Football club ‘needs to be sold by end of March’
THE chairman of Rochdale AFC says the club needs to be sold by the end of next month or there is a ‘very real threat’ the club could go into liquidation and fold.
Simon Gauge says he has been trying to secure new investment for the struggling club – who were last year relegated from the football league for the first time in 102 years – for the past 14 months, but has failed to get a deal over the line.
Mr Gauge, who took over in 2021, says despite cost-cutting exercises the club is ‘asset rich and cash poor’ has ‘no cash to continue operating.’ He has been ‘subsidising’ it the past few months, in total loaning them £566k.
However, he says: “My family has now reached its credit limit and cannot continue to do this.”
A statement from Mr Gauge issued by the club on Tuesday afternoon reads: “An investor needs to be in place by the end of March.”
The club’s chairman has now warned that the club’s ‘existence is at stake’ if they cannot find new investment.
He says the board is seeking an investor to inject £2 million and are ‘in talks with interested parties.’
However, he claims the club’s ownership structure is deterring potential investors who ‘want to be able to buy up to 90 percent of the club in one single transaction’ and want the cash ‘to go directly into the club, rather than outside of the club, to individuals, by way of private share purchases.’
He has called an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) for Thursday,
March 7, where he wants shareholders to rubber stamp an emergency restructuring that would create nine million new shares.
“I am prepared to convert my debt into equity and discuss with any investor a phased buyout of those shares if required,” Mr Gauge says.
However, he has issued a dire warning about what may happen if the move is not approved.
“Let me leave you in no doubt, this resolution needs to be passed at the EGM for us to have any chance of securing the required investment that will ensure the long-term future of our club,” he says.
“If it isn’t passed, the threat of liquidation at the end of March is very real.
“The passing of this resolution does not guarantee saving the club, but it will certainly give it a fighting chance.
“To be clear, the existence of Rochdale AFC is at stake. The opportunity
to give a long-term future is now in the shareholders’ hands.” Rochdale became a fan-owned football club in August 2022 after a long-running dispute with potential owners, Morton
House, was settled. The Morton House deal had been dubbed a ‘hostile takeover’ by the club’s hierarchy and was eventually rebuffed, with sanctions faced on both sides.