Jane R
Sussex County Division Two
Posts: 187
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Post by Jane R on Aug 24, 2023 9:43:31 GMT
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hoopsboy1
Sussex County Division Two
Posts: 134
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Post by hoopsboy1 on Aug 24, 2023 10:34:15 GMT
Buying our Club What the F---
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robm99
Isthmian South
Posts: 649
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Post by robm99 on Aug 24, 2023 10:51:23 GMT
Buy the club? Isn't the share idea to counter that? There'd have to be a majority vote. Or have I got it totally wrong?
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Post by stuartnoel on Aug 24, 2023 11:02:38 GMT
All owners will have received an email this morning detailing an investment opportunity that is being discussed with an outside party. It is not to buy the football club which is fan-owned and will continue to be so.
We are currently in a consultation stage with them and have invited feedback either via the email or the feedback form detailed in the communication.
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Post by downthepan on Aug 24, 2023 11:15:23 GMT
I couldn't access this article without signing up for the magazine. How do you just read it?
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Post by gonefishing046 on Aug 24, 2023 11:17:14 GMT
Why are the athletic reporting it as a controlling stake if it's just an investment opportunity?
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Post by stuartnoel on Aug 24, 2023 11:40:26 GMT
Why are the athletic reporting it as a controlling stake if it's just an investment opportunity? I can’t comment on their source or what they’ve written in the article. I can only underline what has been included in the email shared with our owners this morning in that we are in a consultation process with an external party on a potential investment proposal into part of the club.
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spur
Isthmian South
Posts: 857
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Post by spur on Aug 24, 2023 12:53:29 GMT
The owners' email was marked 'private and confidential', which was always a vain hope. Beyond doubt this is a massive move, raising a host of questions. I'm certainly not going to break the confidentiality here, pending inevitable press leaks, but one of those questions for those of us who almost exclusively follow the men's games will be how lopsided, as it were, the club might become if substantial sums were invested in the women's squad. A narrow view, perhaps!
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Post by stuartnoel on Aug 24, 2023 13:00:52 GMT
The owners' email was marked 'private and confidential', which was always a vain hope. Beyond doubt this is a massive move, raising a host of questions. I'm certainly not going to break the confidentiality here, pending inevitable press leaks, but one of those questions for those of us who almost exclusively follow the men's games will be how lopsided, as it were, the club might become if substantial sums were invested in the women's squad. A narrow view, perhaps! You can’t invest purely in a playing squad if you don’t have the facilities to support that investment. We have a superb playing surface, that both teams play on thanks to a grant related to Women’s football. Both teams use the 3G, both teams use the dressing rooms. So any investment will directly and indirectly benefit the whole club
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Post by Barry Collins on Aug 24, 2023 13:22:12 GMT
At this point, I don't understand why the club doesn't just publish the entire document sent to owners this morning, so that everyone can see the whole story, not just snippets that have been leaked to the press. Re the ownership of the club, the document makes it quite clear that the new investors plan to take 51% of Lewes FC Women Ltd, giving them a controlling stake. So to say that the club will remain fully supporter-owned (as the document suggests) is disingenuous at best. The part of the club that the investment is being geared towards will be controlled by a foreign investment fund, if this goes through. It smashes apart the 'One Club' ethos that the club has been heralding for the past few years, because it effectively creates two distinct entities, one of which has a different owner. The owners' email was marked 'private and confidential', which was always a vain hope. Beyond doubt this is a massive move, raising a host of questions. I'm certainly not going to break the confidentiality here, pending inevitable press leaks, but one of those questions for those of us who almost exclusively follow the men's games will be how lopsided, as it were, the club might become if substantial sums were invested in the women's squad. A narrow view, perhaps! You can’t invest purely in a playing squad if you don’t have the facilities to support that investment. We have a superb playing surface, that both teams play on thanks to a grant related to Women’s football. Both teams use the 3G, both teams use the dressing rooms. So any investment will directly and indirectly benefit the whole club
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spur
Isthmian South
Posts: 857
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Post by spur on Aug 24, 2023 14:13:38 GMT
It's surprising (presumably to our directors, too) that Mercury 13 have revealed their approach to Lewes, as this gives the impression that they're hoping to steam-roller the deal through. Clearly we Lewes owners will have the final say as to whether this thing happens or not - and it demands a good deal of honest debate. What kind of club do we wish to become?
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stevet
Sussex County Division One
Posts: 377
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Post by stevet on Aug 24, 2023 14:27:35 GMT
I completely understand the argument that in the medium-term the women's team is likely to drift down the leagues without some form of external investment as gradually professional men's clubs invest in their women's teams. Feels like the question to ask ourselves is whether we are content for that to happen or do we want to continue to compete through a dilution of the community owned principle. I've an open mind.
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robm99
Isthmian South
Posts: 649
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Post by robm99 on Aug 24, 2023 14:29:56 GMT
Investment implies return, does it not?
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dicksmith
Sussex County Division One
COYR
Posts: 298
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Post by dicksmith on Aug 24, 2023 14:49:21 GMT
I completely understand the argument that in the medium-term the women's team is likely to drift down the leagues without some form of external investment as gradually professional men's clubs invest in their women's teams. Feels like the question to ask ourselves is whether we are content for that to happen or do we want to continue to compete through a dilution of the community owned principle. I've an open mind. This is the KEY bottom line question that needs to be decided upon first. It is the basic Go/NoGo to anything that follows.
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dicksmith
Sussex County Division One
COYR
Posts: 298
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Post by dicksmith on Aug 24, 2023 14:50:06 GMT
Investment implies return, does it not? Always hopeful....
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