Friday 23 February 2001

"An Historic Day For The Club"

"Lincoln City Football Club is now a community club, owned and run by its supporters. This is an historic day for the club and a significant day for football in general"

That was the message today from new club chairman Rob Bradley as he announced that the Lincoln City Membership Scheme's Community Ownership Package for the shareholding of the Club has been successful.

Mr Bradley will take over as the new Lincoln City chairman and he told a packed press conference that the Community Ownership Package had been assembled with the aid of Supporters Direct, the Lincoln Co-operative Society and two local businessmen.

Mr Bradley and current director Jim Hicks will be joined on the board by Keith Roe, the retired former owner of City Tyres in Lincoln and Stephen Wright, the owner of Collingham-based construction company Gusto Homes. Kevin Cooke, representing the Lincoln Co-op will also become a new face in the boardroom.

COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP OF LINCOLN CITY FOOTBALL CLUB

Press release from Rob Bradley, Chairman of Lincoln City Membership Scheme :

Some time ago the Lincoln City Membership Scheme submitted its bid to invest into the club in return for John Reames' shareholding. This bis was in the form of a Community Ownership Package which comprised th following elements:

1.. Investment into the club by a consortium of members of the local business community, local institutions, and individual supporters of the club.

2.. The prevention of a single individual having overall control of the club with those having invested forming a new board to run Lincoln City as a team.

3.. The club being run democratically with sound business expertise.

4.. The club being restructured as an Industrial and Provident Society run on the principle of one man one vote with representation at board level from all supporters levels.

5.. The club being run with policies enforced to resolve historic financial difficulties and run as a going concern with the equal aims of achieving success on the pitch and success as a business.

Our bid has been assembled with the help of Supporters Direct, The Co-Operative Party, Lincoln Co-operative Society, local business people who are keen to invest in the club, and other significant advisors. The whole thrust of the bid though has come through the love of this club by its supporters and their wish that the club should be part of the community that they live in.

In assembling our bid our investors have been extremely keen to fund it, knowing that the ex-chairman's shareholding would be passed to the Supporters Trust, and that they would represent the Trust at board level. They deserve great credit for this because this is very mucha new way forward and breaks new ground in the way football clubs are run. All the people involved in the bid have put in a fantastic amount of work devising the scheme, raising the funds, and examining and solving the constitutional difficulties.

I am delighted to announce therefore that all this hard work and commitment has been worthwhile, and the bid by the Supporters Trust for the shareholding has been successful. Lincoln City Football Club is now a community club, owned and run by its supporters. This is an historic day for the club and a significant day for football in general.

Make no mistake though, this is only the beginning of a process. We want to attract more investment from the local business community and we want Lincoln City supporters to raise funds too. Those who do will be invited to play a significant part in the running of the club in return. We want to bring in new commercial initiatives and to introduce new ideas into the way the club does things. As further investment is attracted into the club the team running it will grow, and we have already collected the details of a great many individuals who have pledged to support the club within the ethos we stand for. The club will become open to its supporters and its community and it will become a "club" in the literal sense of the word with everyone feeling a part of it.

The community ownership of the club is a tremendous idea and we stand by those ideals. What must always be remembered however is that this club is a business and the way we run it must be full of purpose at all times and ruthless when it needs to be. No-one involved in this take-over of the club will shirk from making difficult decisions, and the future of the club financially and on the field of play is of extreme importance, especially the latter at this very moment. Rest assured we will do whatever is needed to ensure the survival of the club.

I cannot finish this announcement without thanking everyone who has helped assemble this Community Ownership Package, especially Brian Lomax and the Supporters Direct team, our existing and new board members, and the staff at Lincoln City who have worked very hard in very difficult circumstances.

People have scoffed at the thought of a club being owned by its supporters and while more conventional private ownership options have appeared at the club and then faded away, local people have stood firm in their belief that this club is worth investing in. This is a new way forward and we want everyone to be a part of it. This is the first community owned club in the country and we should be very proud of that. We have hard work ahead but if this club survives and prospers it will be all worthwhile. To anyone out there who believes in what we are doing come forward and be part of it.