Key figures urge support for Preston bid
A GROUP of key players involved in the recent development Preston North End football club have issued a rallying call for all shareholders to back Trevor Hemmings’ takeover bid.
The influential figures include Bryan Gray CBE who, in his time as Preston North End chairman, led the club from Division Three to the brink of the Premier League.
The group’s aim is to make all fellow shareholders aware they support the takeover and are selling their shares to secure a bright future for the club.
Ben Casey, who came up with the concept of the new Deepdale stadium, has also come out and backed the Hemmings bid. They are joined by other Preston business leaders, who are both shareholders and fans and believe the de-listing is the only way ahead for the troubled club.
All are urging fellow shareholders to accept Trevor Hemmings’ offer for their shares to bring financial stability to the club and put it on course for another attempt at Premier League football.
Bryan Gray, who was chairman of the club from 1994 until 2001 and is also former chairman of the Northwest Regional Development Agency, has pledged to sell his shares to Hemmings.
He said: “I think it is the best way forward now for PNE. Obviously there have been a very difficult few years and having the club under secure financial ownership is the priority.
“That was always my objective when we set off on this journey in 1994. The flotation at the time was the right thing to do. With the benefit of hindsight the timing was perfect and we managed to achieve what we wanted to do.
“A lot of people invested and were quite clear they wanted to support PNE and we were able to use the money people put in to achieve what we did – to get to the Championship and to build the stadium. That was mission accomplished.
“I’ve not been involved in any close detailed way since I left in 2001 but, like everyone else, I’ve been a supporter over the last nine years. I’m looking at the situation now as a supporter with the knowledge of what we did in the past.
“Strong financial management is critical and Trevor Hemmings’ proposal is the right way forward.”
Ben Casey said he would also be accepting the Hemmings’ offer: “It’s not just a good option, it’s the only option, the only way we can move Preston North End forward. There is no plan B as far as I can see.”
John Clarke, managing director of Preston-based building and civil engineering group John Turner & Sons, has had a long association with Preston North End going back many decades, including fitting out the Great Room in the Tom Finney stand back in 1996.
He said: “We see a brighter future for Preston North End with the Trevor Hemmings initiative. He has backed the club for a number of years and committed a lot of money to it and his commitment and intentions going forward will ultimately be good for PNE and for Preston as a city.”
Frank Whittle, senior partner at Preston architects and designers Frank Whittle Partnership, added: “The issue really is straightforward, we do not want to see one of the founder members of the Football League disappearing and it is a privilege to have someone like Trevor willing to support it, you have to be happy about that.”
