Former directors of Lewes FC speak out against the club’s sale

Thirteen years ago, Lewes FC was on the brink of extinction. It was pulled back by a committed group of locals – the Rooks125 – who placed the club into community ownership, with the explicit aim of putting “an end to the feast and famine cycle of private ownership”.

Now, the club’s board are proposing that they once again enter private ownership, handing a controlling stake in Lewes FC Women Ltd to Mercury 13.

According to the current Lewes FC board of directors: “In return for the investment, Mercury 13 would gain up to a 51% stake in Lewes Football Club Women’s Limited, with Lewes Football Club Limited retaining a minimum of 49%. This investment would not alter or change the existing community ownership model of our TopCo, Lewes Community Football Club Limited.

“If the club decided to proceed with the proposed investment by Mercury 13, there would be an initial immediate uplift to playing and operational budgets, to be followed by further tranches of funding over a three-year period.”

The eight former directors opposing the sale consist of Clive Burgess, Lee Cobb, Barry Collins, Norman Duncan, Sean Macleod, Sarah Mann, Jane Roberts, and Ben Ward.

In a statement, the former directors said: “We don’t believe this is the right choice for the club, for precisely the reasons stated all those years ago.

“Over the past few years, the club has sacrificed sustainability at the expense of chasing on field success. The investment has driven the women’s team to unprecedented heights, not least with the memorable FA Cup quarter-final at The Dripping Pan last season.

"But competing with clubs such as Manchester United and Liverpool has come at a considerable financial cost. Directors’ donations have climbed steeply over the past five years, with the exception of 2020/21, which was a season heavily disrupted by the Covid pandemic. In the last financial year alone, one director donated £600,000.

“That level of donations simply isn’t sustainable, and as the board itself now concedes ‘without investment, playing and staff budgets for future seasons may need to be significantly reduced in order to ensure the club remains opera ng without debt.’ We believe the answer is not to return to private ownership, with all the risks that entails. Not least because in the medium term we may be back here again, looking for private investors to plug a financial gap, except this me a much larger one.

“Instead, we believe the answer is to remain a 100% community-owned club that finds its natural place in the football pyramids, wherever that may be.”

In the words of the Rooks125: “Private ownership leads almost every football club in the UK through a never-ending cycle of boom and bust. And usually leaves supporters as powerless bystanders and the townsfolk as the bank of last resort.”

The current board of directors said: "We unanimously believe this is the only option available at this stage, which will enable the club to grow with the long-term stability and security necessary for success.”