Share Scheme Introduction

The Problems facing the club

Like most other football clubs Bristol Rovers have been walking a financial tightrope for many years. Transfer fees from the conveyor belt of Rovers strikers helped cover operating losses and interest payments since the purchase of the Memorial Stadium in 1998. But now transfer fees have all but disappeared and TV and internet revenue for football league clubs is a fraction of that expected.

Rovers are one of the best supported clubs in the lower leagues, but the money coming through the turnstiles barely covers two thirds of playing and staff costs. So we also depend on non-matchday revenue, from the Commercial Department at the stadium and Supporters Club sales at Pirate Leisure. But even that doesn't cover the remaining costs, meaning a loss of some £500,000 each season and limited ability to pay off debts or develop the ground.

And we have three problems, common to a lot of league clubs:

Loans and debt ? we have no bank overdraft facility, we borrowed heavily to buy the Memorial Stadium (including loans at 9% interest) and our directors have loaned the club money to cover operating losses over the past few years. We have to pay these loans back or we could even face the threat of being forced into administration. The ground is our only real asset that we can use to generate revenue to pay off these loans, and we know that owning the ground is key to Rovers' future.

Ground improvements ? we can increase non-matchday revenue, but that needs better facilities at the stadium to host conferences, meetings and entertainment/leisure events. Although we have grants to cover some of the redevelopment costs, we still need to invest our own money to complete this redevelopment.

Performance on the pitch ? the team performance has led to us having to bring in new players, which has meant playing budgets have been overstretched, leading to more borrowings. Even if we progress in the league, we may need to go over budget again to sustain a promotion push.