Dean

The board met for the first time at the end of October, and we have summarized the main decisions below. The board appointed Rod Peters and Phil Young as Secretary and Chair of the Society, respectively. There were no other nominations for these positions. The board appointed Jon Newby to the board of Bury Football Club (2019) Ltd which trades as Bury Football Club. Dave Triggs and Phil Young stepped down. The board appointed John Woodhead, Ian Pearson, Marcel de Matas and Darren Bernstein to the board of The Bury Football Club Company Ltd, which owns the Gigg Lane stadium. They will represent the Society’s interests on that board. John Woodhead will chair this board. Mike Goodier has stepped down. Bury FC Benefactors Ltd have appointed Matt Barker, Ian Harrop and David Manchester as their board representatives. The board agreed to the creation of three committees: A Finance and Audit Committee, responsible for providing an additional layer of oversight over the club and societies financial decisions and functions. A Heritage Committee, responsible for initiatives which recognise, promote and preserve the history of the football club. A Diversity and Inclusion Committee, to recognise that this plays a vital role in a growing, community club and more can and should be done. The board acknowledged the lack of diversity across its own membership. Terms of Reference for each committee will be drafted ahead of open invitations to join the committees being issued. The board will appoint a Secretary and Chair for each committee. It was agreed that a new legal agreement would be put in place which would result in the football club assuming responsibility for meeting all of the future operating costs of the stadium and take all future stadium revenue. The intent is to simplify the current arrangement, reduce costs, and will satisfy the requirements of funders such as Bury Council and The Football Foundation who wish to see long term security for the club at Gigg Lane before they invest in it, along with detailed operating and development plans. It should also allay any concerns from supporters about our commitment to the Gigg Lane stadium and its future financial viability. The specific details of this agreement are now under discussion. We will start work on a slight reworking of our budgets as we anticipate employing people through Bury Football Club (2019) Ltd to deliver services in the stadium and complete the operating and development plans. Most of these are not unexpected costs, they are just being re-allocated to a different company. A new financial reporting tool is under review to assist with consolidated reporting for members. We are profitable and we are reviewing how we move money between different organisations, some of which operate under different tax rules which has prevented us with problems. Overall, we are ahead of expectations in terms of profitability, but it should be remembered that our cash position has been boosted by season ticket sales which will be spent throughout the season. We are generating more revenue, primarily from greater ticket sales, but as we are starting to understand more about the stadium there are also additional costs to bear. Some of these are exceptional costs, some ongoing, and we will share these with members as soon as possible. We are now required to have The Bury Football Club Company Ltd financially audited, as it is a subsidiary under the Community Benefit Society Act 2014, and have changed the accounting reference date to allow us time for this to take place. We are now working on the launch of a new membership system and will make further announcements on this in due course. The price will remain as £5pm or £60 per annum. The formal minute for the election SGM can also be found here.

As communicated at this evening's online Special General Meeting (SGM), the Returning Officer from election service provider Mi-Voice has confirmed the following nine nominees will form the inaugural FSSB board (in alphabetical order): Darren Bernstein Mike Goodier Michael Howarth Marcel De Matas Jon Newby Ian Pearson Rod Peters John Woodhead Phil Young By the closing time and date of the nomination period, 28 nominations had been received for the nine Board positions, and the election was contested over a 21-day period (Thursday 28th September to Wednesday 18th October). There were 2,410 eligible voters on the membership database at the time the election began. This database list was verified and signed off by the Interim Board in the period proceeding the election. Ballot papers were issued digitally and vote returns processed online by Mi-Voice throughout. From the eligible voters, 1,508 ballots were returned during the voting period which was a 62.6% turnout. The votes cast provided the following vote share results (in vote total order): We wish to thank all nominees for being part of a contest election process and congratulate the chosen board members on their selection. Having an engaged membership in place gives encouragement towards future growth of the society and club respectively. The Election Committee are happy to confirm that the election policy and rules were followed in conducting this election and were fit for purpose.

