Takeover Rumour

[old man villa fan]

When you look at the Aston and Witton areas there are vast areas of under performing light industrial, together with vacant land that is idealy situated for transport links and fairly near the city.  Prime areas if you have vast amounts of money and a long term strategy.

Light industrial doesn't fetch big money, though.

I can't see any reason for arab investors to focus on Aston other than the football club.

No, you flatten the lot and start again.  Under performing industrial areas and wastelands are cheap to buy.  Compulsory purchase of other areas when you have Council backing is not expensive either.

This is pure speculation on my part but if you have massive wealth you can do almost anything.  What price the Docklands and Canary Wharf 30 years ago.  I know, it's not London but look at the redevelopment going on in Manchester.

[Percy McCarthy]

I'm not sure what is going on in Manchester, but I reckon it will have to go some to match some of the things that are happening in Brum.

 But still, I see your point and I would be almost as delighted to see what petro-dollars could do for Aston as I would to see what they could do for Aston Villa.

[SoccerHQ]

There was a Prince at Bodymoor Heath a few weeks ago but apparently he's just some sort of corporate client.

[paul_e]

Birmingham is being sold as a big technology centre, aston uni and birmingham uni (proper one, not the uce with it's rebranding) are both making a big push on courses in cutting edge tech and they, along with the council and various lobbying groups are trying to sell these graduates to people like apple, google and microsoft to start bringing product development (hardware) to Birmingham.  If it all pans out how they're hoping most of the east side of the city centre is going to start seeing these comapnies pop up.  It's one of the main reasons they're looking at the high speed rail link being around the back of millenium point so it's stopping right in amongst the big growth area.

I'd be really suprised if there aren't big economic players all over the world keeping a close eye on things.  Birmingham was built on industry and they're wanting to go back to that, with a twist.

[olaftab]

This city my city the best city in the world. This football club my football club the best football club in the world. Petrol dollars or no petrol dollars.

[Billy Walker]

Some insights into the strategies of The QIA taken from:http://oxfordswfproject.com/tag/qia/

The following is directly from the site:

"The Qatar Investment Authority is perhaps the most active and strategically oriented SWF in the world today. In short, it’s one of the most interesting SWFs I track. So you can imagine my reaction at seeing a new Wiki-leaked cable (09DOHA691) from 2009 detailing a conversation between US Ambassador Joseph E. LeBaron and QIA Executive Board Member Dr. Hussain Al-Abdulla. Now, there isn’t actually anything too revealing in the document. But, the (one-sided interpretation of the) conversation between the Ambassador and the Executive Director is still fascinating, as it focused almost exclusively on the Qatari SWF’s long-term investment strategy. As such, the cable offers a unique opportunity to gain some additional insights into the QIA’s operations and motivations. Some of the highlights:

Here’s an explanation for why the QIA (which is funded out of commodities) has been doubling down on commodity investments around the world:

“The first area of the QIA’s investment efforts will be the commodities sector.  Ambassador asked Al-Abdulla if he could be more specific, to which he replied that the QIA is interested in all types of commodities – oil, gas, gold, silver, and agricultural products.  He shared his view that a structural change is underway in the commodities sector, strongly suggesting long-term price increases.  The growth in the middle class of emerging countries such as China and India, for example, suggests higher food prices over the long term.”

Here are some additional insights into the QIA’s recent strategic investments:

“In 2010 the QIA will also focus on business acquisition.  It will seek to acquire businesses with good management and good products, but which have cash flow problems.  “We are not interested in distressed assets or distressed debt.  We are interested in distressed sellers”, Al-Abdulla said.

See Harrods, Paris Saint-Germaine Football club, Banco Santander Brazil, and the Agricultural Bank of China for details on this approach.

Finally, here’s an explanation for the QIA’s focus on real estate:

“The third part of the QIA’s investment strategy will be in the real estate sector.  Al-Abdulla said that the QIA has not yet begun investing heavily in real estate assets, because it believes that prices will go lower through the first half of 2010…Ambassador asked Dr. Al-Abdulla to go into more detail concerning the types of real estate assets the QIA was looking to acquire, and in what areas of the world. Al-Abdulla explained that the QIA was looking for prime commercial real estate, and expects QIA’s best opportunities to be in the U.S. and Europe.  He observed that East Asia real estate has become too expensive; there are no bargains there.  He noted, however, that the QIA was in search of value, and that price alone would not be the determining factor in its investment decisions.”

In sum, there’s nothing really damaging in the cable; I’d even say the QIA comes off looking quite good in the Ambassador’s write-up. And, moreover, I think we can assume that follow-up conversations went quite well between the two parties, as the SWF would later make a big investment in Washington DC real estate. (In fact, one also has to wonder if the US Ambassador was giving out investment tips during his meetings with the QIA…)"

[Dante Lavelli]

Birmingham is being sold as a big technology centre, aston uni and birmingham uni (proper one, not the uce with it's rebranding) are both making a big push on courses in cutting edge tech and they, along with the council and various lobbying groups are trying to sell these graduates to people like apple, google and microsoft to start bringing product development (hardware) to Birmingham.  If it all pans out how they're hoping most of the east side of the city centre is going to start seeing these comapnies pop up.  It's one of the main reasons they're looking at the high speed rail link being around the back of millenium point so it's stopping right in amongst the big growth area.

