As a result of the nearly unanimous vote in favour, BU will shortly sell their share entire shareholding in Brentford Football Club Ltd, Brentford Holdings Limited and Griffin Park Stadium Limited to Matthew, in accordance with the previously published terms.
Whilst the BU Board had the authority to make this decision independently, it was felt vitally important that members had the final say in any decision of this magnitude, in keeping with the democratic nature of the organisation.
Matthew has long demonstrated his commitment to Brentford FC, at levels that none of us could possibly have foreseen when a partnership was first discussed back in July 2009. Given BU’s most fundamental objective – to secure the long term future of Brentford FC – we are extremely pleased that our membership have also recognised this and given Matthew their backing.
Details of the timescale and date for the formal transfer of ownership will be announced as soon as these have been finalised and agreed with Matthew and his team.
BU will, of course, continue to act to help safeguard the long-term future of the Brentford Football Club. As well as maintaining representatives on the BFC Board of Directors, we also retain the critically important ‘Golden Share’ that protects against the unreasonable sale of Griffin Park or any replacement stadium. Should such a time come, the Bees United Board can ensure Bees United members vote on any proposal to move to a new stadium that does not meet the specified standards.
David Merritt, Chairman of Bees United, said “Bees United over recent years has owned Brentford Football Club during what is probably the period of greatest investment in its history. We are immensely proud of the successes achieved, and look forward to even more. I would like to thank Matthew for the support that made much of this possible. We look forward to continuing to help safeguard the future of the Club as we work for future success under Matthew’s direct ownership, and as we strive towards our shared aims of a new stadium.”
Matthew Benham said “I am looking forward to the next phase of my involvement with Brentford Football Club now that Bees United members have approved the deal. I am very pleased at how the partnership with Bees United has developed, and their role will be as important as ever as we all strive for greater things for Brentford Football Club, which is what we all want to achieve.”