In the West Ham programme for 9 May 2010, David Sullivan (Chairman) wrote:
'In a few months' time we are considering a general shareholding where supporters can buy shares in the football club.'
On the West Ham website (13 August 2010), we read that the club has raised £4m in new equity through a placing of shares, primarily with new investors. These include John Harris and Daniel Harris (father and son), and also Terence Brown (former Chairman of the club).
If necessary, readers will be able to find out a little of the background of Mr Brown by using their favourite search engine. The welcome given by West Ham fans to this news must have been fairly muted.
Daniel Harris has joined the board as a non-executive director while Terence Brown becomes an honorary life president.
In case you, and Mr Sullivan, have forgotten, 'in a few months' time we are considering a general shareholding where supporters can buy shares in the football club.'
But perhaps not ordinary supporters.
The public
This side was represented by Members of Parliament speaking on behalf of their constituents in the Adjournment Debate on 8 September 2010: (the) role of football supporters in the governance of professional football clubs.
The debate was well attended by MPs, both listening and speaking, and also by club supporters in the visitors' area.
It was opened by Steve Rotheram (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab) who has the distinction of having two premiership clubs (Everton and Liverpool) in his constituency. The debate showed that MPs are well aware of both the importance of football in the life of their constituents and the nature of the problems which need to be tackled, particularly in connection with premiership clubs.
One gained the impression that MPs would be quite prepared to support the introduction of a legal requirement that supporters, if they wished, should be able to gain control of their clubs.
The bridge?
West Ham is currently owned by WH Holding Limited, a private limited company This structure is not appropriate for a large number of small shareholders.
But the most obvious alternative, a public limited company, would probably be unacceptable to the present owners.
What is needed is an intermediate body in which supporters could invest, and from which they could withdraw if necessary, sums of the order of £500 to £1 000 in absolute safety, until the money could be used to buy shares in the main company.
Finally, these members would be able, if they wished, to exchange the value of their investment for benefits of equal value provided by the main company, now the members' body.
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow.
T. S. Eliot
No comments:
Post a Comment