AFC Telford bosses open door to investment

The fan-owned club has opened the door to potential major investment through a proposed scheme which they hope will raise between £100,000 and £300,000 to raise cash to help bridge the gap from the Conference North to the Conference Premier.

Gates have fallen by 28 per cent this season and chairman Lee Carter warned at the fans' forum on October that there may be no club in 12 months' time if the current situation continues.

So the club will be asking members to vote on two options, one of which will allow them to sell shares at the AGM on November 26.

The proposal is to sell £1,000 shares up to a limit of 30 per person, with each share costing an annual fee of £500, a sum fixed for three years. The trust would be exempt from this limit.

The other option, which is not recommended by the trust or the club board, is to stay trust-owned under the present constitution.

A joint statement from trust chairman Luke Fearnall and football club chairman Ian Dosser said: "We recognise the shift in the way other football clubs are financing themselves to compete.

"Ultimately this has seen us struggle to keep up, especially in the Conference Premier.

"The club board and the supporters trust board have been meeting as one board to discuss the future structure/ownership of the club and we have put together two options to the co-owners (members)."

A document called 'The Future', which contains the two alternatives for fans to vote on, has been posted out to trust members.

The vote at the AGM will be for members to tell the board how to proceed. Should the vote go to plan, a detailed proposal would be brought back to a special meeting.

The statement said: "Both the club board and trust board recommend the option to sell shares.

"We believe this offer would appeal to a number of supporters/local businessmen and would enable groups of fans to club together to purchase a share."

The statement added: "It is likely there will need to be a minimum of 100 shares sold and a maximum of 300.

"There would be nothing to stop groups contributing to purchase one or a number of shares, but only one vote can be exercised for each share held.

"The Supporters Trust would purchase a number of £1,000 shares and ongoing retainer contribution and its primary aim would be to maximise its influence in the club through its shareholding.

"The current 1,000 x £1 shares held by the trust in the club would be exchanged for 1 x £1,000 share."