FC United to fund new ground with share offer

FC UNITED of Manchester, the football club founded five years ago by Manchester United fans in protest at the Glazer regime, is launching a £1.5m community share issue to fund a new ground.

The club, which plays at Bury FC’s Gigg Lane stadium in the Northern Premier League Premier Division – the seventh tier of English fotball, has just submitted plans for its own 5,000-capacity, £3.5m home close to Manchester United’s birthplace in Newton Heath.

It hopes to match the £1.5m with grant funding and raise a further £500,000 in donations having already pulled in £300,000.

The shares are available at £1 each with a minimum purchase of £200 and a maximum £20,000. There will be no interest payments or withdrawals for the first three years but the club then hopes to provide investors with a small return.

Community shares cannot be traded or transferred like normal shares but have been devised as a way for community enterprises to raise capital funds. The club operates under a one member one vote system, which will remain unaffected by the share issue.

FC United’s general manager Andy Walsh said: “FC United has achieved a great deal in the five years since its foundation, despite not having a permanent home. With our own ground and community facilities we can achieve much more, making the club sustainable and fulfilling our ambition to become a beacon, showing a better way for football.

“Through the community share issue we can make that happen. At a time when many clubs are in debt or in the hands of major investors, we aim to demonstrate that there is a real alternative. We want to change the way football is run and financed by putting supporters at the heart of the game.

“We are offering supporters and others the chance to be part of this exciting development and help make football history. This is a landmark opportunity to invest in a club bringing football back to the heart of its communities and leave a lasting legacy for future generations.”

All shareholders must be members of FC United but non-members can join at the time of application. The offer closes on November 30. For more information about the community share issue, including the formal prospectus and an application form, go to: www.fc-utd.co.uk/communityshares.

The club will be holding an open meeting for any supporters or potential investors interested in finding out more about the shares and the Newton Heath plans, at the Manchester Methodist Hall at 7pm on Thursday, September 23.

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