FC United extends pioneering community share offer

FC United of Manchester is extending its pioneering Community Shares Scheme offer to the end of February 2011.

The scheme – which aims to raise £1.5 million towards the club’s own ground in Newton Heath – has already generated £700,000 of investment with another £200,000 pledged.

Now we hope that by extending the offer, a further wave of investors will come forward and push the total towards the target.

"We’re the first football club to try this approach and we’re breaking new ground on what is possible for a supporter-owned club to achieve," said FC United board member Adam Brown.

"Given this is the first time a football club has tried this approach, we are delighted with the reaction from our fan-base and the business community, ethical investors and anyone who wants to be part of pioneering a new way for football finance.

"We’ve had a fantastic response so far but we believe the appetite is still there for further investment – particularly now we’ve been granted full planning permission for our own ground, and due to the additional interest in the club off the back of our FA Cup run.

"The cup run has been a great boost to the club but has also stretched our resources to the limit. And we only received assurance about tax breaks on the scheme last month, so we want to give people more time to respond to this huge benefit."

In November, HM Revenue & Customs gave advance assurance that those who buy £500 of shares can claim 20% back against tax under the Enterprise Investment Scheme.

The main aim of the Community Shares Scheme is to enable people to participate as shareholders in funding the community facilities that will be built as part of the stadium development. This will deliver new sports, social and function facilities to Newton Heath, an area which faces significant social and economic challenges.

For full details about the scheme, or to invest, visit www.fc-utd.co.uk/communityshares.

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