Long Term Planning

AFC Telford United have abandoned their 20% ownership limit on private shareholders just weeks after surrendering 100% fan ownership.

Just 32% of the total available shares have been sold in the first round of sales, with the club noting that more than one potential investor had been put off by the 20% limit - a safeguard put in to stop the situation the old club found itself in with then owner Andy Shaw's business collapse causing catastrophe for the club.

The Bucks now expect the remaining shares to be back on sale by the end of March as they try to refinance a club that has had a poor couple of years on and off the pitch. They recently recorded their lowest ever attendance since reformation for a Saturday game at the New Bucks Head and have seen gates drop 25% over the past 2 years.

Elsewhere, Swindon's Supporters Trust is considering a bid to buy the club's County Ground home to protect it from potential redevelopment.

Following discussions with the local Council the ageing ground is available to buy for £1.1million. The site is said to be covenanted to solely be for recreational use, and the Council are now amenable to the sale which would allow the Trust to seek further investment into the ground on a community basis.

Meanwhile, over at Portsmouth, the Club and their Trust owners are now facing the prospect of a takeover approach. Billionaire former Disney chief Michael Eisner is rumoured to be a suitor for the club, with a club statement merely noting a 'robust process' in place to handle any such offers.

Final approval for any takeover would lay with their shareholders, with the Trust now the minority shareholder after being unable to keep up with the funding requirements of the veteran Fratton Park home the club retains.

The Trust's response to a potential approach from Eisner is to acknowledge they have to listen to what is on offer, and that a retention of some stake of ownership and a Director on any new Board would be their minimum requirements. The seriousness of the takeover approach has been downplayed in some quarters, but the Trust have gone as far as stopping new members from voting on any potential proposals until further notice.

Both the club's Board and the Trust seem to accept that the club is bigger than both of them, and that - in the world of billionaire investors holding the keys to most of the Premier League and Championship - the club may have a need to go down that route to return to former glories.