Steve Price has written an article for 'The Boot Room' entitled How Hereford's Fans Saved Their Club.
After several paragraphs about the demise of Hereford United, Price turns his attention to how the new club, Hereford FC, was set up.
When the club was being sold for two pounds, fans could already see that
their club was in trouble, and just a few days after the takeover, a
few local businessmen announced their plan to launch a new phoenix club
in conjunction with the Hereford United Supporters Trust. Without the
foresight of these businessmen, it is very doubtful that Hereford would
have been able to set up a football team for the 2015/16 season.
While a club owned 100% by the supporters’ trust would have been the ideal model for Hereford, the club’s financial circumstances dictated that this wasn’t possible. Rather than use this model, Hereford FC have created their own model for a football club. This new model involves the club creating half a million pounds of equity from selling shares, fifty percent of which are reserved for the supporters club, and the other fifty percent for individuals. The individual shareholders must be vetted by the board before purchasing shares, and may not own more than twenty-four percent of the club. However for administrative reasons, individuals wishing to purchase shares must buy at least two (one -ed) thousand pounds’ worth of shares. This arrangement has allowed the club to raise the capital required for playing this season in a short space of time, and should in theory mean that the club is fifty-percent owned by the supporters’ trust. There are also regulations in place to prevent any shareholder from profiting from their ownership of shares in the new club, and to ensure that any profits made are reinvested into the club.
Although many fans would prefer a 50+1 model, they acknowledge the reasons why they can’t have such a set-up. However, the supporters’ trust believe that with the model that Hereford FC have developed ‘never again can people come in, get hold, and ruin this football club.’
Hereford’s new model is designed to be sustainable, with budgets set based on the club selling around two hundred season tickets. Such has been the enthusiasm for the phoenix club, that Hereford FC have sold over a thousand season tickets. Edgar Street has been refurbished, and was filled with over four-thousand supporters for the club’s pre-season friendly against FC United of Manchester
While promotion is the aim for this season, in the long-term Hereford need to secure their home ground, with the lease on Edgar Street currently only running for five years. Keeping hold of their famous old ground is a priority for the club, along with reaching the 250,000 pound target that would give the supporters’ trust 50% ownership of the club. However, with the club now in the hands of loyal supporters, and with sensible budgets and safeguards in place, it looks like Hereford can finally enjoy a bright future.
Read the full article at: http://tbrfootball.com/forever-united-herefords-fans-saved-club/