We have had a few questions about the scheme to buy shares in GTFC and so we have put together a list of FAQ.

How many shares are available?
Within the articles of the club there is no upper limit to the number of shares that can be sold. This is not a new share issue, shares have always been available. What we have found is that many fans did not know they could buy them and if they did they didn’t know how to go about it. The purpose of this campaign is to increase the awareness of both.

How many shares exist?
Before this campaign approx £2.3m have been issued. Of these 43% are owned by J Fenty, 22% by Mike Parker and 14% by Mariners Trust. The remaining 21% are owned by over 1200 separate shareholders.

What type of shares are there?
All shares issued in the club are Ordinary Shares and there have been four different denominations issued over the years, £1, £25, £50 and £100. The vast majority are £100 and these are the only type now available. If you buy £100 worth you will be buying 1 x £100 share, if you spend £200 you will be getting 2x £100 shares etc etc.

Do I have voting rights if I buy shares?
Yes as a shareholder you can attend any shareholder meetings that are called. Generally speaking that is just the Annual General Meeting each year which is held on the last Thursday of November. It is possible that there could be other meetings if any extraordinary business arises. Most votes are show of hands but in the event of a poll vote being needed your vote would be counted on the basis of value held.

Will the club buy back my shares when the situation improves?
No, the club do not buy shares, individuals do. It is possible that you might find someone willing to buy your shares but unlikely. We would not recommend buying shares in the club as an investment. The main purpose to buy them is so that you will own a small piece of the club you love and at the same time you will be helping to protect the club’s future.

Can I purchase shares as a gift?
Yes you can, including to under 18’s. You will just need to provide both your details and the person you are gifting.

Will my certificate arrive framed?
If your share purchase is for £200 or more we have arranged for free framing until the end of July.
For share purchases of £100 you will receive a commemorative certificate and optional framing is available for £25

How do I buy shares?
They can be purchased from the club website here: https://www.extra-gtfc.co.uk/acatalog/-Net-a-Share–Share-Certificate-1227.html#SID=487
Or we have a form on our website which you can complete and e-mail to us at enquiries@marinerstrust.co.uk, alternatively download the form and send it to us at Mariners Trust, Blundell Park, Cleethorpes DN35 7PY. Here is the link: GTFC shares Application Form

How can I pay for shares?
You can pay in several ways:
1) By cheque made payable to Grimsby Town FC PLC
2)By Debit or Credit Card – Insert details on the form
3)By Bank Transfer to Grimsby Town FC PLC, Sort Code 08-92-99 Account 23626960. If you do this just send us the completed form and make a note that you have paid this way.
4) For those who cannot stretch to paying £100 at once we have introduced a standing order scheme that will allow four equal payments over consecutive months. You can fill in and sign the form and send to us at Blundell Park, Cleethorpes, DN35 7PY or set up the standing order yourself on internet banking and let us know that is what you have done. Once all 4 payments have been received we will proceed with the share purchase for you.

What if I already have Shares?                                                                                                                                No problem, you will get a separate certificate for your new purchase and these will be added to your existing holding on the share register held by the club.

Any other Questions?
If you have any other questions please e-mail us at enquiries@marinerstrust.co.uk

Never in our proud history have the club faced such a challenging time and if ever the club needed the help of the fans it is now. Many fans have already shown their willingness to help by indicating that they are willing to let the club keep season ticket refunds due for the games that did not take place. Also it is great to see that the crowd funder started by town fan Richard Ladd has got off to a great start and we will be helping to promote that over the coming weeks.

We have also had approaches by fans asking about helping the club through buying shares. As a consequence we are launching a campaign to encourage fans to buy shares if they are able and well known town fan Pete Blendell from the Wellington Arms has got the ball rolling and has already recruited two friends to buy £100 worth of shares each. Pete is going to help promote this and so if you know him expect a call !! Just to clarify this isn’t a new share issue by the club, shares have always been available to buy but we know from speaking to people and looking at comments that a lot of people don’t realise that and don’t know how to go about purchasing. The purpose of this campaign is to raise awareness and also to make the purchasing process as clear and easy as possible.

