FC United launch £1.5m community share issue

 Source: Place North West

 21 Sep 2010, 10:16

 FC United of Manchester today launched a £1.5m community share issue to help fund the proposed new stadium.

The five-year-old club is giving supporters and the wider community the chance to invest in its future by buying shares to raise funds for the development of a new £3.5m stadium, close to United's birthplace in Newton Heath.

Supporters, investors and companies can support the club's development by buying £1 shares from the minimum purchase of £200 up to £20,000.

The 5,000-capacity stadium will be the first permanent home for the club, which currently plays at Bury FC's ground.

FC United recently submitted a planning application for the stadium, with a decision due from Manchester City Council on Thursday 25 November.

The club hopes the share issue will raise £1.5m of the total cost of the stadium, with an equal amount coming from grant funding.

The club will also raise £500,000 through donations, with £300,000 of that already raised.

FC United claims it is the first football club to issue community shares, a means by which community enterprises can raise capital funds. The club operates under a one member, one vote system, which will remain unaffected by the share issue.

The main aim of the shares is to provide investors with a social return by funding the football and community objectives of FC United, but the club's business plan also provides for potential financial returns for shareholders.

The offer closes on 30 November 2010.

    * For more information about FC United's community share issue, including the formal prospectus and an application form, please visit: www.fc-utd.co.uk/communityshares.

    * The club will be holding an open meeting for any supporters or potential investors interested in finding out more about the shares and the Newton Heath plans, at the Manchester Methodist Hall at 7pm on Thursday 23 September.