hedgegrower Welcomes Mark Stott !
Hedgegrower is pleased to reproduce the statement issued tonight by Stockport County Supporters Cooperative, in response to the news that ownership of Stockport County had now passed to successful business man Mark Stott.
Old hedgie welcomes Mark to the County Family, and as the Coops headline says, we can all look forward hopefully to an exciting future.
Congratulations to all involved .....and to County Supporters wherever you live...take heart ....we are on the way...
COUNTY LOOK FORWARD TO AN EXCITING NEW FUTURE.
The Stockport County Supporter’s
Co-operative (Co-op) would like to welcome Mark Stott and his team to Edgeley
Park. Mark has outlined an exciting vision to develop the football club, both
on and off the field, provide first class training facilities, full time
football, development squads, help to regenerate the local area and has
ambitions for the Club to eventually play in the Championship.
The Co-op have been working closely with the football club and have met
with Mark Stott and his team prior to the sale taking place. We were seeking
assurances on behalf of Co-op members and Stockport County supporters.
Mark was able to confirm that the Club would be debt free following the
change of ownership, an assurance that we welcomed wholeheartedly.
We reiterated how important Jim Gannon is to the success of Stockport
County, and this view was mirrored by Mark Stott and he confirmed further that
funds would be made available to Jim, immediately to assist this season. A good
budget will be provided next season.
Assurances were sought and received about the Club remaining at
Edgeley Park – and in this respect we were shown impressive development
plans, that served to underline the new owner`s obvious commitment to County
remaining at our Edgeley Park.
In 2015, Help the Hatters set up the
Players Fund, which raised an initial £35,000 and these funds were allocated to
the playing budget of the first team. In return, 17,500 shares were allocated
and held by the Stockport County Supporters Co-operative on behalf of the
supporters. The Co-op is a legal entity, registered under the Co-operative and
Community Benefits Act 2014, is governed by the Financial Conduct Authority and
is a member of the Football Supporters’ Association.
The Co-op will open discussions with
Help the Hatters regarding how the proceeds of the sale of our shareholding
following the successful negotiations, will be allocated.
We would like to thank the outgoing
board of directors, having worked closely together to transform the future of
the football club, resulting in our fantastic promotion campaign last season. An
example of our successful campaigns is the Community Ticket initiative, which has
enabled over 5,000 youngsters to watch a live game at Edgeley Park – and helped
develop our fan base for the future.
We would also like to thank Steve
Bellis for maintaining regular dialogue and meetings between the Co-op and Club
directors. This work has provided the supporters with a much stronger voice,
representation and ensured that our voice is heard within the football club.
The Co-op look forward to working
closely with the new board of directors at Stockport County and to continuing
dialogue and regular meetings, to represent the views of our members and the
supporters – as the club’s largest stakeholder. We wish Mark and his team all
the best during their time at Stockport County.
Join the Co-op and help provide the
supporters with a stronger voice.
Membership is just £12 for adults, £3
for 16 to 25 year olds and £1 for under 16’s. https://webcollect.org.uk/coop/subscription
Stockport County
Supporters Co-operative
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