Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 24

24. Qualification Review for Owners and Directors

Accepting Amanda Staveley’s unexpected help would certainly strain relations with the Premier League in the short term.

And the relationship could remain strained in the medium to long term as well.

However, neither she nor Cartwright Fund had anything prepared to face the Premier League Secretariat without assistance.

Even though dispatching a director to manage a newly acquired company after only 12 hours’ notice was familiar to Cartwright Fund, it didn’t make sense to refuse the available help because of potential future risks.

Above all, she couldn’t simply ignore the bureaucratic attempt to make an innocent third party a scapegoat for their own issues.

Helena Cartwright, at 23, had been defeated in Brasilia without a fight, but Helena Cartwright, at 32, was more than ready to teach those bureaucrats trying the same thing across the Atlantic a lesson.

“Okay. If it’s mutually beneficial, we’ll actively cooperate. What kind of help can you provide?”

At Helena’s words, Amanda Staveley visibly relaxed, almost imperceptibly.

“First, we’ll support you with our legal team and lawyers. Of course, we’ll cover the costs. Cartwright Fund can certainly hire good lawyers, but more importantly, we’ve been thoroughly investigating the Premier League Secretariat and their regulations for the past two years. This isn’t just about money; it’s about expertise.”

“Okay. I won’t refuse.”

Amanda Staveley smiled, pleased with Helena’s straightforward acceptance.

“If this goes well, I hope we can become friends.”

***

The Premier League Secretariat is located right next to Paddington Station in central London.

Helena had vaguely imagined that a secretariat with over 100 years of history and tradition in the home of football would be housed in a classic building like Buckingham Palace or Kensington Palace nearby.

However, upon arrival, the historic and traditional Premier League Secretariat was housed in an ugly, state-of-the-art building where glass and ironware were randomly combined, a style that British architects seemed to particularly favor.

Helena, who had stayed up for the past three days preparing documents and countermeasures, confidently strode across the lobby to the reception desk, showing no signs of fatigue.

The employee at the reception desk looked bewildered at Helena and the group of people in suits and carrying briefcases following her.

“How may I help you?”

“I’m Helena Cartwright, CEO of Burnley Football Club. I’m here to attend the qualification review for owners and directors.”

The Premier League Secretariat’s review board was taken aback when Helena appeared with the PIF Consortium’s legal team and about ten lawyers.

The secretariat staff had filled the room, intending to intimidate the reviewees, but Helena, whom they expected to attend alone or with just one lawyer, arrived with a whole army of supporters, and there weren’t even enough chairs in the conference room.

Helena suppressed a smile as she watched the junior staff busily bringing chairs from the next conference room.

Having engaged in (figurative) brawls with high-ranking Brazilian government officials in her first corporate turnaround after graduating from college, Helena could clearly see that the Premier League Secretariat had planned to easily crush an American investor who had been summoned without knowing anything.

“Um… who are these people?”

Before Helena and her entourage could even settle into the newly brought chairs, a mid-level official from the Premier League Secretariat asked, pointing to the legal team and lawyers.

“These are the people who have come to support Burnley Football Club for the owner and director qualification review.”

“Um… aren’t these people from the PIF Consortium?”

The official pointed out.

“Is that a problem?”

At Helena’s question, the official puffed out his chest and said,

“We have never had a case where people in charge of reviewing a particular owner also review another owner.”

“Show me the regulation.”

“…Pardon?”

The official was taken aback by Helena’s confident retort.

“Show me the Premier League Secretariat regulation that states that personnel in charge of or representing one owner cannot be in charge of or represent another owner.”

“Uh, there’s no such regulation… I mean, there’s never been such a case…”

“If there’s no precedent, we can create one today. If you have any complaints, please send an official letter to Burnley Football Club, including the exact regulation, of course. Surely the British Premier League Secretariat, which prides itself on its history and tradition, wouldn’t impose sanctions arbitrarily without any regulations, would it?”

Helena smirked.

In the ensuing silence, Helena, who had instantly shut down the mid-level official who didn’t know his place, sat in her chair, crossed her legs, folded her arms, and raised her chin.

*Do Burnley’s players, who are still undefeated this season, feel this way when they see the tense faces of the opposing team before kickoff?*

Helena smiled as she looked down at the Premier League Secretariat’s review board, whose expressions were souring across the table, and announced the start of the game as the away team.

“Now, let’s get started. I’m busy.”

“Please introduce yourself.”

“I am Helena Cartwright, a director at Cartwright Fund LP, located in New York, USA, and concurrently a director, chairman of the board, CEO, and CFO of Burnley Football Club, located in Lancashire, England.”

