New Bath City FC owners to toast deal’s completion with fans at home derby game

The sale of Bath City FC to its new owners has been completed, securing the future of the club and kicking off a multi-million pound investment.

To mark getting the deal over the line, the new board have promised to buy a drink for any fan turning up to tomorrow’s home game against Chippenham and wearing the club’s colours or sporting a Bath City tattoo.

The new owners are led by California-based tech entrepreneur Andrew Stalbow and include Curt Smith, co-founder of 1980s band Tears for Fears, who grew up in Bath.

The investor group has already raised an initial £6m-plus from a seed round backed by 50 individuals.

Smith, along with board members Richard Rivlin, Abdallah Yafi and Ivan Hindshaw, will be at Charlie’s Bar at Twerton Park from midday tomorrow to chat to fans ahead of the Southern League Premier South derby match against Chippenham Town – and stand them a drink.

New executive chair Andrew Stalbow said; “This deal happened because of the incredible backing we’ve received from the fans, the shareholders, the Supporters Society, the Supporters Club and the board.

“We hugely appreciate you putting your faith in us. We will strive to be the custodians you believe we can be.

“We thank the outgoing board and we want to give a special shout out to the club’s many volunteers who we are excited to work together with.

“And an additional thank-you to our investor group for their commitment. The partnership that we will build between the supporters, the city, the community in Twerton, the players, the coaching staff, the operating team and the investors will set us apart. This is a unique opportunity.

“Our role is to unlock Bath City’s potential and transform the club. Our work starts today.”

Outgoing chair David McDonagh, who will have a seat on the new board as the representative of the Supporters Society, added; “Many people have worked diligently behind the scenes to make sure that this deal is the right one to take our club forward.

“We know how excited our supporters are and that they share our belief in Andrew and his team.”

The sale follows a year-long process during which the club’s advisors Carteret introduced the Bath City Holding Company, the 50-strong investor group led by Stalbow, to the club.

The investor group aims to use its funds to support the men’s and women’s teams to climb the football pyramid, building Football League-ready infrastructure and enhancing the club’s connections with the fans and the local community.

James Powell, CEO of Carteret said: “Andrew has assembled an exceptional group of investors around a very ambitious plan for the club.

“The scale of investment is remarkable at this level of English football, and we are delighted to have brought the parties together and helped complete a transaction which we believe can be transformational for Bath City.”

Bath City was taken into community ownership in 2017 when the Bath City Supporters’ Society acquired 50.037% of the club.

Since then the semi-professional club, which was formed in 1889, has announced major plans to redevelop its Twerton Park ground as a way of helping regenerate the surrounding area.

However, relegation at the end of last season to the Southern League Premier South, the seventh tier of English football, brought into focus the challenges for the club and its owners.

Bath City Football Club was advised by James Powell and Stephen Metcalfe at strategic advisory firm Carteret and the club’s legal work was led by Robin Cumming at boutique sports law firm Onside Law.

The Bath City Holding Company’s UK legal work was led by James Taylor and Andrew Massey from the Bristol office of international law firm Osborne Clarke.

The Bath City Holding Company’s US legal work was led by Donald Lee at Los Angeles-based boutique corporate and transaction firm Prospera Law.