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Big Bath City Bid
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Next Steps Survey Results

27/9/2015

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Big Bath City Bid – Questionnaire Results
 
Almost 500 people responded to the recent Big Bath City Bid (BBCB) questionnaire asking for their views on the next steps in the campaign to transfer Bath City into a Community Owned Club.  Questionnaires were sent out to everyone who had pledged to buy shares, donate to the Bid, or to convert shares, and also distributed to supporters at home games and sent out via social media.

All quotes from respondents are verbatim – no changes have been made.

Jon Bickley, chair of the BBCB said “the level of response was fantastic and shows how the Bid has already captured the imagination of the fans and people of Bath”.

Whilst three-quarters of respondents described themselves as Bath City or general football fans there was also significant input from people who were more interested in the club’s community credentials and in supporting the club as an important part of the fabric of the city.

 “I have not been but very much support the idea of Bath City as a community club”
 “we support rugby but feel City needs this help”, “rugby supporter but want local sport to succeed”
 
“I am a Bristol City fan but want Bath City to have a future”, “I have a season ticket to Arsenal but want to see Bath City do well”

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Of the respondents, the majority (75%) have already applied for community shares and a further 20% expressed an interest in doing so in the future.  This is encouraging for the Bid Team as it suggests that there is already a significant number of people who have yet to commit to shares who could be persuaded to support the idea. “This new level of interest in investing in the Bid could give us a great head-start if we extend it further” offered Bickley. 


The Next Steps

On the question of the next steps the BBCB should take the response was unequivocal – DO NOT GIVE UP!  Less than 4% of the sample felt the group should give up, giving a clear mandate to continue efforts to complete the process of turning Bath City into a community owned club.  William Heath of the Bid welcomed the backing, “We are hugely encouraged by this response and it has helped us to formulate the next stage of our plan and discussions with the Club Board, knowing we have the strong support of the fans and backers”

 “Keep going - it needs more time and continued publicity. Consider asking existing share investors to find at least one more investor each”
 “Focus on the business community until say Christmas. We have impressive public support and a very professional bid team management to try to re-engage with local businesses”

The chart below shows the % of respondents who would support various scenarios.  The options are explained below.  Respondents were able to select more than one option.
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  • Extend the deadline for the share offer, use new approaches to bigger investors and innovative fundraising to achieve the original aim of full community ownership and resolving the club's problems
  • Try to negotiate a deal with the present board to gain 51% community control of the club and clear urgent debts in return for the committed funds
  • Use committed funds alongside a concrete plan to redevelop and improve facilities at Twerton Park to achieve community ownership and create a longer-term solution to the club's problems
  • Ask all community share investors to convert their commitment to cash now to clear urgent debts and increase the Bath City Supporters Society's shareholding in the club (but not gain community control)​
  • Give up and return all monies pledged


The result of this question not only gives the bid team a clear mandate to continue the campaign but also shows that whilst almost half of the sample would be happy for the team to try and negotiate with the present board so long as it (the community) gained control of the club they would not be comfortable with the monies pledged so far being given to the club without having control of how it’s spent.

The third option of using the funds alongside a development plan gained significant support, but some expressed the view that they would need fuller details before committing to that option. 


Supporting the Campaign

The remainder of the questionnaire was aimed at exploring the fans’ desire to help more with the campaign both in terms of donating to a ‘fighting fund’ and donating their time and expertise to the cause.  The response to these questions was especially encouraging with over 200 people offering to donate to a “fighting fund” to allow the BBCB to finance marketing, PR and other activities relating to the bid. Bid spokesperson, Steve Bradley said of this “these donations could make a real difference to our ability to publicise the Bid, initiate new campaigns and get our message out to the businesses and people of Bath.” 

On top of the one-off donations, over 150 respondents said they would make regular monthly payments towards the community ownership goal, either as simple donations or instalments towards buying additional shares. This could prove a significant means of completing the club purchase as has been the case at a number of clubs elsewhere.

As well as financial donations the campaign has received 243 replies offering practical help ranging from fundraising experience, accountancy services, working with local charities, design work and delivering leaflets.  Jon Bickley said “we’ve had offers of help from as far afield as Brazil, the USA and Spain as well as an incredible amount of support from the local Bath population. It is humbling to realise just how many people care passionately about the club and how many people are willing to donate their time and money to making this happen”

The team would like to thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey, and will be contacting everyone who has offered to help over the coming two weeks to see how they can help make the dream of a community owned club in Bath a reality.

