Bath City FC Board confirm threshold for sale of club to investor group has been reached.

The Board of Bath City Football Club are delighted to announce that they have received paperwork transferring over 90% of the shares held in the club to the Bath City Holding Company, thus enabling the sale of the club to proceed. There will now be a short period of time to enable the transaction to be completed.

Bath City Holding Company is led by Andrew Stalbow and has over 50 investors with impressive backgrounds in sport, technology, finance, games, healthcare and consulting. They include Bath-born and lifelong football fan Curt Smith, who co-founded Tears for Fears, and who will become a club Ambassador.

The investment group has raised an impressive seed round of approximately £6m, which will be invested into the Twerton-based club with the objective of building Football League ready infrastructure and enhancing the club’s connections with the fans and the local community.

Commenting on the 90% threshold being reached, Bath City Chair David McDonagh said;

This is a momentous occasion for our Club. Since we announced the potential takeover, there has been a very positive reaction from our fans as shown by the 96% of Supporters Society members who voted to approve the deal. We’d like to give a huge thank you to the shareholders for returning their paperwork so diligently and to all the people, both within the club and the wider fanbase, who have helped us to track down shareholders and get this across the line. Everyone is very excited by the vision that Andrew Stalbow and his team have set out. We look forward to the future with optimism, and in the firm belief that we have found fantastic new custodians for our club, who will work to deliver for fans and the wider community.

Andrew Stalbow said;

Thank you to all the shareholders for putting their faith in us. Since the announcement, we have been overwhelmed by all the messages of support that we have received. They have reinforced our view that this is a very special club. There are generations of families for whom Bath City has been such an integral part of their lives. We are determined that this will continue, not just for them but for many new fans too. We take this responsibility very seriously and we will work tirelessly to unlock the potential of Bath City.

Whilst the sale marks a departure for the club from being community owned, the deal has a number of provisions to ensure supporters have a voice. These include a seat for a Bath City Supporters Society representative on the new Board, a Community Share and a Protected Rights Deed which gives the Society prior consent rights over some fundamental aspects of the football club and enhanced consultation rights.

The new Board will be led by Stalbow who will be Executive Chairman.  He will be joined by Richard Rivlin as Vice Chairman, Abdallah Yafi as President and Director Ivan Hindshaw. All the Directors have passed the FA’s Owners and Directors Test. The Supporters Society seat will be taken by current Chair David McDonagh.