Exclusive:International investment can take South Shields FC to the next level
South Shields have new majority owners after a deal with an international investment group was finalised earlier this month.
Geoff Thompson believes the recent completion of a deal with an international investment consortium can help South Shields FC in their bid to continue their push up the non-league pyramid.
Last month marked the 11-year anniversary of Thompson completing the purchase of his hometown club and returning them to Mariners Park after they had spent the previous two years playing ‘home’ games in Peterlee. The South Tyneside businessman’s arrival heralded a major upturn in form over the years that followed and immediate success followed as former manager Jon King led his side to the Northern League Division Two title after a three-year stay in step six.
With new management team Lee Picton and Graham Fenton taking charge during the early weeks of the following season, the Mariners embarked on a historic quadruple-winning campaign that culminated in an FA Vase final win against Cleethorpes Town as around 15,000 supporters made their way from South Tyneside to see their club in action at Wembley. Two further promotions have followed and there have been three separate runs to the first round proper of the FA Cup during an exciting period in the club’s history. There have been significant off-field developments too with Thompson taking South Shields from part-time to full-time professional status, introducing a thriving local and international academy and overseeing a transformation of their Mariners Park home and the surrounding area.
There have been some disappointments after an almost inevitable promotion into the National League North was halted by the Covid-19 pandemic and there were three play-off defeats during that time. The most recent came last month as Kidderminster Harriers ended any thoughts of a historic promotion into the National League by inflicting a 2-0 play-off final defeat on the Mariners just two weeks after they had narrowly missed out on the league title.
The news an international investment group had bought a majority share in the club has added intrigue to the Mariners first season under new head coach Mike Williamson - and Thompson believes the agreement can kickstart the next phase of the club’s rise.
Strengthen
He told The Gazette: “I think this is needed to help us get to the next level and hopefully beyond. I’ve spoken about it before but I had the health scare and that was the catalyst for me to think what is next for the club if I wasn’t going to be around. Thankfully, my health is ok, but that was the start of the process to try and identify new investors to come in alongside me. The last 11 years have been great. There have been disappointments. The Covid season, when we were 12 points clear and the season was declared null and avoid. We’ve had three play-off defeats and obviously the most recent season with missing out on automatic promotion and a further agonising near miss in the play-off final.
“But if you look over the longer period, the progress of the club, on and off the pitch, has always been in the right direction, not withstanding the odd little setback on occasion. I think that momentum can continue. We will continue investing in the club, we will strengthen the infrastructure and the investment group are looking at other opportunities to invest in the facilities and elsewhere. It’s been a remarkable 11 years - but I’m really excited about what can lie ahead too.”
Conversations
Fronted by New York-based lawyer Jason Ye, the ORY LLP Group consists of investors from the United States, Singapore and China and they will now focus on triggering improvements on and off the pitch at Mariners Park. Thompson, Ye and new head coach Williamson led a Mariners delegation that is currently in the Far East meeting with local academies, the Chinese Football Association and potential partners as the new look ownership group takes the first steps into a new era.
Some have been expressed their surprise over the source of the investment and the interest Thompson received when he announced he was looking for a partner to take South Shields forwards - but the man himself believes interest from the United States and the Far East is indicative of the worldwide interest in all levels of English football.
When asked if the international interest had caught him by surprise, Thompson replied: “Not really because I had conversations with other parties and if you take stock, and think about what’s going on in football generally, there is a lot of interest in English football from the Premier League down. It’s not just from the United States, it’s from around the globe and we have seen international interest locally too. You have Hartlepool United being acquired by Landon Smith, there’s Carlisle United are now owned by a family from Jacksonville.
“This is another example of that. Jason spent his life in New York, now lives in Singapore, he’s a lawyer by trade and some of the investment group are in New York, some in Shanghai, some in Hong Kong. So I think I’m not surprised by it. Their view is that English football is undervalued and if you are going to buy a sporting franchise in other areas, it’s going to be more expensive and I think there’s a lot we can all do with South Shields and the investment group can see that.”
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