Racecourse lease set to be surrendered after Wrexham Supporters Trust vote
The Racecourse is set to become a single freehold once again, as a lease held by the Wrexham Supporters Trust will cease to exist.
Wrexham Supporters Trust have announced the outcome of a vote to decide if the Racecourse lease they hold should be torn up, with the Board saying they are “pleased” to confirm the result.
The move means there will be a surrender of the existing lease to the Racecourse Ground, to be replaced by a “legally binding covenant so that the Ground will only be used as the home football stadium of Wrexham AFC’s men’s first team until 30 June 2115”.
Fans were told the surrender of the lease is “required by the Club to enable the funding for the Kop Development / UEFA Stadium Category 4 status to be secured”.
352 members voted to surrender the lease with 17 voting against, and 4 abstaining.
836 members were eligible to vote meaning 42% did not bother to engage with the process.
The WST said, “The Board will now work with our legal advisors and the club’s advisors to finalise the necessary legal documentation to conclude the surrender of the lease to be replaced with legally binding covenants. In addition, the Board will also register the rule amendments with the Financial Conduct Authority. We anticipate that this work will be completed early in the New Year.”
“The Board would like to place on record our sincere thanks for the advice from our legal advisors, Taylor Wessing, and for their expert guidance regarding this matter. In addition, the Board recognises the important role played by the Football Supporters Association and Anthony Collins Solicitors for their advice in the amendments to the Trust Rules, and for Mi-Voice who have managed all SGM notices and voting on our behalf.
“We would also like to thank our property advisors Huw Davies of Crossways and Steve Davies, and place on record our gratitude to Rob, Ryan and the Club for their support and understanding throughout the process, including their agreement to obtain Kings Council opinion.
“Finally, we would also like to thank the members for participating at the SGM and taking the time to vote.”
Previously, prior to the result, Co-chairman Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds said: “We were delighted to receive the support of the Directors of the WST and share their understandable desire to protect the long-term future of the Club.
“Our legacy at the Club will not be defined while we are its custodians, so we wanted to address the anomaly in the WST lease for the Racecourse Ground that did not include the requirement for the team to actually play at the stadium, only not allow it to be used for any other purpose. We didn’t want anyone in the future to be able to exploit that position.
“The payment of £187,000, is an equivalent amount to that contributed by fans to save the Club. To know that we will provide the funding to effectively pay everyone back who contributed to save the Club is worth every penny and gives us a great deal of satisfaction.
Top pic: The WST motto “Our club, our ground” no more.
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