Full survey results are available here
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The survey is now closed

21/9/2015

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The Next Steps survey is now closed with over 460 of you giving us your feedback including some 350+ investors in the community share offer. Thank you very much for taking the time to give us your constructive views.

The Bid team is meeting today to consider the results and we will give feedback later in the week. In the meantime we remain in regular dialogue with the Club Board.

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Make your opinions known

17/9/2015

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Over 360 people have now filled in the Next Steps Survey - make sure your voice is heard too!

Responses have been coming in thick and fast with over 360 people completing the survey including 280 share subscribers. But there are plenty more of you out there who've yet to make your views known. So if you haven't done it already, please complete the survey online now - there are just 9 questions and it will only take a few minutes. You can also download a copy and drop it by the stadium marked f.a.o. Supporters Society.


Survey now closed

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Complete the Next Steps Survey

12/9/2015

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Following the share offer deadline last week, when we reached a fantastic £303,276 total, we are now consulting about what you would like to do next. We kicked the process off with a vibrant, positive public meeting on Monday - you can read about it here - and now want to collect all your views with a short survey. The quickest and easiest way to respond is to fill it in online - it will only take a few minutes -  but we will also be distributing printed copies at the Hemel Hempstead match if you prefer pen and paper (please email if you would like us to post you a copy, or you can download a copy here).

The survey is open to everyone - whether you've invested or not, contributed to Crowdfunder, are a fan or are just interested in the idea of a community club. Deadline is midnight Saturday 19th September.


Please take a few minutes to complete the survey. As a community iniitiative, we only want to act with your feedback and your instruction. We plan to analyse the results and feedback to you by Monday 21st September.

BEGIN SURVEY NOW

Thanks for your time and we look forward to hearing back from as many of you as possible.

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Open Meeting Held at Twerton Park

11/9/2015

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Approximately 100 people attended an open meeting at Randalls, Twerton Park on Monday 7 September. Members of the Bid team presented a summary of where the Bid had got to, the lessons learned, the options that now lay before us and how we might proceed to ultimate community ownership  if given the mandate to continue.

There was a lots of enthusiasm and some great ideas during a lengthy, open session with great contributions from the floor. The atmosphere was tremendously positive, heartfelt and constructive. Following this, we talked through the next steps of the process of this brief consultation. 

It felt like a great collaborative effort and there was a real sense of what might be achieved collectively in the future. We took a straw poll of options in the room (for indicative purposes only – everybody will have a chance to have their say via the questionnaire) and the spirit seemed to be “Let’s Finish the Job”


You can see the full minutes of the meeting below.


The "Next Steps Survey" will be published on Saturday 12 September on this site, distributed to our email newsletter list and also outside the match v Hemel Hempstead.


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Statement from the Big Bath City Bid

5/9/2015

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"In just three months the Big Bath City Bid has attracted £303,276 in community funding from a wide range of individuals, local businesses, community groups, celebrities and Bath City supporters. Thank you to everyone who has supported the Bid - while we may not have reached our target just yet, we feel the genie is well and truly out of the bottle. The Bath City Supporters' Society and the Big Bath City Bid team remain committed to community ownership as the best way to create a secure and prosperous future for Bath City FC. We are hopeful that we can build on the success of the last three months to continue to move towards that goal, and to inject new energy and enthusiasm into the club.

The share offer has closed, pending consultation with investors and supporters. An open meeting will take place at Twerton Park at 7pm on Monday 7 September. A questionnaire will also be circulated from 12th to 17th September to ensure that all investors have the chance to be heard. Based on this feedback and negotiations with the Board, a proposed way forward will be put to investors no later than Monday 21 September.

As always, no money can be taken from the community share offer unless we hit our target or otherwise receive the explicit consent of the investor. Anyone who wants to withdraw their pledge may do so, and may request that cheques and bank transfers are returned.
 We hope that investors will attend Monday's meeting or await consultation prior to making any decision on what to do with their investment.

