WHITEHAVEN?S biggest shareholder, Copeland Council, is to take an active role in running the club for the first time after helping it over its short-term financial nightmare.The council holds 45 per cent of the shares in Whitehaven 1992 Ltd, the holding company which owns 70 per cent of the club.And last week it agreed to underwrite a ?75,000 loan to the club from the West Cumbria Development Fund, Sellafield?s channel for large-scale community aid.?We seek to play a positive participatory role. In the past we have been passive,? said Councillor Tim Knowles, who explained why the authority would play a new role at the Recre.?It?s to ensure appropriate financial controls, in the interests of shareholders and supporters.?It is understood the council will monitor the club?s purse strings, to ensure there?s no repeat of the financial crisis which has gripped the Recre over recent weeks. But there will be no interference with on-field matters.It is believed the club faces a six-figure shortfall for 2006 and last year, and Haven were on a financial knife edge when the current board took charge last month.The loan has secured the club?s short-term future, though the cash must be repaid in three years.?It?s not interest-free,? added Knowles. ?The precise terms are a matter we are discussing.?Haven director Barry Richardson said the new board would welcome grater involvement from Copeland.?They have been fantastic in what they have helped us deliver in a short space of time,? he added.A re-vamped Recreation Ground is a key element of the Pow Beck Valley regeneration scheme, which Knowles, who has special responsibility for the ambitious project, explained was the reason behind the council agreeing to act as guarantors for the loan to Haven.?It was no contest in the end. It was the value-for-money decision,? he said.Other developments planned for the 45-acre Valley site include new businesses and homes, and a sports village, with a swimming pool, improved football facilities and indoor tennis courts.The council is to call an extraordinary general meeting of Whitehaven 1992 Ltd to discuss its latest moves.
You are really a superfan amongst super fans in fact your the no.1 fan in Cumbria. Congratulations.
so its just a loan that has to be paid back?
washington have put 60 grand in aswell (in the whitehaven news tomorrow)