2410 votes total eligible. 1508 votes cast 62.6% turnout. New board is as follows: Jon Newby Phil Young Marcel De Matas John Woodhead Darren Bernstein Rodney Peters Micheal Howarth Michael Goodier Ian Pearson

Responses to Questions Asked In Advance Of The SGM We have to enforce some strict rules for the next Special General Meeting (SGM) meeting due to its nature and the specific circumstances surrounding it. As this is a Special General Meeting, we are only able to discuss the specific questions raised. The board have prepared written answers to those questions which are detailed below. The questions are in bold and italics. The first question was answered previously and we have repeated it here for completeness. The only matters which are available for discussion are any points of further clarification arising from the responses given. We are not permitted to introduce any other business as part of the SGM. As there is currently a board election underway with voting in progress it is extremely important that the neither the SGM nor any comments made during discussion are used by candidates for the purposes of promoting their position. This is something we have been warned about by our external advisers. As a result we will not take questions from the floor but invite questions by email in advance submitted to CBSsecretary@buryfc.co.uk. This will allow us to address only those questions which are admissible and decide who is best to respond. We will provide a full set of minutes after the event which will be appended to the information contained below. Tickets are free and available in advance for members only, so that we can assess likely numbers. When attending you will be asked for your membership number. If you are not a member your ticket may be cancelled or you may be refused entry. You will not be admitted without a ticket. The SGM will start at 7.30pm on Tuesday 10th October 2023 at The Elizabethan Suite, Town Hall, Knowsley St, Bury BL9 0SW. Tickets can be obtained by clicking this link. Rod Peters Secretary to the Interim Board Why have our football board taken it upon themselves to continue as a 100% fan owned club without member consultation? This is not what we as fans/members voted for. I have previously given an update on where we are with the structure of the organization and relationship with benefactors, but with more questions and so much misinformation in circulation I have prepared this more detailed note which summarises how we have arrived at the current position. As secretary of the Football Supporters’ Society of Bury (FSSB) I have no vote, my role is to record discussions and decisions made and where appropriate share these with members. My role is primarily to protect the members’ interests and if, as Secretary, I believe the society is not acting in the best interests of its members then I must remedy the situation. As a result, these notes are intended to be a factual record of events, rather than a statement of opinion. External advice has been sought and received all the way through this process, and I will refer to this where relevant. In summary: • The current ownership structure was agreed by all seven of the board members present. There were no objections and one person was absent due to holiday. • We have acted in accordance with the external advice we sought from both our lawyers and the FSA. The facts were supported by other impartial individuals involved in discussions, including the Investment Director at Greater Manchester Combined Authority. • Opportunities to discuss or comment on our previous communications have been offered to the benefactors. • There is no reason the structure cannot change once the promised funds are committed, it just needs member approval. • The contents of this report have all been agreed as accurate by the board of FSSB. There was very little difference in the information presented to members from the first amalgamation vote in October 2022, which did not pass, and the second vote in May 2023 which was approved. The formalities of the motions themselves were identical and all of the actions required from these motions are complete. Specifically, Bury FC Supporters’ Society members (BFCSS) were asked to approve the amalgamation of the two societies. Shakers Community Society (SCS) members were asked to approve the amalgamation of the two societies, change the paying name to Bury Football Club, and move playing venue to Gigg Lane. The differences between the two votes simply reflect that SCS owned the football club, then playing as Bury AFC, which needed member approval to change playing name and home ground. BFCSS owned a controlling interest (in that they owned the majority of voting rights) in the company which owns stadium, called The Bury Football Club Company Limited. The other co-owner of The Bury Football Club Company Limited is Bury FC Benefactors Limited, which is the vehicle which holds the shares on behalf of the benefactors who invested in half of the cost of the acquisition of Gigg Lane, the other half funded by central government money in the form of the Community Ownership Fund, which falls under the remit of the Department for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing (DLUHC). Two other key pieces of information were noted within the documentation issued to members prior to the vote, which are pertinent to the current situation. One was that the organisation would be restructured so that the football club would fall under the ownership of The Bury Football Club Company Limited, which would give Bury FC Benefactors Limited an equal share in the football club, albeit without voting control. The other was that a successful vote to amalgamate would result in additional capital committed to the project. This included £300k from the two societies, £450k from Bury Council, the remaining £300k from DLUHC and around £300k from Bury FC Benefactors Limited. There is