Support Resolution 5 - John Fenty

By: Bill Osborne
Date: 21/12/2005

GRIMSBY Town chairman, John Fenty, in an interview on Mariners World has asked the shareholders to support proposal number 5 at the EGM on December 29, and challenges the shareholders to come forward with another solution.

Mr Fenty said; "It is vitally important that shareholders look at the proposal and understand it. The objective is for me to take up 51% of the shares of Grimsby Town Football Club."

"The principle reasons are, if we go back to the AGM in 1999, the infamous AGM when the Carr board were taken over, I had at that time been working on the stadium project for nine months and it was my responsibility, and we cannot again allow the club to be destabilised in the same way."

"There are a whole host of other reasons but in essence we are going to have a requirement to bridge an awful lot of funding for the football club."

".…someone has got to put their hand in their pocket!…."

"We have tried a number of ways to raise funds which have been reasonably successful such as the Keep The Mariners Afloat Campaign but, to be quite frank, it has run out of steam."

"We have tried to attract other directors to the board through local advertising and personal approaches, none of which have been successful, so at the end of the day someone has got to put their hand in their pocket to meet past debts as well as giving us an opportunity to fund a sustainable future."

"The directors have asked me if I am extend my support for the football club and as you can understand my advisors clearly do not recommend me to agree to the proposal to continue my support, particularly without having a major stake and ensuring the club cannot destabilised, when the club has all the plans and aspirations to do certain things, on top of which it has to meet past financial baggage."

"It would be ludicrous to not secure a strong share holding in the football club to ensure that those aims and objectives can be fully be worked out. So it is a very important resolution and those people who have got shares do need to come down and pledge their support or make their position clear."

"Quite frankly, if the resolution is not successful, I would very much like the shareholders to tell me and this board how the financial shortfall is going to be met because ultimately that is what it is about."

When asked if he could understand some of the worries shareholders might have, he pointed out that it was this board that enabled supporters to purchase shares in the club saying; "we support wider ownership"

Mr Fenty went on; "If the club needs that sort of money the funds have to be raised some way. If I do raise my share holdings that will produce about 150,000 pounds and somebody has to meet the rest of the financial obligations to meet the past financial baggage and to give us a sustainable future, and I am talking about meeting the funding gap in regard to the new stadium."

".…I Am Prepared To Do It!…."

"Somebody has got to do all of those things. I am being asked to do that due to the fact that we have been unable to secure financial assistance elsewhere."

"I am prepared to do it but not on the basis of being left vulnerable."

Transcribed with permission

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