Simon Hallett drops significant Plymouth Argyle investment update | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle owner and chairman Simon Hallett has provided an update on investment in the club

Plymouth Argyle owner and chairman Simon Hallett revealed at a fans' forum at Home Park on Thursday night that a share purchase agreement has been made in principle with a potential new investor.

Hallett has been searching for a new investor in Argyle since the summer of 2023, and has now provided the Home Park faithful with a significant update.

The Pilgrims currently sit 23rd in the Championship table following Wednesday night's 1-1 draw with bottom-of-the-league Luton Town, and are gearing themselves up for a crunch clash with relegation rivals Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon.

Following their encounter with Cardiff, Argyle then face a somewhat daunting away trip to reigning Premier League champions Manchester City in the FA Cup.

But as shown by their fourth-round victory over Arne Slot's Liverpool, the Devon outfit are capable of pulling off an upset and will be eager to reach the quarter-finals.

Prior to last Saturday's defeat to Blackburn Rovers, the Pilgrims had managed three consecutive victories, including their aforementioned FA Cup triumph over Premier League leaders Liverpool.

If Miron Muslic's men can enjoy another similar run of form, they could propel themselves away from the bottom three, while supporters will be pleased by Hallett's recent update regarding investment in the club.

Hallett provides Plymouth Argyle investment update

The Pilgrims owner and chairman told Thursday night's fans' forum: "We are closer to having a deal completely executed and approved than we have been.

"It's obviously taking much longer than we thought, though most people in this business tell us that most transactions take a year or so to go from beginning to end, so I guess in some ways we are on target, but it has certainly been a frustratingly long time for us.

"Where we are now is that since we last talked about it in public we have actually got an agreed transaction, at least in principle.

"So the shareholders have agreed with the potential purchasers, we have more than draft but approved shareholders' agreements, share purchase agreements and so on.

"We are continuing to make progress, but I have learned to my cost I shouldn't put timelines on them, but we are getting closer as every week goes by."

Hallett opens up on game-changing impact of upcoming Plymouth Argyle investment

Hallett continued: "I think a continuing move along the line to future prosperity is a bit of a game-changer.

"We have talked at length about why we need new shareholders.

"We think, firstly, that we need to increase the amount of spending we have for the first team squad, enough to give us a more than reasonable, let's call highly probable, possibility of remaining in the Championship over the next two to four years while we build out the infrastructure.

"So the amount of money will include money over the next few years, extra money for the first team squad.

"It will include money for the infrastructure investments we have talked about, and we are beginning to plan.

"It will basically, I think, be a game-changer because it will elevate Argyle's infrastructure from where we are today, where I think we have a reasonable but small stadium that's fit for purpose but where we have training facilities that are not appropriate for the level of a Championship club.

"As you all know, we are under construction with an academy site that I think is going to be appropriate for a category two academy, which is about where we should be in the Championship.

"So I think it's a game-changer in terms of all that infrastructure.

"All that infrastructure will be revenue-enhancing, but in the interim, while it is being built out and those revenues are being developed, there will be money available to fund an increase in the first team squad.

"Again, our overall goal here is to be sustainable over the long term.

"So this is not a game-changer in that we are playing the same game we have played for the last six or seven years, which has been the investment that has come from shareholders has been in revenue-generating infrastructure projects.

"For every £100 we have invested we have been generating, let's say £20 of revenue.

"Those who say we should be spending on the first team have kind of missed the point that we have been taking a long-term view to sustainability.

"The investments we have made have generated revenues.

"Our revenues over the last six years have gone from about £7m to £30m today.

"Alongside that, the amount of money we spend on the first team squad has gone from about £2.6m to £14m-£15m by the end of this season.

"So these investments are all paying off.

"The other thing they do is they broaden, they diversify our revenue base, which means in the awful event of relegation we will not be one of the financially fragile clubs in League One.

"We will be much stronger than last time we were in League One and, of course, that increases the probability of a quick bounce back.

"The strategy that Andrew (Parkinson, chief executive officer) and the team have executed very well over the last six or seven years is the same game we have got going forward, but it requires a lot more money.

"So the only change in the game is that it's a bigger game, it's a game that is going to continue to take the club forward.

"I'm not going to put a sterling amount on it I'm afraid, it's going to be enough, but we are not talking about an investor who is going to pump £20m a year into losses for the foreseeable future until they get bored and walk away.

"There is an initial investment, there is then further investment coming in at our discretion over the next year or so, but that will all be the issuance of new shares.

"So I and the other shareholders, basically Argyle Green and Richard Holliday's family members, who own a tiny percentage, will be diluted.

"There will then be further down the road the opportunity for us to exercise put options, but that's a long way in the future.

"This is an investment as encapsulated in the shareholders' agreement that really preserves the identity of the club, preserves its strategic direction and vision and values going forward, which is one reason why it has taken so long to nail down.

"That's the commitment from the investor group.

"We have obviously talked to them about the dangers of relegation, and they have said they are committed to continuing to invest whichever division we are in.

"The share purchase agreement has no clause that allows for a change in price in the event of relegation.

"One of the reasons why this transaction has taken so long is we have had to be clear in identifying party that buys into our vision, buys into our value and is willing to keep the same executive team, keep the same management structures that we have, essentially buy into the vision and values we have espoused."

Plymouth Argyle supporters will be pleased by Hallett's financial update

Firstly, the Home Park faithful will be pleased that Hallett is finally nearing the investment in Argyle he has been searching for since the summer of 2023.

But perhaps most importantly, Hallett made it clear at Thursday night's fans' forum that his main commitment to the club is that of a sustainable long-term future.

The proposed construction of a category two academy is something which should excite supporters, and is a clear nod to the Pilgrims' future ambitions as a Championship club.

But even the most optimistic Argyle fans will also recognise that there is a clear possibility that their club will be plying their trade in League One next season, due to the fact that they occupy a spot in the second tier relegation zone with just 13 games left to play.

Therefore, it is equally important that Hallett has also considered the potential eventuality of a short-term future in the third tier before making a Championship return.