64 year old Stephanie Booth could be in line to help take over Wrexham football club. Last Saturday she was unveiled as the preferred bidder for the North Wales club and afterwards she promised she would try and turn Wrexham into a community based club.
She'll have to work fast.
"We need to inject half a million pounds into the club very quickly, otherwise HMRC will issue a winding up order," Booth told the Daily Post.
"We haven’t paid the VAT and we haven’t paid the National Insurance, so we’ve got to make sure that we get money in straight away."
Initially there were some doubts about Booth as she has a colourful past according to an article from icWales in 2003.
One of Britain's best known transsexuals is buying up a string of prominent hotels and pubs in and around an historic North Wales town. Stephanie Booth, who was once jailed for selling porn and runs a sex-change and cross-dressing website, has bought five hotels and pubs in Ruthin in the last 15 months...
So far, Stephanie, who used to be called Keith Hull, and husband David Booth have bought the 600-year-old Bodidris Hall, Llandegla, the Plough Hotel, also in Llandegla, the Anchor Hotel, Ruthin, the Castle Hotel and adjoining Myddleton Arms in St Peter's Square, Ruthin, and the Clwyd Gate Restaurant, between Mold and Ruthin...
On her website, titled Transformation and which advises and sells items to help people wanting a sex-change or who are transvestites, Bodidris Hall is advertised as being available for transvestite (or TV) weekends... Her life-story is also set to be made into a major film....
'After my autobiography came out about 15 years ago I thought I would keep a lower profile and stopped doing interviews. Now United Artists are about to make a film based on my life, and I shall be a consultant on it'.
However there's little doubt that her move into Hotels has been successful and now she wants to use her expertise to help the football club.
The Daily Post explained.
Successful businesswoman Stephanie Booth has turned around a succession of failing businesses and owns a string of hotels. Key to her thinking is assuming that football alone is not enough to sustain the venue which therefore needs events, fan participation, tax breaks and grants essential to make ensure success.
So what about her plans for the club and the ground?
First Ms Booth wants to form a Wrexham FC membership Club which will cost £52 a year, effectively £1 a week, to belong to – in return supporters get discounted tickets which will save money over the season.
Secondly Ms Booth wants a broad base of shareholders so no one person or group of friends can threaten the club again. Shares will cost £100 and no one person will be allowed to own more than 10%.
The third step is to buy the stadium and grounds and place them in to a community charitable trust which will give the ability to take advantage of the governments gift aid scheme allowing companies to get tax breaks from donations, gain eligibility for grants and “ensure it is owned by the community for the community.”
Lastly an Annual General Meeting would be held at the stadium so everyone has the chance to put their questions and receive a copy of the trading accounts.
It won't be easy as current owners Geoff Moss and Ian Roberts have threatened to put the club into administration but on Saturday put that idea on hold.
We, as the current owners, see that the best solution is to transfer them both (club and ground) into a broad-based community ownership. Because of her track record on working on similar projects, we pick Stephanie Booth to do this. If she accepts this, we promise to work quickly with her and promise not to allow the club to go into administration during the sale process.
Former player Mickey Thomas has told the BBC that Booth could be the right choice to lead Wrexham.
"All we want now is a solid foundation for Wrexham Football Club to move forward."
(Some of the material for this article has come from the excellent Altrincham OS)