-
A new era announced
Then CCFC chairman Bryan Richardson unveils plans for a new stadium, moving out of Highfield Road.
The plan is to push the Sky Blues towards the top of the Premier League and capitalise on a boom decade for football. The 1990s saw the start of the Premier League - with Coventry City in it - and new satellite TV multi-million pound revenues.
A 45,000-seat stadium with a sliding roof and sliding pitch to enable concerts is planned on the former Foleshill gasworks site, where the Ricoh now stands. -
Delays and relegation
The stadium project is held up by delays. Coventry City are relegated, ending an enviable 34-year stint in the top flight, with a multi-million pound drop in revenues. -
Council bails out Ricoh
The council bails out the troubled project. The plan is now for a scaled-down 32,000-seat stadium. Arena Coventry Limited is established. The council has a 50 per cent share in the arms-length private stadium company.The other 50 per cent share is earmarked for ownership by Coventry City FC. But the club is in financial difficulty, so it sells its shares to the Alan Edward Higgs Charity, believed to be for £6million. The club retains a "buy back" option for when its finances stabilise. -
Jaguar pulls out
Jaguar pulls out of project after initially being lined up as a main sponsor. Electronics manufacturer Ricoh step in. -
Sky Blues finally move in
-
Sisu rescues Sky Blues
Coventry City Football Club comes close to going into administration.A buyout is eventually secured to new purchasers, Mayfair-based hedge fund Sisu, with former Manchester City footballer Ray Ranson taking charge of the football club.Fans' ordinary shares in the company are sold for 1p each to the new owners.
Former director Geoffrey Robinson MP agrees to write off £20million debts owned to him personally by the football club. -
Points deduction
The League announces a 10-point deduction with immediate effect, but give CCFC Ltd 21 days to appeal.The administrator now has eight weeks to publish his report at Companies House. It may contain results of his investigation into which of the two companies own key assets, and if and when they were transferred.He will also make proposals designed to secure the best deal for creditors, which may include a potential buy-out, or the current owners continuing to run the company in another guise. -
Sky Blues stop paying the rent
Sky Blues' owners Sisu, with CCFC chief executive Tim Fisher now at the helm, begin refusing to pay £100,000-a-month rent for playing at the Ricoh.He argues the rent deal in place since before the stadium was built is far too high for a Championship club. -
City relegated to third tier
Coventry City are relegated from the Championship to League One - and will now play in the third tier of English football for the first time since the 1960s. It is estimated the club will lose £5million from lost TV revenues and other income. -
CCFC reveal £50m debt
CCFC files its annual accounts for the year ending May 2011, which record a £6.7m loss. The club owes debts of over £50m, mainly to Sisu and its related hedge funds and private equity funds.They include Cayman Islands-based hedge fund Arvo Master Fund, which now has a charge against all the club's assets as security against its investment in the club.It is reported talks fall through between Sisu and the Alan Edward Higgs Charity over a deal for 50 per cent ownership in ACL. -
Sisu reject stadium offer
After talks resume over stadium ownership, which include council leaders, Sisu reject an offer from ACL to halve the rent to £650,000 a year. Sky Blues' Tim Fisher says he would settle for a deal "north of £150,000." -
High Court ruling
ACL secures a High Court ruling that CCFC are liable to pay the full rent. -
War of words
A "war of words" via the media becomes increasingly bitter, after ACL describes deadlock in talks as "unacceptable".Sky Blues chief executive Tim Fisher warns the club is heading for administration or liquidation if a rent deal cannot be agreed. ACL dismisses as "bizarre speculation" Mr Fisher's claim ACL could be heading for administration, with lost stadium sponsorship and other revenue. -
ACL court order
ACL secures a court order called a "statutory demand" that the club pays its rent arrears, then standing at £1.1million.ACL gives the club 21 days to pay in full or face a court winding-up order, which could plunge the club into liquidation. -
£14m taypayer bailout of ACL
The council in private agrees a £14m taxpayer bailout, amid council concerns Sisu's refusal to pay rent could put ACL into liquidation. Councillors believe Sisu is trying to distress the company and force it into administration, to acquire the stadium on the cheap.
CCFC chief executive Tim Fisher responds by calling for a mediator to act as a broker in talks, and pledges Sisu will continue funding the club. -
Rent talks collapse
ACL says talks over a rent deal have collapsed. It is revealed the offer on the table was £400,000.The next day, ACL announces it has secured High Court permission for "interim third-party debt orders" against the Sky Blues.The move could give ACL permission to recover its debts by intercepting any payments to the club by named third parties. They include the council (in rent rebates), the Football League, and Huddersfield Town, which owes CCFC compensation for poaching Mark Robins. -
Fisher warning
Sky Blues chief executive Tim Fisher renews a series of public warnings through the media that the club could go into liquidation unless a rent deal is secured. -
ACL profits
The Telegraph reports ACL accounts newly filed at Companies House reveal doubled profits the previous year - to £1mIllion - before the club began withdrawing rent.
The Telegraph reveals potential American investors have been spotted at the Ricoh with ACL interim chief executive Jacky Isaac and suspended Sky Blues life-president Joe Elliott. -
Administration
The Sky Blues announced they have put part of the business - CCFC Ltd - into administration. It comes on the eve of the first High Court hearing in ACL's attempts to force the club into administration, with ACL had hoped would involve a judge approving its chosen administrator, Brendan Guilfoyle, of P&A Partnerships.
The club releases a statement saying it's business as usual, with CCFC (Holdings) Ltd being the club's trading arm and owning all staff contracts, including the players'. -
High Court
High Court judge Mrs Justice Proudman agrees to a four-day adjournment to enable ACL to find out more about Arvo putting CCFC Ltd into administration. ACL says it believes the club's golden share with the Football League - allowing it to compete in it - rests with CCFC Ltd, the company now in administration.A removal van is seen at the Ricoh taking away all club shop stock and office equipment. -
Golden share
Administrator Paul Appleton releases a statement claiming CCFC Holdings believes it has the Football League golden share. -
Back to High Court
The High Court judge agrees to ACL's request to dismiss its administration order. ACL accepts Sky Blues owners Arvo had acted within company law by appointing their own administrator.ACL lawyer James Parnell says the stadium company will watch closely to ensure the administrator works properly in the interests of creditors to secure a long-term future for the club, with ACL still hoping it will lead to takover.
