Newport County to 'buy some time' over change of ownership structure

The Trust-owned Exiles operate at a structure loss and have seen their net assets of £837,859 go down to a deficit of £393,000.

The League Two club’s accounts for the year ending June 2022 were filed with Companies House on Friday, although they are yet to appear online, and sent to the EFL.

Newport County Association Football Club Limited held an annual general meeting last week in which several resolutions were passed to comply with EFL regulations.

A meeting for Trust members and shareholders was then held in which the ownership model was discussed.

“We talked about what the options are – we can stay as we are or we can look for future investment, either as a ‘hybrid’ option or something that is transformative with somebody coming in,” said director Shaun Johnson.

“We have started the consultation process with the owners to get their views but we didn’t sit on the fence as a board.

“Our view is that the club needs to change with new investment to make sure we don’t trundle around battling relegation.

“We can’t risk squandering the opportunity of being a Football League club with the purist idea of a Trust model, none of us want to end up back in Conference South.

Rodney Parade, home of Newport County (Image: File)

“The plan associated with that is to buy ourselves some time by asking the owners to increase their Trust subscriptions and we will probably look again at a community share float in the near future, with a meeting on that in a few weeks.

“The owners gave us feedback on raising some more money and that will buy us some time to review the ownership properly, then people can express their interest, do their due diligence and look at the financial pack.

“It they are then serious about putting a formal offer in then we will review it, and if it’s credible put it before the owners.”

Former director Colin Everitt has been charged with liaising with any interested parties but there have been no approaches yet, nor is there any indication of whether co-opted director Jon Pratt wants more involvement.

The board are keen to avoid focusing on one individual or model and won’t pre-empt proposals.

The decision ultimately lies with the owners, with 75 per cent needing to give the green light.

Meanwhile, County have brought in former Swansea City media and marketing chief Jonathan Wilsher as a consultant to look at the running of the club.

He was a member of the Swans’ senior management group and is a trustee of the Swansea City AFC Foundation.

“Jonathan has come in to look at some of the operational challenges facing us and we will review that in the next month,” said Johnson.

“We will use his expertise, knowledge and feedback on how we can improve in certain areas.”

County will also work towards agreeing a new long-term lease for Rodney Parade, which will soon be owned by the Dragons.

A consortium led by chairman David Buttress signed a heads of terms agreement with the Welsh Rugby Union for a takeover.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to work closer together to develop a partnership for the benefit of both professional sporting institutions in the city,” said Johnson.

Details on how to join the Trust can be found: HERE