I'd be really suprised if there aren't big economic players all over the world keeping a close eye on things.  Birmingham was built on industry and they're wanting to go back to that, with a twist.

That sounds like a great plan.  You look at the "silicone roundabout" in London and you could easily see Birmingham doing the same but better.  It could really rejuvenate the city and give the place a proper identity and selling point.  Kind of fits too, after Birmingham had such a huge part to play in the industrial revolution.

[maidstonevillain]

Light industrial doesn't fetch big money, though.

I can't see any reason for arab investors to focus on Aston other than the football club.

A big theme park centred around Aston Hall....Aston Towers maybe.

[Matt C]

The article by Neil Moxley for those that haven't seen it: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2108657/I-Aston-Villas-waste--The-Midlander.html

[hawkeye]

Erm trying to sugest that an investment in The Villa could  be based on the commercial attractivenes of Birmingham is pretty far fetched, a lot of people see HS2 as providing the opportunity to get to London 20 minutes earlier.

[pauliewalnuts]

When you look at the Aston and Witton areas there are vast areas of under performing light industrial, together with vacant land that is idealy situated for transport links and fairly near the city.  Prime areas if you have vast amounts of money and a long term strategy.

Light industrial doesn't fetch big money, though.

I can't see any reason for arab investors to focus on Aston other than the football club.

No, you flatten the lot and start again.  Under performing industrial areas and wastelands are cheap to buy.  Compulsory purchase of other areas when you have Council backing is not expensive either.

This is pure speculation on my part but if you have massive wealth you can do almost anything.  What price the Docklands and Canary Wharf 30 years ago.  I know, it's not London but look at the redevelopment going on in Manchester.

Canary Wharf is a short distance from the City of Lndon. Aston isn't.

The regeneration of Manchester is similar to the regeneration of Birmingham or any other provincial city, and is totally irrelevant. This is not prime city centre land.

Yes, you can do anything with money, but that doesn't change the fact that Aston is primarily low grade light industrial waste land.

How long, for example, has the serpentine land been empty? It has been empty for a reason. That reason doesn't go away because someone has lots of money.

[Mister E]

The regeneration of Manchester ...

was largely based on the Commonwealth games.

[Brend'Watkins]

The regeneration of Manchester ...

was largely based on the Commonwealth games.

The IRA Bombings in '96 had quite a bit more to do with it I think. 

[Mazrim]

When you look at the Aston and Witton areas there are vast areas of under performing light industrial, together with vacant land that is idealy situated for transport links and fairly near the city.  Prime areas if you have vast amounts of money and a long term strategy.

Light industrial doesn't fetch big money, though.

I can't see any reason for arab investors to focus on Aston other than the football club.

No, you flatten the lot and start again.  Under performing industrial areas and wastelands are cheap to buy.  Compulsory purchase of other areas when you have Council backing is not expensive either.

This is pure speculation on my part but if you have massive wealth you can do almost anything.  What price the Docklands and Canary Wharf 30 years ago.  I know, it's not London but look at the redevelopment going on in Manchester.

Canary Wharf is a short distance from the City of Lndon. Aston isn't.

The regeneration of Manchester is similar to the regeneration of Birmingham or any other provincial city, and is totally irrelevant. This is not prime city centre land.

Yes, you can do anything with money, but that doesn't change the fact that Aston is primarily low grade light industrial waste land.

How long, for example, has the serpentine land been empty? It has been empty for a reason. That reason doesn't go away because someone has lots of money.

A lot of my friends/family are planners and engineers so I know something of this.

Aston is a very short distance from the City centre and although a lot of it is run down and currently underused (which makes it attractive as its cheap and there's plenty of it plus rezoning is relatively painless), it only takes a few key investors to begin making use of it to start a major redevelopment. The huge work going on at Snow Hill and the surrounding area will increase the relevance of the North and North East part of the city. It's not an overnight thing but it will spread out from there. Plus it's right on the M6 Birmingham junction which makes it very accessible and important.

If the companies and sectors that are rumoured to be looking at coming to Birmingham do set up here, with the sorts of investment talked about (hundreds of millions) it will dramatically elevate the relavance and importance of Birmingham and in turn the value of being based in and associated with it. In short, it will invite more business and commerce.

And despite its overinflated sense of importance, Manchester is nowhere near as important as Birmingham. For one thing its half the size, is not the transport and North/South communication nexus that Birmingham is and never will be. Birmingham is more than just a provincial city.
But all this doesn't neccessarily mean much for Aston Villa or, it could be very important.

Also, a takeover wouldn't have to be based on interest in Aston itself. But if it was an issue to an investor with Man City like ideas of local redevelopment, then there's a lot of cheap land available around it. Its something to consider.

[Shoody]

That reason doesn't go away because someone has lots of money.

Thats usually exactly why the other reasons would go away.