The Trust notes the statement from HUFC this morning, which we hopes brings a degree of clarity around the current financial situation at the club. While we are concerned that debt levels have continued to rise, a change of ownership presents an opportunity for supporters, and everyone who cares about the club, to assess what type of club they want going forward.
We as a Supporters Trust exist to ensure that a professional football club continues in Hartlepool. To that end as a Trust we will now look at:
- Consultation- Survey of supporters to understand what people really want. We want to unite fans of the club and understand what level of fan involvement that they want moving forward
- Financial Assessment – If a buyer cannot be found we need to explore the possibility of a Trust owned club. This would involve high level discussions around what working capital would be required to turn the club around from the current loss making business model. We would also need to explore whether the current owners would genuinely want to sell to The Trust. In May 2017 the club made an undertaking to let The Trust have sight of the financial accounts. To date this has not happened.
- Public Meeting- If The Trust ends up in a position where it has to step in we would host an immediate Public Meeting to discuss whether there is a genuine will within the fan base for this to become a reality, and what we would need to do to make it happen.
We will be having an informal Board Meeting tomorrow evening after the game, and will update further in due course.