Peterborough United to offer bonds to supporters to raise money for London Road stadium improvements
Peterborough United are to offer bonds to fans to raise money to improve their current stadium.
A bond functions as a loan between an investor and a business. The investor agrees to give the business a certain amount of money for a specific period of time. In exchange, the investor receives periodic interest payments.
Posh are expected to disclose details of their scheme before Christmas.
Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony said on his ‘Hard Truth’ podcast: “With our new stadium a little further away thand we’d like because of all the politics we need to improve our current facilities for our loyal fans.
“We need to find a lot of money to revamp one side of the ground for next season (the London Road End) as weneed to put 1,800 seats in. We’d also like to put a restaurant in.
“Bonds are a way of raising money to do things like that and it’s a way for supporters to experience more affiliation for the club in a juicy and exciting way, while leaving the owners to concentrate on putting up money for transfers etc.
“You could ask why don’t the owners just put the money in, well we are already putting a couple of million of our own money to run the club in the Championship.
“It’s not a loan as such. We won’t be shafting our supporters. We will have a target amount we want to reach over a set period of time after which investors will receive their money back along with a rate of interest. It’s all guaranteed.
“Norwich raised £5-£6 million for their training ground and when they reached the Premier League they paid their fans back along with interest.
“It’s an area of expertise for my partners who have employed a company that helped QPR do something similar. We should announce the terms and conditions of our offer soon.”