Ten years ago this week there had been an open meeting to discuss the setting up of Hereford FC.
One of the talking points had been the minimum number of shares anyone could purchase.
Jon Hale responded a few days later.
This from Hereford FC:
Jon Hale has confirmed that the minimum share purchase in Hereford FC will be reduced from £2000 to £1000.
The change is
being made after queries made at the excellent open meeting on Thursday
night, and further messages from fans over the past couple of days.
Mr Hale said:
“The original
decision to set the minimum share purchase at £2000 was taken as it was
felt this would encourage people who are keen to buy smaller
shareholdings to do that via Hereford United Supporters Trust (HUST).
“As every share
purchase or transfer will have to be agreed by the club’s board, we also
wanted to ensure the number of individual shareholders did not get out
of hand in terms of the sheer quantity.
“However, after
observations made at Thursday’s meeting and messages we have received
over the past couple of days, we are happy to rethink our initial plan
and reduce the minimum share purchase to 1000 £1 shares.
“We have discussed
dropping this to £500, but, after lengthy conversations, HUST Chairman,
Chris Williams, and Vice Chairman, Martin Watson, as well as Hugh
Brooks, feel that a lower minimum purchase price may have an impact on
the speed at which HUST will be able to complete the purchase of its 50%
shareholding in Hereford FC.
“We are happy to
be guided by HUST representatives on this matter and therefore the
minimum share purchase for any one individual or corporate body will be
set at 1000 shares.
“During our
discussions, Chris and Martin have advised that HUST is looking to
produce certificates for people who donate to HUST to specifically
purchase shares in order to acknowledge their contribution.
“Moving on from
the share issue, I’d just like to say that we continue to be aware of
the huge amount of interest in our proposal and particularly the
Articles of Association.
“As stated on
Thursday night, putting together the Articles of Association is a huge
piece of work we must get right and therefore there is no way this will
be in place before the vote on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“However, I would
like to take this opportunity to once again remind people that the
Articles will not be signed off until they have been ratified by the
HUST Board and then agreed by the Board of Hereford FC. I give
supporters my word that the Articles will safeguard Hereford FC from any
wrong doing or unwanted intrusion for generations to come.
“The HUST Board
will also have every opportunity to take legal advice to ensure they are
happy the Articles of Association contain all the necessary security to
protect the club for both the short and long-term, and also give
shareholders the power to hold the club’s Board to account.
“Please be
reassured that everyone involved in putting the proposal together feels
as strongly as all supporters that what happened to Hereford United
(1939) Limited must never be allowed to happen to Hereford FC.
“As I’ve already said, we are acutely aware that protecting the new club for future generations is absolutely vital.”