Shares are available in lots of £100 from the club here: https://www.extra-gtfc.co.uk/acatalog/Ordinary-Shares-of–100-985.html#SID=487

With your shares you will get a certificate which will commemorate to contribution you have made to “Net a share of the Mariners” during these unprecedented times. Also those buying £200 or more shares up until July 31st will get a free framing service which normally costs £25.

You can also download an application form here :GTFC shares Application Form. 

If you paying by debit/credit card or bank transfer you can complete the form, take a copy and e-mail us at enquiries@marinerstrust.co.uk. If you wish to pay by cheque or standing order (see below) please download and send the signed form to us at Mariners Trust, Blundell Park, Cleethorpes, DN35 7PY

Also we recognise that not everyone can afford £100 at once, particularly during these difficult times, and so we are introducing an option to pay in four monthly instalments. Once all four payments are received the share purchase will take place. Here is the form: GTFC shares Application Form

The other option for standing order is that you set up yourself on internet banking. If you choose to do this please submit your form and make a note that you have done so and let us know the start date.

It is also worth pointing out that shares can be bought as gifts, including for under 18’s, you just need to provide your own details and those of the person you are gifting.

Once this crisis is over and we are allowed back to Blundell Park all those buying shares between now and the end of July, along with others who have helped the club will be invited to a thank you reception with the board, the manager and some players.

Thanks in advance.

Mariners Trust Board.

Town fan Richard Ladd has beaten us to it and launched a crowd funder to help the club through these unprecedented times. There is no point in duplicating and so we are very happy to get behind this and help raise as much as possible over the next few weeks. Clearly this is the most challenging period in the club’s proud history and if ever the club needed the help of the fans it is now. We very much appreciate that many people have been affected by this horrible virus but if you are in a position to help  it would be very appreciated. Here is the link :

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/gtfccovid

Up the Mariners

Mariners Trust Board

We recognise that keeping children occupied during these times of isolation is very difficult. To help a bit we have put together some football colouring sheets which we hope your children will enjoy. Feel free to take copies of any finished sheets and send them to us and we will put a gallery together. Send to enquiries@marinerstrust.co.uk. or tag us on Twitter or Facebook.

Here is the link to the download : football colouring

Hope you enjoy.

UTMM

We hope everyone is staying safe and well during these difficult times. We are staying close to the club with regard to the impact of the current situation and the communications with the EFL about the options for completing this season. As and when there are updates the club and ourselves will make sure supporters are kept fully informed.

If there are any supporters at all needing any help or assistance with supplies or simply just want to chat please do not not hesitate to contact us and we will do whatever we can to help. E-mail enquiries@marinerstrust.co.uk.

Today (31/3/2020) we have handed over some excess stock to the Rock Foundation for the local food bank together with a donation of £200. If you know of any other local organisation who are involved with helping people impacted by the virus and need assistance please let us know and again we will do what we can to help.

Please take care and look after each other, hopefully we will be back at Blundell Park enjoying watching the Mighty Mariners later in the year.

UTMM

Mariners Trust Board

Thank you for all those who have pre-ordered the book or purchased dinner + book tickets by Friday 6th March, your names will appear in book. We want to ensure we have captured everyone and spelled your name correctly and so could you please check the list and let us know asap of any omissions or mistakes by e-mailing us at enquiries@marinerstrust.co.uk .

Here is the list :List of names for book

Thank you for your support.

We will be holding a fans forum next Wednesday 26th February in the Trust Bar starting at 7.30pm. This will give fans the chance to be consulted on the plans for relocation, next season, feedback from recent EFL meeting and indeed any other topic they wish to raise. Board members present will be Philip Day, John Fenty and Dave Roberts plus  chief executive Ian Fleming. As well as questions all ideas to capatilise on the current momentum will be very welcome.

