We already know from our own Survey that 75% of Trust members would like to see the club owned by the fans or by a local consortium alongside the fans - so we have given this aim a priority - so how far have we got?
What we also know is that for supporters to own any stake in Newcastle United the opportunity has to be there, whether it is in partnership with the current owner or a different make-up in the future. At NUST we are therefore working to put plans in place so that if the opportunity presents itself, we can help give fans the best opportunity to take that chance.
First of all our legal Constitution already allows us to raise investment from our members. This means we could invite our members to buy shares in the Trust and then buy shares in NUFC with that money.It is possible that the current Government Enquiry into Football Governance might recommend that clubs be forced to offer their fans a stake through their Supporters Trust.
We have also reached an agreement with the Co-op Bank whereby they would be willing to operate a savings scheme for all those who would like to save to invest - we want as many people as possible to have chance of taking part in any bid for ownership.
We have prepared a draft prospectus, which explains to potential investors how a possible buyout involving fans could work, and based on published accounts and other accurate information, we are also preparing a Business Plan on how the club could be run and financed for the first 3 years after any buyout.
We continue to meet with professional advisors who are happy to give their time free of charge, they share our belief that supporters owning a stake in the club can only be a positive influence on the long-term health of the club. We will let you know how this is progressing. Most of my professional life has been in the funding and acquisition of companies, especially those involving a wide spread of ownership- so you can be confident we have the right level of expertise already on board.
We believe that the club would be able to operate within the new Financial Fair Play rules and be successful within its own turnover which has been around £96m in past years, making it one of the top twenty clubs in Europe in terms of turnover. The crucial thing to get financial stability in clubs is to control players’ wages and we believe that is the main purpose behind the new Fair Play rules.
The club could then potentially operate with certain similarities to clubs in the Bundesliga or say Barcelona, with club partly owned by fans, with strong links to the Community or Region, and with investors looking to the long-term and not short term financial gain. The fans and the other investors would then work together for the benefit of the club
We are determined to work as hard as we can to make this vision work. We will keep you in touch as our plans develop and new contacts are made. Please contact us if you feel you can help in this. Together we can do it!
Norman Watson
Chair, NUST.
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