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  • "When Merry and lenagan first took over they promised they would have the stadium sorted in the summer they took over a few months before the end of the season if i remember rightly. Nothing came of it they have always said the asking price was too much, I believe when they took over they were quoted a price of 12m in the summer it was still 12m, so why didn't they buy it?

    Can you really blame Kassam for doing what he is doing he got two idiots (Lenagan & Merry) to sign a one sided lease is that so wrong?

    Yes we can blame Kassam all we want but the people who are really to blame are Lenagan and Merry they got us into this mess and are not prepared or in a position to sort it."
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Oxford United must pay more for stadium

9:40am Thursday 5th July 2012 in Sport

Oxford United expect to pay an increase of up to £100,000 a year for the service charge they pay to their landlords at the Kassam Stadium.

Last November, the U’s settled a dispute with Firoz Kassam’s company Firoka Ltd for additional charges relating to four years up to last summer.

The one-off payment of £298,000 put the latest club’s accounts, for the year to June 2011, into the red as they recorded a loss of £296,000.

And chairman Kelvin Thomas revealed at the AGM the club would be paying higher rates from now on – although it is unclear whether it would be affected by the ground-share with London Welsh.

He said: “There will be an estimated £75-100k increase per year moving forward, but this will be absorbed into the profit and loss rather than being treated as a exceptional item.

“The club is disappointed with the effect on the financials for the year, but is pleased the matter is resolved.”

Thomas was encouraged by the rest of the figures, with the U’s increasing turnover by 24 per cent, from £2.6m to £3.2m.

It meant they had an operating profit of £10,000, compared to a £91,000 loss for the previous year, while £175,000 of external debt was also repaid.

Meanwhile, United have broken their silence over the ground-share with London Welsh.

When chairman Kelvin Thomas was questioned about the matter at the club’s annual general meeting, he said: “We have been in dialogue with London Welsh, but will not know full details until we sit down with them next week.

“We can’t really say much more about the advantages and disadvantages until we know full details.”

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