North-East News
Buy Darlo campaign passes £250,000 mark as board members are announced
8:00am Wednesday 22nd February 2012
THE Buy Darlo campaign last night passed the £250,000 mark, completing the first phase of the plan to bring Darlington Football Club out of administration.
The total invested in Darlington FC 1883 Ltd – the company launched to buy the football club and prevent it from being liquidated – reached £250,960 late yesterday, less than five days after the fundraising drive was announced.
The campaign will now move into its second phase, and a second batch of shares will be released in the hope of raising a further £250,000 to go towards paying off the club’s remaining creditors.
If that target is reached, a third batch of shares would be released to generate another £250,000 which would be used to give the club a sustainable future.
The news came as six local businessmen and women were named as the interim management board of DFC 1883.
All of the interim board members are giving their time voluntarily.
They are:
• Peter Ashmore – a local government employee, member of the DFC rescue group and founder member and former chairman of Darlington Supporters’ Trust.
• Laura Drew – a Darlington fan for the past ten years with a background in law and accountancy.
She runs her own IT firm in the South-East; • Karen Glencross – a former secretary, vice-chairwoman and acting chairwoman of Darlington FC Supporters’ Club.
• Ian Peacock – a member of the DFC Rescue Group and managing director of Tees Valley Luxury Coaches.
• Tony Waters – a former human resources and administration manager in the Armed Forces, Darlington Supporters’ Trust board member, Darlington FC Supporters’ Club committee member and voluntary fundraiser for the club.
• Steve Weeks – a member of the DFC Rescue Group and former chairman of Darlington FC. He is the founder and owner of Central Stationers.
Speaking before the £250,000 target was reached, Ms Glencross said: “Everything has moved very quickly during the last two weeks and a huge amount of effort has gone into reaching the position we are now in, whereby money is rolling in and the first phase of the share sale is almost complete.”
People can buy shares at buydarlo.org.
For those who want to pay by cash or cheque, there will be a stall in Darlington Dolphin Centre from 11am to 4pm for the rest of the week, including Saturday.
People must take two forms of identification with them, eg passport, photo driving licence or utility bill (not a mobile phone bill).