Mariners haul in new investors – from UK and overseas

Blundell Park, home of Grimsby Town FC

League Two club Grimsby Town has approved a new share issue of £1.5m to 1878 Partners, its majority shareholder.

The move shareholder approval being obtained in August for the conversion of £3.4m of shareholder loans into equity in the Club. 1878 will own 88% of the shares following completion of the new share issue.

To fund the transaction, 1878, which was previously wholly owned by Jason Stockwood and Andrew Pettit, has sold a minority interest in 1878 to several new investors from the UK and overseas. The largest investors include fellow lifelong fans, and a smaller proportion of new shares have gone to a consortium of US based sports enthusiasts.

The new investors include James Harrison and Miles Gooseman.

Harrison was born and raised in Grimsby and although he now lives in Essex with his wife and children, his parents and wider family still live in the area, and he remains an avid Mariners supporter. He has had a long and successful career in global financial markets working for some of the world’s largest financial institutions culminating in him co-founding his own technology company, Genesis Global, in 2015.

Harrison: “I couldn’t be prouder to be an investor into 1878 and I am looking forward to supporting Andrew, Jason and the rest of Grimsby Town FC with their continued successes and in Grimsby more widely.”

Gooseman is also a lifelong fan who holds a role in the wealth management sector in Singapore where he has resided since 2010.

Andrew Pettit, chair of Grimsby Town, said: “We are delighted to be able to welcome a terrific group of new investors to the Club. James, Miles and the other investors, who prefer to remain anonymous, are primarily lifelong Town fans and share our vision for building a sustainable community asset that is a source of inspiration for our town.

“Jason and I are ambitious for our Club and want to progress through the leagues. To get into that position, I would encourage other like-minded investors who would like to join the ownership group to get in touch.”

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