We appreciate this is relatively short notice but following a meeting this morning we agreed we should do this sooner rather than later and holidays and other commitments would have meant waiting a further 3 or 4 weeks which we felt was too long.

If you are unable to attend please send any questions or ideas to enquiries@marinerstrust.co.uk.

Entry is free and is open to all.

Important Update 16/3/2020 The dinner is now postponed until later in the year when hopefully this awful virus is behind us. Details will be issued when appropriate and in meantime if you have purchased a ticket you can either wait for the re-scheduled date or request a refund by e-mailing us at enquiries@marinerstrust.co.uk . 

The book will be printed as scheduled and when available we will communicate collection details.

 Thank you for understanding. Stay safe everyone.

We now have details of the 1979/80 Champions Book launch and Dinner being help on April 9th at McMenemy’s:

Book Only – You can now pre-order the book here :1979/80 Champions Book – Pre-Order    . The cost of the book is just £12.50 which we think is great value for an A4 hardback with around 240 pages. the first distribution of the book will be at the launch dinner on April 9th after which we will post out and arrange collection for everyone else.

For all those ordering by March 6th your order will be acknowledged by being included in a list of subscribers that will appear in the book.

Dinner Only – The price of the dinner is £15 and tickets can be purchased here: 1979/80 Book Launch – Dinner Only

The evening will consist of a two course meal (basket meal plus desert), Q & A and talks from some of the players from the 79/80 squad. There will also be ample opportunity for photos, autographs and chats with the players plus raffle & auction.

Dinner plus Book – We have a combi deal for those wanting the dinner and a book for £25 which effectively makes the book only £10.- You can book these thickets here: 1979/80 Champions Book Launch Dinner – Including Book £25

VIP Meet & Greet – UPDATE NOW SOLD OUT  We also have a limited number of tickets for VIP which as well as the dinner and book gets you time with the players before the dinner and also best seats. These are only £35 and will sell out so please be quick. You can get these here : 1979/80 Champions Book Launch Dinner – VIP Ticket £35

If purchasing more than one of any of the above can you please let us know the names of everyone attending or purchasing the book. Thanks

The away support at Bradford was absolutely amazing, and generally speaking the supporters were a credit to the club, but as often happens with very large followings there is a very small minority that ruin it for others. First of all, there were several instances of smoke bombs being thrown onto the pitch. As we have pointed out on many occasions this is not only illegal but also dangerous for fellow supporters particularly those with asthma or breathing difficulties. It is very likely the club will be warned and possibly fined for this behavior and this just directly takes away from the resources available to the manager. The last thing we want to do is be kill joys and stop enthusiastic support for the team but there are rules that need to be adhered to and there are consequences for both the club and individuals if these rules are broken.

There are also reports of some racial chanting on the day although at the time of writing there is no official report of this from either the police or stewards. Again we can only reiterate what we have previously stated in that we condemn any form of abuse, racial or otherwise, and we would recommend supporters who witness such behaviour report it to the nearest steward or  download the Kick It Out app and discreetly report it on there. Related to this we feel supporters need educating on what constitutes racial abuse as the club have been reported this season for chants making reference to the travelling community. Many supporters probably do not realise this is an offence, but it is, and we are speaking to the club about the best way of getting this message over to fans. We must emphasise the vast majority of our supporters are an absolute credit to themselves and the club, but we all need to keep trying to improve the behaviour of the very small minority who are letting the rest of us down.

Kick it out :https://www.kickitout.org/

FSA factsheet on flares and smoke bombs: http://www.fsf.org.uk/assets/Smoke-Bombs-Flares-and-Fireworks-Factsheet-for-FSF.pdf

Many thanks to Sam & Paul Carratt from Ticker-T-Boo who donated a cheque for £400 to Sharon Dobbs from the Mariners Trust from the sale of GTFC plaques. We are very grateful for their continued support.

This donation has allowed us to buy some much needed new heaters for the Trust Bar.