Since news broke of the bid by Milan Mandaric for ownership of Leicester City the Trust has raised questions about the bid & his plans for the club. This has been viewed by some fans as being against Mr Mandaric & his bid. The Trust has also been accused of speaking on behalf of all City fans.
Below Trust Board Member Matt Davis answers these points on behalf of the Trust….
To take the 2nd of these points first the Trust does not, never has or would even begin to suggest that we represent all City fans. However with almost 1000 supporters who are members the Foxes Trust IS the largest single fans organisation at the club.
The Trust also owns 151,000 shares in Leicester City FC. The shares were purchased mostly with the money raised to help save the club from bankruptcy in 2002/3. Some of this money was put in by fans who are either are no longer members or who never chose to join the Trust, but who still put money into a bucket to help save our club.
When a bid for ownership of the club is received it is the above shares, purchased with the supporters money, which the potential new owner is seeking to acquire – along with shares held by other members of the Lineker Consortium & investors who have since put money into the club.
The Trust does not hold shares in the club for financial gain – but to ensure compliance with corporate governance legislation & principles through access to audited yearly accounts. As a shareholder the Trust can raise questions about the yearly accounts at the company AGM.
So clearly when a bid is received for its shares the Trust Board is duty bound to ensure the person/s seeking to acquire them has the best interest of the club & its supporters to the fore….
And when a potential takeover would mean losing the accountability to 40+ shareholders & a ten man Board of Directors to a single owner accountable only to themselves the Trust will strive to secure the best deal possible to safeguard the future of Leicester City.
At the heart of any takeover of primary concern to the Trust, & City fans generally, are issues such as ownership of the Walkers Stadium, securing other assets such as the Belvoir Drive facility, funds available to the manager & the new infrastructure of the non playing side of the club*. We also want to establish how press reports of a £25 million bid reconcile with the actual bid on the table.
While there has been much comment from Mr Mandaric he is yet, to the best of our knowledge, to provide detailed answers to the above questions – either to the club or to fans via the media. Therefore the Foxes Trust has now sought clarification directly from Mr Mandaric’s representatives.
The above are all valid questions but that does not means that the Trust is against Mr Mandaric & his bid for the club. Simply the Trust is attempting to give an independent & balanced view of the proposed takeover.
Finally some fans have questioned what the role of the Trust would be should Mr Mandaric takeover the club.
Quite simply we would welcome the opportunity to work with him to try to ensure consultation with all fans on major issues & to, where appropriate, continue to use funds for the benefit of the club & its supporters.
*Note – We hope to explore these issues in greater detail on our website on Thursday.