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Kingston Bridge - a supporter-led bid to help K's

By Taimour (WeHateWombles)28/3/2023 08:25Tue Mar 28 08:25:15 2023

Views: 9782

In the summer of 2022, a group of K's fans came together as a consortium to try to invest in the club and help reverse the current trajectory. As we put it in our first approach to the Board: "There is a lot of gratitude for the time and resources the Board is putting in. No doubt the challenges are mounting. All of us have been volunteers in various capacities over the years and we feel that, if there was ever a time to formalise and deepen our contribution, it is now."



We offered cash, time and expertise (members of the group included an accountant, a tech entrepreneur, the owner of one of Kingston's most high profile businesses, and professionals in media, finance and the law.)



As negotiations continued over the winter, and this season's struggles - on and off the pitch - became ever worse, we reaffirmed our commitment to urgently provide funds, assistance and a new impetus so as to avoid relegation and explore alternatives to Mitcham.

We said we wanted to help. And we meant it. We offered:

- Expert support and network to augment current strategic initiatives – in particular around the ground search, commercial partnerships, and digital marketing
- Day-to-day operational support around club administration
- Substantial guaranteed directors’ loans for a period of 3-5 years to supplement the budget, drawn from the personal wealth of individual members (up to £30,000 a year)

In November 2022, we formalised an Initial Offer and sought to enter into the next phase of due diligence. Unfortunately, from that point on, progress stalled. It gradually became clear to us that the current Board, or at least parts of it, were not open to a real change in strategic direction.

In March 2023, we resolved to make a final push and submitted a new offer for majority control, with a commitment for significant investment in the club and a transition to full fan ownership. This was declined. In our view, disclosure was repeatedly delayed and ultimately the Board prioritised cash for their shares as a precondition for fresh investment.

If you want the history of the negotiation, you can find a chronology of events here.

The reason we are posting all this is because we believe nothing will change at K's without greater transparency and accountability. Decision-making at the top is risking the club's very existence. K's fans and all the brilliant volunteers deserve better.

Kingston Bridge Holdings:

Alastair Akers
Henry Stannard
Ollie Steel
Taimour Lay
Gary Ekins
Neil Baker
Rupert Cane
Michael Cox
Jamie Cutteridge
Ali Kazemi
James Maw
Simon Murray
Jon Tolley

Edited by WeHateWombles at 08:26:25 on 28th March 2023
Edited by WeHateWombles at 08:27:37 on 28th March 2023
Edited by WeHateWombles at 08:35:44 on 28th March 2023

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Next article in this thread: Re: Kingston Bridge - a supporter-led bid to help K's by Count Scarlioni29/3/2023 17:46Wed Mar 29 17:46:56 2023

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