Here's a statement from DFCSG chair Wayne Raper about the Community Share Scheme

Don't forget about the netcafe tonight. If you have any questions, please mail them to netcafe@darlingtonfc.org with your name.

After taking advice from Supporters Direct we’ve taken the decision to close the Community Share offer which has now exceeded the overall target of £100,000 and currently stands at £106,000. We thank everyone who has pledged so far and enabled us to hit the target 6 weeks ahead of schedule – a quite staggering achievement.

The Community Share offer centres around a business plan that has been designed using a figure of £100,000 – to offer more shares would change the dynamics of the plan and therefore require us to restate the plan to all current investors and also remodel the re-payment plan. We should remember that as Community Shares is an investment which is intended to be repaid over time,  we have to ensure that we do not place too much of a burden on both Darlington FC Supporters Group and Darlington Football Club in creating the provision to repay.

What Happens Next?

 We will now continue to speak to individual investors in Darlington 1883 Ltd. with a view to exchanging their shareholding to allow us to reach the 90% shareholding mark which in turn will allow us to offer EIS tax benefits to anyone who has invested £500 or more in the Community Share scheme. We would urge anyone that has received a letter for Darlington 1883 Ltd. share exchange who hasn’t yet indicated their preference, to contact us as soon as possible so that we can finalise the EIS application.

If we are unsuccessful in offering EIS tax relief we must allow those who have pledged £500 or more to review their investment in light of this. In this instance it is likely that some pledges could be reduced. It is also possible that a small number of pledges may not be realised as actual investment.

With the above in mind we will keep the final £6,000 worth of pledges as a reserve in case we require further investment to top-up to £100,000 once the pledges have been collected. Any of the reserve pledges needed will be allocated on a first come, first served basis until we have accrued £100,000 in actual investment. Should we need additional income above that figure we can potentially re-open the Community Share offer.

No money will be taken until we have finalised the outstanding EIS issue. We will communicate with all investors directly before any payment is requested or cashed. The deadline for payment will be 7^th June however if anyone would like to make payment earlier we can arrange this on an individual basis.

Keep Fundraising!!

 The Community Share offer was just one vehicle for the overall fundraising which was launched 3 weeks ago, you can still continue to raise funds using one of the following methods:

·         DFC500 Club new subscriptions (just 25 remaining) from £599

·         DFC500 Club renewals from £120

·         DFCSG Membership from £2 per month

·         DFCSG Lottery from £5 per month

Due to the perceived appetite of the Darlington public to raise further funds for the future of the Football Club we’re currently looking into additional fundraising streams which should appeal to a wide range of fans. Watch this space!

 Thanks once again for your wonderful support.

Wayne Raper

Chair

Darlington FC Supporters Group