FC United of Manchester pioneer football finance model

Tue 28th Sep 2010 | Money & Finance

FC United of Manchester is pioneering a new model in football finance with the launch of a £1.5m community share issue.

The club, founded five years ago by Manchester United fans, is giving supporters and the wider community the chance to invest in its future by buying shares to raise funds for the development of a new £3.5m stadium, close to United’s birthplace in Newton Heath.

The 5,000-capacity stadium will be the first permanent home for the club, which currently plays at Bury FC’s ground. It will help secure its future by providing it with a sustainable income stream, and allow it to further develop its award-winning community work. It will also provide much needed community sports and social facilities and is intended to act as a catalyst for regeneration in one of the most deprived areas in the UK.

FC United is launching the share issue just days after a planning application for the Newton Heath stadium was submitted to Manchester City Council, with a decision due on Thursday, November 25th.

The club hopes the share issue will raise £1.5m of the total cost of the stadium, with an equal amount coming from grant funding. The club will also raise £500,000 through donations, with £300,000 of that already raised. The stadium will fall under the club’s ‘asset lock’, a legal agreement that prevents the club’s assets being separated from the club and sold off, and ensures continued community use.

FC United is the first football club to issue community shares, a means by which community enterprises can raise capital funds. The club operates under a one member one vote system, which will remain unaffected by the share issue.

The main aim of the shares is to provide investors with a social return by funding the football and community objectives of FC United, but the club’s business plan also provides for potential financial returns for shareholders.

Supporters, investors and companies can support the club’s development by buying £1 shares from the minimum purchase of £200 up to £20,000.

The offer is open to individuals aged 16 and over, and businesses. All shareholders must be members of FC United but non-members can join at the time of application. The offer closes on 30th November 2010.

There is a moratorium of three years on any withdrawals and interest payments, but the club hopes to pay small amounts of interest on the shares from the third anniversary of occupancy of the completed development onwards, subject to the club fulfilling its community obligations and to board discretion.

Community shares cannot be traded or transferred like normal shares, but shareholders who want to withdraw their investment can apply to have their funds returned from the fourth year onwards. Subject to board agreement, the club will allow not more than 10 per cent of the total share capital to be withdrawn in any one year.

Andy Walsh, FC United general manager, 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.”

Subject to personal circumstances, Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) tax relief may be available to people who buy community shares. EIS is arranged between the investor and HMRC, and the benefit to each individual will depend on their tax position. If eligible, an investor may be able to claim back a proportion of their investment against their tax liability. If unsure, investors should seek professional advice. (Further information on EIS is at: www.hmrc.gov.uk/eis..)

For more information about FC United’s community share issue, including the formal prospectus and an application form, please visit: www.fc-utd.co.uk/communityshar...

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