Offers for the club - would this ever filter down to members?

[Grecian Max]

I've been wondering - over say, the last 5-10 years, past the firefighting times of early Trust ownership and back as a League club - how much interest has there been in buying the club and/or outside investment?

If you read these boards enough you'll be used to being told that no one would want us, there is no such thing as a good private owner, R&L mentions etc

However with English football being the epicentre of the global game and increasingly more interest from abroad, there seems to be more potential for wealthy individuals to inject money not just at the top but lower down the levels. This is going to make it hard to compete, and whilst I like the idea of us owning our club making us a bit more special - I would also be interested in seeing ECFC grow into something beyond what we expect at the moment.

So, has The Trust ever confirmed or denied approaches? What is our stance to offers? Do we do due diligence or reject out of hand?

Think this is pretty important to know.

 

[Grecian in Guzz]

I've been wondering - over say, the last 5-10 years, past the firefighting times of early Trust ownership and back as a League club - how much interest has there been in buying the club and/or outside investment?

If you read these boards enough you'll be used to being told that no one would want us, there is no such thing as a good private owner, R&L mentions etc

However with English football being the epicentre of the global game and increasingly more interest from abroad, there seems to be more potential for wealthy individuals to inject money not just at the top but lower down the levels. This is going to make it hard to compete, and whilst I like the idea of us owning our club making us a bit more special - I would also be interested in seeing ECFC grow into something beyond what we expect at the moment.

So, has The Trust ever confirmed or denied approaches? What is our stance to offers? Do we do due diligence or reject out of hand?

Think this is pretty important to know.

Remind me how did the Wrexham guys get involved ?

 

[Grecian Max]

Remind me how did the Wrexham guys get involved ?

From what I've seen on Disney+ and read I think they used actively looked for a club to invest that were open to offers - they sounded out more than one club and used a specific company that brokers deals like that. Doubt we got a phonecall as it seems like we're a bit closed shop on this, however Wrexham were also supporter owned at the time. The members had to vote on it in the first/second episode of the documentary. That one decision has transformed Wrexham AFC for generations, they will be a completely different outfit at the end of it.

 

[Martin Lawrence]

The Trust Constitution mandates that "significant decisions affecting ECFC" require consultation and a ballot of the Membership. Clearly a decision as to whether to sell the Club, would require a referendum of the Trust.

I myself am not adverse to outside investment of a sort, but the devil is in the detail. I certainly dont prescribe to the view that all private ownership is bad, but equally, I like what we have and the sense of ownership our model brings. It would take a lot of persuading, for me to vote to dispense with our model. That said, we may be able to leverage some form of hybrid model. We just need someone who is prepared to invest. If I'm honest, I don't see many people queuing up to take up the opportunity to buy or invest in ECFC. I just don't see us as sn investable proposition for the following reasons:

* our limited assets
* the huge investment needed to advance us to the next level
* our current ownership and set up
* lack of ground development opportunities

For the reasons stated above, I just can't see anyone bring that interested in us. It would be cheaper to buy Notts County and bankroll them to the Championship or higher.

 

[Grecian in Guzz]

The Trust Constitution mandates that "significant decisions affecting ECFC" require consultation and a ballot of the Membership. Clearly a decision as to whether to sell the Club, would require a referendum of the Trust.

I myself am not adverse to outside investment of a sort, but the devil is in the detail. I certainly dont prescribe to the view that all private ownership is bad, but equally, I like what we have and the sense of ownership our model brings. It would take a lot of persuading, for me to vote to dispense with our model. That said, we may be able to leverage some form of hybrid model. We just need someone who is prepared to invest. If I'm honest, I don't see many people queuing up to take up the opportunity to buy or invest in ECFC. I just don't see us as sn investable proposition for the following reasons:

* our limited assets
* the huge investment needed to advance us to the next level
* our current ownership and set up
* lack of ground development opportunities

For the reasons stated above, I just can't see anyone bring that interested in us. It would be cheaper to buy Notts County and bankroll them to the Championship or higher.

So it sounds like we are not the most attractive club to approach - ideas on how we improve this ?

 

[Martin Lawrence]

So it sounds like we are not the most attractive club to approach - ideas on how we improve this ?

Relocate up North perhaps?

 

[Alistair20000]

Making an investment requires a return on the money invested. We have no attraction to a genuine investor.

We would appeal only to an ECFC diehard fan with money to burn who is ready to write off all the money put in.

 

[Grecian in Guzz]

Making an investment requires a return on the money invested. We have no attraction to a genuine investor.

We would appeal only to an ECFC diehard fan with money to burn who is ready to write off all the money put in.

Ali 20000 - how much can you offer ?

 

[Alistair20000]

Ali 20000 - how much can you offer ?

£50 In three weeks time.

 

[SaintJames]

Making an investment requires a return on the money invested. We have no attraction to a genuine investor.

We would appeal only to an ECFC diehard fan with money to burn who is ready to write off all the money put in.

I dont think any owners do it with any expectation to make a return on their investment. It's the novelty of owning a football club and everything that goes with it. There are many smaller clubs than ourselves who have private owners and I would be surprised if they were all fans before they bought their plaything? We are a club with no debt, an Acadamy the envy of most of the Football League, modernised infrastructure, a good playing squad and a good Manager. I think we are quite an attractive proposition. Clearly it rules out any property developers but it's not just die hards who would be interested. It would be the price that dictates