Championship side Barrow Raiders are looking for fams to invest in the club to help them through some financial difficulties.
Current chairman and CEO Steve Neale addressed fans via the Raiders’ website in a plea for additional investment and cash injection to help them out this season.
In this scheme, fans would be able to purchase debentures between £5 and £10,000 to go into cash reserves to fund the team and club.
Many Super League sides are struggling financially without a wealthy backer so the further down the pyramid you get, most clubs are operating on a shoestring budget.
Neale said: “For the past two seasons, we have had a slight reduction in the playing budget, but I have had to put in significant sums through both donations and loans to keep the club solvent, and to keep the club with a team capable of remaining in the Championship.
“We need new younger members to be a part of Barrow Rugby League club, and we need a cash injection to help us through the next couple of challenging years whilst we still have the short-term debt to service,” he added.
Neale himself has invested everything he has in the club, including investing life savings, remortgaging his house and selling a second property on top of personal loans.
Following promotion from League 1 in 2021, Barrow has had somewhat of a rollercoaster time in the Championship.
In 2022 they managed to finish in 4th, losing in the elimination play-offs, before slumping to 11th in 2023 and 2024
With a cash injection off the field, the club could translate that into on-field performance as well as potentially adding new players to the squad.
Neale said: “It is testimony to the great work of our coach Paul Crarey and his team that we have kept our status when most clubs have a much bigger budget backed by wealthier individuals,” he added.
Since Neale took over as chairman in 2018, the club has worked on their off-field initiatives, from their larger sponsor base, near-doubling crowds, and lots of community work.
The club are open to a complete takeover if a person or company is willing to invest a larger sum of money.
To find out more about the Barrow Raiders debentures scheme, you can visit their sale website.
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