Old Board's Shares Block

By: Rob Sedgwick
Date: 23/07/2000

Old Board's Shares Block

News From 16th May 2000

Grimsby Town's bid to inject cash into the club through a rights issue of new shares for existing shareholders may fail due to the reluctance of shareholders supporting the old board, led by Bill Carr, to vote on the issue.

The Mariners' board had hoped to raise around £500,000 by getting shareholders to agree to a two-for-one rights issue. Currently, the club cannot issue shares to anyone. To change that a 75 per cent majority vote of shareholders would be needed at an extraordinary general meeting on the proposal.

The club have sent out questionnaires to holders of 100 or more shares, who represent 97 per cent of the total shareholding of 229,000. To date they have had replies representing just 109,000 shares, of which 79 per cent are in favour of the rights issue.

With the club's very future at the heart of this rights issue proposal, the shareholders who support the old board appear to be more interested in their own power struggles than they are in the welfare of Grimsby Town FC. The board had hoped to raise at least £500,000 towards the cost of the new stadium through the rights issue. A large number of Grimsby Town fans are keen to invest in the otherwise perilous future of the club they support, and the new stadium they crave, through this rights issue. The attitude of a very small number of people, who appear to have no interest in the club's future, have until Friday to register their votes, and demonstrate their intentions.

With the club currently losing £15,000 a week and desperate to get the new ground built, it would be ironic if those who once claimed to care for Grimsby Town, and be in charge of their future, scupper the proposal for reasons having nothing to do with football, or even business.

Brian Huxford, vice-chairman of Grimsby, and a major shareholder himself is supporting the rights issue. He said earlier today:

"If the former board don't support this then it is dead in the water. The football club gets no fresh injection of capital and it sends out a negative message to anybody else wishing to bring in finance.!

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