We would like to conclude by thanking our team of volunteers for all their hard work on this exciting project, and the people of Bath for their help and support as we strive to give this city the football club it deserves."


info@bigbathcitybid.org.uk
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Big Bath City Bid Share Offer closes at Midnight 4 September

4/9/2015

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Last Chance to Give Bath the Football Club it Deserves

Do you want to help make the dream of a community-owned Bath City FC a reality ? If so, you only have until midnight on Friday 4th September to purchase community shares in the Big Bath City Bid.

The Bid was launched three months ago, and since then has made news both locally and around the world. The initiative needs to raise £750,000 to buy the football club and restructure it as a democratically-run and financially sustainable community-owned cooperative. Their main route to do this to-date has been through a community share offer, in which all shareholders would have an equal say in the future direction of the new community-owned club.

More than five hundred individuals, local businesses, Bath City supporters and celebrities have backed the project so-far, and as the Bath Chronicle went to print over £250,000 in community shares had been purchased. The minimum purchase amount has been £250, with the largest sum invested to-date £10,000, and a significant number of purchasers at the £5,000 level. A further £7,000 has been raised through a separate crowd-funding initiative, aimed at those not in a position to buy the minimum number of shares.

The most famous investors have been footballing legend Eric Cantona and actor and comedian Ricky Tomlinson - both of whom have also sent video messages in support. And as the deadline for buying shares has crept ever closer, the project has benefited from a surge in share purchases.

Spokesperson for the Big Bath City Bid, Steve Bradley, said "As we approach the deadline for community share purchases, we have a simple message for Bath Chronicle readers. Do you value having Bath represented in the world's biggest sport, and want to see the club playing at the highest level it can ? Do you believe in the power and appeal of sport, and that it can be used to help make Bath an even better place - particularly for the most disadvantaged in our society ? And would you like to see Bath show the world that there is a better way to run football clubs - one that prioritises financial sustainability, transparency and which places the club at the very heart of its community ? If your answer to those questions is 'yes' then please help us make that vision a reality by buying community shares today. Let's seize the chance to give Bath the kind of football club that this great city deserves".


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Bath City Team Management back the Big Bath City Bid

3/9/2015

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Adie Britton, Lee Howells and Jim Rollo get behind the Bid!

The management team at high-flying Bath City FC are doing their bit to help make the club a community-owned cooperative by buying shares in the Big Bath City Bid.

 City's Director of Football, Adie Britton, joined with Manager Lee Howells and Coach Jim Rollo to pose with a 'Back the Bid' banner at the end of Monday's away draw against Weston-Super-Mare.

Britton commented "The management and team are keen to show their support for the Bid. We very much hope that you can ultimately create a community club and obtain the funds to guarantee its long term future".

Spokesperson for the Big Bath City Bid, Steve Bradley, commented "We're very grateful to the club's management and players for their support for the community ownership project. It's great to have the Bath City football family backing us in this way. We would urge all fans who want a prosperous and sustainable future for the club to follow their example and support the community share offer".

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Future Founder Chris Anderson backs the Big Bath City Bid

3/9/2015

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Future Publishing Founder Backs the Big Bath City Bid

Future Publishing Founder, Chris Anderson, has reached out from across the Atlantic to support the Big Bath City Bid campaign to turn the city’s football team into a community-owned club.

Although Chris moved to the United States over twenty years ago, the famous technology entrepreneur  has made a generous donation towards the Bid’s target of raising £750,000 to buy the club, clear its pressing debts and turn it into a community-owned cooperative.

Chris’s donation is the result of a brief meeting with prominent Bath City fan Ken Loach, when Chris was in the country for Future’s 30th Anniversary celebrations. The two were introduced at the annual Bath Boules tournament, and Ken outlined the bid’s aim to secure the club’s future and turn it into a positive force for good amongst some of the more disadvantaged and isolated members of the Bath community. Anderson, now curator of global conference group TED, enthused “I think it’s great what the Bid team are trying to do for Bath. A healthy football club is a vital symbol of a successful city, and if they can combine that with increasing the club’s good work in the community, then all the better.  Even though I no longer live in Bath, I’m happy to offer my support for old times' sake."

Big Bath City Bid spokesperson, Steve Bradley, added "Chris Anderson is a great example of the talent and entrepreneurial spirit of this city. It's fantastic to receive endorsement for the idea of community-ownership from someone of his calibre. We hope it will inspire even more people from Bath's business community to help make the dream a reality by also buying shares"

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