South Shields FC fans get fresh chance to own shares in club as Mariners launch Seeders campaign

More than 1,000 supporters, friends, and people in the business community took the chance to buy a slice of the Mariners in its first round of crowdfunding round on the Seedrs platform in 2020.

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Now bosses are preparing to embark on a second round.

A club spokesperson said: “Our first crowdfunding round on the Seedrs platform took place in 2020 and proved to be an overwhelming success which was an extremely humbling process for everyone involved at the club.

"We were delighted to welcome more than 1,000 investors into our family.

“Our existing shareholders have pre-emption rights in this second round, enabling them to purchase new shares before they become available to more investors and avoid dilution. We then hope to welcome many more supporters and investors as we seek to take the next step on our exciting journey.”

It comes as work progresses on a new main stand at the club’s home ground, with a new shop, bar areas and other facilities indoors.

The club spokesman said: “As the recent transformative developments of 1st Cloud Arena have demonstrated, we remain more determined and focused than ever to achieve our long-term goals and believe the monumental challenges posed by the pandemic have made our club stronger and strengthened our community ties.

“The funds we received in 2020 not only allowed us to improve our facilities and continue to make a significant impact in our community, but also helped us lessen the impact of the various lockdown periods, which had such a devastating impact on our revenue streams.

“Our men’s first-team was able to progress to a full-time training model to strengthen our ambitions, and continued progress has been made by our Academy and Ladies teams, as well as our charitable Foundation.”

He added: “We are committed to continuing on our path to becoming community-owned, and firmly believe the time is right to offer this second round of share ownership.

“By purchasing shares, you can do your bit to helping our club towards this objective, while also raising further funds which will help us continue on our upward trend and realise our aspirations.

“As with the first round, every single penny raised will remain within the club and be reinvested.”

The club said investing will bring with it a number of new perks which the team will announce in the coming weeks as the club prepares to go live with the campaign.

In a statement to prospective investors, the club said: “These perks will be available to existing shareholders who purchase further equity, as well as new shareholders.

“We can also confirm that we have again received EIS advanced assurance from HMRC, entitling eligible investors to claim EIS tax relief on investments made in this campaign. This is an exciting incentive for those looking to invest.

“Further information will be released soon but in the meantime, we hope you can pre-register your interest to be among the first to invest in the next stage of our development project.”

For more information on registering, visit https://www.seedrs.com/southshields-fc/coming-soon

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