In the last few weeks York City Supporters Trust have been working hard to secure sufficient finance to immediately buy Glen Henderson’s shares and provide the necessary funding to the club for the remainder of the season. This would have allowed the Trust to take full control of York City Football Club whilst the longer process of selecting a majority shareholder is completed. Whilst the Trust had secured an agreement for the finance, unfortunately this fell through at the last minute for logistical reasons.
The Trust has since secured a substantial interest-free loan from a supporter who wishes to remain anonymous. These funds will assist with ongoing costs and will be repaid in full on the completion of the sale of the football club. The Trust wants to extend its huge thanks to this supporter whose contribution will help the club considerably in the coming weeks.
Fan concerns about a lack of detailed communication during this period have been noted. The process of obtaining finance to take full control had to be completed in full confidence and has taken a considerable amount of time and effort for all concerned. Public statements regarding funding without all the facts or prematurely issued would not have been helpful and could have jeopardised this or future interactions. We apologise for limited announcements, but this was necessary during key negotiations and times of extreme volunteer workload.
The process for changing ownership has continued in the background, and the deadline to obtain Glen Henderson’s shares remains at the 4th April 2023. In our statements dated 5th & 18th of January we outlined that we had six interested parties, all of whom were provided a bidding deadline of the 24th February 2023 (today). The Trust are expecting a number of bids to progress beyond stage 4 of the Investment process outlined in our statement dated 18th January 2023.
Once the bids have been received these will be passed to the Scrutiny Committee lead by Trust board members Jim Calverley and Seth Sowerby who will commence their process immediately. The Trust will provide an update next week outlining further details of the Scrutiny Committee.
The Trust is aware of the fans concerns about the impact that prolonged takeover process may have on the Football Club. The Trust Board is convening regularly and are exploring all options that would allow them to expedite the takeover process and, provide greater stability to players, the management staff and fans.
Fans have been fantastic in supporting the team throughout this turbulent period and, we would implore them to continue making the LNER a fortress by backing the team just as they did against Boreham Wood on Tuesday. Already this season, opposition managers have mentioned the impact of the atmosphere created by the home crowd at the LNER. Your support can make a vital difference in the run in to the end of the season. Thank you for your continued support of the Team, we will continue in our efforts off the field. Keep the faith.