Vale (2)
• Portsmouth (2)
• Queens Park Rangers (1)
• Rotherham United (1)
• Sheffield Wednesday (1)
• Southampton (1)
• Stockport County (1)
• Wigan Athletic (1)
• Wimbledon (1)
• Wrexham (1)
• York City (1)

Clubs with more than one administration in that period

• Bradford City — 2
• Darlington — 2
• Port Vale — 2
• Portsmouth — 2
• Bury — 2 only if you include the 2019 CVA/inso event; otherwise 1 strict administration.

“Gone bust” / ceased in original form
Here it is important to be precise.

If you mean clubs liquidated while still members of the EFL, the number is effectively 0: the clubs that ultimately died in their old corporate form did so after expulsion or after dropping out of the League, not while still holding EFL membership.

If you mean clubs connected with the EFL in this 25-year window that later disappeared in their original corporate form, the clearest cases are:

• Halifax Town — dissolved in 2008; phoenix club FC Halifax Town formed.
• Chester City — wound up in 2010.
• Darlington — original company failed; phoenix club Darlington 1883 emerged in 2012.
• Bury — expelled from the EFL in 2019; original company later dissolved following liquidation in 2025.
• Macclesfield Town — expelled from the EFL in 2019 and went into compulsory liquidation in 2020.

So on that broader “went bust” reading, the answer is 5 clubs.

The cleanest headline answer is therefore:

Administrations in the EFL, last 25 years: 32 clubs, 36 administrations
Busts/liquidations: 0 while still in the EFL, or 5 if you mean recent/former EFL clubs from this period whose original corporate entity later disappeared.

 

So what and how does this contribute to what Rupp WANTS for HIS asset . I put a valuation on my assets , if it’s too high then it doesn’t sell , if it’s too low I hurt my Financial Advisor . He can ask what he wants , the market dictates whether he gets his price, not you, I nor ChatGPT .

 

The price may include repaying the loans to the club by which he has probably gauranteed to the bank with the club paying the interest on them. A way of investing without using your own money untill the club is eventually sold.