While the junior official recording the information struggled with Helena’s long and verbose explanation, the Premier League Secretariat’s reviewer continued the questioning.

“Um… Ms. Cartwright. Let’s establish the facts first. First, the ownership of Burnley Football Club. Is Cartwright Fund the owner of Burnley Football Club?”

“No, it isn’t.”

The reviewer was taken aback by Helena’s nonchalant answer.

Another reviewer sitting next to him sternly rebuked Helena.

“Ms. Cartwright, all statements made in this meeting are recorded, and therefore any untrue statements will be considered perjury.”

“It’s not perjury; I’m just stating the facts. Cartwright Fund is not the owner of Burnley Football Club.”

“Then who on earth is the owner of Burnley Football Club?!”

The first reviewer attempted an attack as if he had seized an opportunity.

“Why, it’s Burnley Football Holdings Limited, located in London.”

Helena replied as if it were obvious.

“Didn’t you notify the Premier League Secretariat of the acquisition in December 2020 and receive approval for the acquisition through the owner and director qualification review? It was nine months ago, so I think the people here approved it, right?”

The Premier League review board was momentarily speechless.

*These guys, the Brazilian environmental officials were much fiercer? Or am I just more relaxed?*

Remembering the Brazilian officials who had grilled her for hours in a room without proper air conditioning, making her blouse soaked with cold sweat, Helena looked at the review board with a nonchalant expression.

“Th-then, is Cartwright Fund not the owner of Burnley Football Holdings Limited?”

One of the reviewers, who had barely regained his composure, asked.

“That’s also not the case.”

Helena smiled and replied.

“The owner of Burnley Football Holdings Limited is Cartwright-Burnley SPV Limited, located in the Cayman Islands.”

“Th-then… that Cartwright-Burnley company…”

As the reviewer stammered over the long and complicated name, Helena kindly corrected him.

“Cartwright-Burnley Special Purpose Vehicle [a subsidiary company created for a specific purpose].”

“Anyway, who is the owner of that special purpose vehicle?!”

“The owner of Cartwright-Burnley SPV, located in the Cayman Islands, is Cartwright SPV Fund No. 19, located in Bermuda.”

“Then the owner of that fund…”

“Ah, of course, the owner of the fund is the limited liability partner who participated in the fund. Shall I read out the list?”

The owner of Burnley Football Club is an intermediate holding company established in London.

Due to various legal, administrative, and tax issues, this is a fairly common way to own and operate sports clubs such as football clubs.

However, what followed was a fairly common way for private equity funds to own and operate companies, and the Premier League Secretariat’s review board, which had come out thinking they could just grill Helena without any special preparation, was taken aback.

In the case of most private equity funds, they first establish intermediate holding companies in tax havens around the world to avoid tax issues.

A method of putting in one or two intermediate holding companies to distance the actual owner from the ownership and to avoid unnecessary legal liabilities or lawsuits.

Cartwright Fund, as a private equity fund with a history and tradition on Wall Street, had also constructed a complex governance structure, moving from one intermediate holding company to another, each established in various tax havens.

And if the list of funds operated by a prestigious family on Wall Street were to come out, the names of dozens of financial companies, investment firms, pension and sovereign wealth funds from various countries, and all sorts of super-rich people who have invested in Cartwright Fund would begin to appear.

As Helena cheerfully watched the reviewers, who were shrinking back in fear of what the answer to the next question would be, the chairman of the review board, who had been sitting silently in the center of the review board, finally spoke.

“Ms. Cartwright.”

The chairman of the review board, who had been displeased with the reviewers being swayed back and forth by Helena, corrected the flow that had been straying off course.

“As a smart person, I think you know what we really want to ask here. Who is the entity that exercises effective control over Burnley Football Club?”

*Ah, it was kind of fun… If you ask so directly, I have no choice but to answer.*

Helena straightened her posture and answered, looking at the chairman of the review board.

“Of course, the entity that exercises effective control over Burnley Football Club is Cartwright Fund LP and Ian Cartwright II, the managing partner of the LP.”

The chairman of the review board, having obtained the desired answer, looked around at the other reviewers with a knowing gaze.

The reviewers, having been given the direction to go by their superior, continued with the prepared questions for Helena.

“Then, we will proceed with the qualification review for the owner and director of Cartwright Fund… uh, Cartwright Fund LP, which exercises effective control over Burnley Football Club.”

Unfortunately, Helena had no intention of dancing to the tune that the Premier League Secretariat had painstakingly prepared.