Exclusive:New owners set to take South Shields FC and South Tyneside global as they eye China link
South Shields Football Club’s new owners are to take the club and South Tyneside global.
South Shields Football Club’s new owners are set to take South Tyneside global as part of their takeover investment strategy.
The club, and region, will be showcased on a global stage when chairman Geoff Thompson and a Mariners delegation travel to China today.
The South Tyneside businessman concluded a deal with an international investment group last month in a move that have changed the ownership structure at Mariners Park and has heralded the start of a new era at the National League North club.
Thompson will remain in place as chairman as part of the new look hierarchy and will continue to play a leading role in guiding the fortunes of his hometown club - but he will be supported by the ORY LLP Investment consortium after they became the Mariners majority shareholders.
The first steps of a new chapter in the Mariners history will take place on Tuesday when Thompson, members of the club’s management team and two first-team players will fly to China to meet with a number of organisations that could become club partners in the future.
South Shields FC takes South Tyneside global
However, the Mariners chairman also believes the trip will offer an exciting opportunity to promote South Shields and South Tyneside in the area and grow the profile of both on the international stage.
Speaking ahead of the trip, Thompson told The Gazette: “There are a lot of plans afoot. A practical example of that comes on Tuesday when members of the management team and some of the players, Sean McGurk and Sonny Finch, are heading out to Shanghai with me and that’s an example of it.
“We want to promote South Shields and South Tyneside in that area and we have some great sponsors and relationships here - but wouldn’t it be amazing to have greater international reach too. We want to grow our international academy so China and Singapore are areas where we might achieve that and that’s why this trip on Tuesday is a practical example of new things the investment group are bringing.
“Our plans are to meeting with the Chinese Football Association, take in a game over there, meeting various potential partners and academies and it’s a really exciting trip.”
Thompson: ‘Never been more excited’
Thompson, who originally bought his hometown club just under 11 years ago, revealed how much work the investment group had overseen as they made progress with the agreement over the last nine months.
The South Tyneside businessman has been left impressed with the level of detail shown during that time and believes the Mariners ‘have never been in a better place’ to take advantage of the ambition shown by their new hierarchy.
Thompson said: “For me personally and for a lot of the management and staff here, it’s been nine months of hard work and the investment group have been incredibly thorough in their approach and they have overseen a very detailed due diligence.
“That is necessary from a legal and commercial perspective - but they have also done it in a way to ensure they understand the club, its history, what we are about. I am not just saying this to sound like a convenient response - but I’ve never been more excited about where the club is at.
“We’ve never been in a better place, the investment group have ambition for the club and I am looking forward to continuing to work closely with them, as I have done over the last nine months.”
Although there is a clear desire to promote the club and South Tyneside on a global stage, the figure fronting the ORY investment group has made a promise to ensure the local community remains at the heart of everything they do as their time at the Mariners helm gets underway.
New owners welcome to ‘beautiful town’
Jason Ye, a New York-based capital markets lawyer, has led negotiations with Thompson in recent months and the duo and other members of the consortium attended the National League annual general meeting on Saturday before returning to South Tyneside to meet supporters, volunteers, club staff and the local media just under 24 hours later.
Although Ye has attended Mariners fixtures in recent months as negotiations over the agreement continued, Sunday represented his first visit since the deal was fully ratified and completed - and he made a firm vow to ensure the community remains ‘at the core’ of the club’s future as he assessed what could lie ahead.
He said: “Everything we have seen so far has been great and Geoff has been instrumental in leading this. I want to thank Geoff, his management team and the community for welcoming us to this beautiful town of South Shields.”