Information - What's next with the Bid.

From an e-mail sent to BID supporters -

The Bid is alive and well and working hard to protect the future of the club and secure community ownership.

With £300,000 committed to the community share offer and 96% of you saying we should continue with the Bid we know that there is massive support for this campaign. We have been unable to reach any halfway house agreement with the club’s majority shareholders with the money to hand, so instead we remain focused on raising the minimum £750,000 figure originally envisaged.

Our position now is:
We are working with a professional fund-raiser, who is giving his time and expertise free of charge, to shape the fundraising strategy and help make direct approaches.

In order to bridge the gap between the £300,000 we’ve raised and the absolute minimum of £750,000 that’s required, we are working to achieve matched funding from wealthier individuals and grant-funding organisations of another £300,000. This would take us to an interim total of £600,000 before re-opening the share offer to the wider public.

We have made significant inroads towards that new £300,000 investment, with substantial verbal commitments.

This phase may take up to three months so we ask for your patience while we work through the more involved approaches and discussions required for these larger sums.

If we’re able to achieve the matched funding, we will re-open the share offer on 1 February with a close date of 1 May. If we can get that money faster, then we’ll re-open the offer sooner and can potentially work to a faster timescale.
If you think you can help the Bid for community ownership with a substantial investment or donation towards the £300,000 matched funding, then please contact us directly for a confidential conversation.

Please note we have secured agreement with Microgenius to extend our campaign to May, so all your existing commitments will remain valid for the full period of the campaign. We won't take any money without your permission or hitting the target, and any money you've paid by cheque will remain untouched.


Alongside this new approach and the engagement of professional fund-raising support, we’re pleased to announce the involvement of two people new to the Bid:

Nick Blofeld, former CEO of Bath Rugby and Epsom Racecourse, is now giving his support to the Bid, bringing a wealth of sports administration expertise, connections to the Bath Rugby community and great business experience.

Sally Harris, of Age UK and Amnesty International, joins us to help head up the community impact side of the Bid, to drive forward the positive benefits we can achieve for the people of the city through community ownership of Bath City.

With Nick, Sally and our fund-raising support, we believe we are now much better placed to raise the full amount required and to then implement the aims of the Bid on successful completion.

We remain in ongoing contact with the majority shareholders and if circumstances change in the short term we will be as supportive and responsive as possible to ensure the security of the club, as long as it goes hand-in-hand with the mandate you’ve given us for irreversible shift towards community ownership.

We will aim to keep in more regular contact and let you know as soon as we need to take any new, broader action. Thanks again for your commitment, patience and support.

Fantastic news.