Arsenal will today seek to buck the trend of fans revolting against wealthy owners by inviting their supporters to buy shares in the club and play a role in its governance. While fans of Manchester United and Liverpool rage against the debt-funded ownership models of the Glazer family and the Hicks-Gillett partnership, Arsenal will instead seek to harness the power of supporter activism for their benefit.
With Arsenal shares trading at more than £10,000 each, fans will be encouraged to buy portions of shares with relatively small contributions via the Arsenal Fanshare scheme being launched today. Supporters will be invited to pay a minimum of £100, either up front or in £10 monthly contributions, to buy one fanshare, one hundredth of an actual share. In return, the member will secure full shareholder's rights: the chance to attend the annual general meeting, ask questions of the directors and vote on policy.
Arsenal are valued at around £640m and each of its 62,000 shares trades at £10,250. The Gunners are majority-owned by just four shareholders: the US property and sports entrepreneur Stan Kroenke, who has spent millions to buy just under 30%; the Uzbek-Russian mining and minerals billionaire Alisher Usmanov (27%); the Londoner and long-term shareholder Danny Fiszman, now a tax exile in Switzerland, owns 16%, while Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith is publicly seeking a buyer for the 16% stake which her family has owned for three generations.
Arsenal Fanshare has been organised over five years by the Arsenal Supporters' Trust, which campaigns against the club being bought by one rich individual and for supporters to be represented in decision-making. The trust hopes a significant chunk of Arsenal's massive support here and overseas will subscribe, massing small contributions together to form an influential stake.
"We believe it is fundamentally helpful to the club to have supporters who are active and engaged," the Arsenal chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, said. "The important thing is that supporters are valued and nurtured, not exploited. That is good for the club's soul, and for its all-round health."
The supporters' trust spokesman, Tim Payton, said: "It is hugely significant that all the major Arsenal shareholders have given their support and that suggests talk of a takeover can be put to one side."
With a maximum monthly payment of £1,000, the scheme will require a huge take-up for anything approaching a significant holding to be built, but the symbolism is powerful: a statement of popular democracy at a marquee Premier League club.
The sports minister, Hugh Robertson, told the Guardian yesterday: "This proposal at Arsenal is enlightened and forward-looking. Clearly it is for individual clubs to decide, but this is a model I'd like to see other teams explore."
Source: David Conn, The Guardian on 18 Aug 10
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