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Plans A, B and C at Bury

Shakers fans have three plans on the table as they seek to revive their club:

  • Plan A: a consortium interested in buying the club in its present form.
  • Plan B: the purchase of Gigg Lane, valued at £3.8m, by entrepreneur Robert Benwell, either out of liquidation or by way of repossession. Talks are continuing with mortgage holder Capital Bridge Financing.
  • Plan C: A supporter-led phoenix club named Bury AFC to apply to join the North West Counties League from next season. They would seek a ground share, possibly with Radcliffe.

As far as Plan B is concerned, Benwell has said that he would invest £800k of his own money to pay off a percentage of the ground's mortgage. He claims to have an agreement in principle with Capital Bridge Financing for £4 of every ticket, potentially priced at £15, to pay the interest on the rest of the mortgage.

Chair of the Bury Phoenix Group Chris Murray told The Football League Paper, 'I wasn't totally on board with the Benwell idea when you do the maths on it because it doesn't sound like it would pay the mortgage off completely'. A possible Plan D would be for Benwell and the phoenix club to merge to play at Gigg Lane, but supporters understandably have reservations given their past experiences.

Owner Steven Dale settled a debt with HM Revenue and Customs out of court, but Bury will back in court on 16th January having entered into a Company Voluntary Arrangement believed to be worth £1m.

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