some dispute as to the exact figure which should be used for the benefactor contribution but as no monies have been committed at all so far, I do not think this point is relevant at this point. DHLUC have confirmed that around £300k of the £1m agreed is still available to draw down from their fund. Prior to the second vote SCS board members wished to evidence to its members that this money was still available. It was evident from its own finances that the society could meet its obligations. Bury Council reconfirmed their own commitment, subject to the conditions previously outlined, and DHLUC confirmed the remaining funding was still available. Understandably, it was not possible to evidence the Bury FC Benefactors Limited money was available as it had not been committed and we were advised it would not be committed unless the second amalgamation vote was successful. This was not a surprise. No additional funding has been provided from Bury FC Benefactors Limited to The Bury Football Club Company Limited other than the initial funding required to purchase the stadium in early 2021. A request for letter of intent from benefactors was requested but not provided and it was accepted this would have no binding legal status. There was a desire from both sides to find a solution to this, as SCS board was uncomfortable recommending the merger to members based this level of uncertainty. The Investment Director at Greater Manchester Combined Authorities, who had chair various meetings on the second amalgamation, was asked to discuss the availability of the benefactor funding with a director and representative of Bury FC Benefactors Limited, who confirmed that the funding was available and conditional only on the merger. This information was relayed to the SCS board to provide some additional comfort and evidence that information this had been provided to a third party, not just the SCS board. We received written confirmation from that Investment Director on 11th July 2023 that this conversation took place and I have copied the relevant statement below: “At the working group meeting on 10th February, the minutes show that in order to move forwards towards a vote one of the points you (SCS) needed was confirmation that the £300k of funding from the Benefactors was still available. The minutes note that the £300k was subject to a positive outcome of the vote.” “Further to this meeting I had a conversation with Matt Barker to understand the position with respect to the additional benefactor monies as given the status of the vote at that time, Matt had not wanted to revert to Benefactors and ask for a letter of commitment. In my conversation Matt was clear that whilst he did not feel it was the right time to go back and ask for a letter of commitment from the Benefactors, that he was comfortable that this funding was available subject to a positive vote outcome and that I could reiterate this message to you ( SCS). In addition, the Q&As, which were approved by that same director and representative of Bury FC Benefactors Limited, and issued to members of both societies ahead of the merger vote read: “All of the previous funding is available again should a vote go through this time. This an instant £1.3m rising to an estimated £2.3m over time. This includes a further £300,000 from the existing benefactors. There has been no further capital invested or donated to the project since the first vote. There will be some confirmatory diligence undertaken to confirm all funds are in place as expected before the merger completes.” It was understood, therefore, that the additional benefactor money was readily available, and subject to no conditions other than a positive amalgamation vote, given that it was to come from existing benefactors who had already committed funds. The exact source of the funds, whether it be new or existing benefactors is not material, other than by stating the money could come from existing benefactors it gave the SCS board far more confidence it would be made available. Bury Council were also concerned to establish that this funding was available. The terms of their own funding which are detailed in their cabinet paper of 13th June 2022 states: “The business plan includes a commitment of £1m from private benefactors of which £730k has been invested to date. The balance of £270k will be invested if the merger discussions are successful and will be used as match funding, alongside the Bury Council funding, to release the balancing £300k of grant from the Community Ownership Fund.” The business plan originally submitted included additional funding from Bury FC Benefactor Limited. We were advised that there were no available Bury FC Benefactor Limited funds after voting had closed. There was no immediate financial pressure caused by this situation, however once it became apparent that the money would not be committed a discussion amongst the FSSB board members was held at a board meeting on firstly the 4th July 2023 and later on the 18th July 2023 about the next steps. At the meeting on the 4th July 2023 the relevant minute confirms that: ‘It was agreed by all that it would be wrong to transfer Bury Football Club (2019) Ltd to The Bury Football Club Company Ltd as the financial diligence has not been completed and Bury FC Benefactors Ltd have not provided an additional £300k into that company as set out in the original merger proposal.’ It was also agreed at the meeting on the 4th July 2023 that: “advice from Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP would be sought (should these funds be made available in future) about whether a member vote would be required. Bury Football Club (2019) Ltd trading as Bury Football Club would remain a wholly owned subsidiary of the Football Supporters’ Society of Bury’ A course of action was agreed at board meeting on the 18th July 2023 attended by seven of the eight board members. All seven voted in favour of this and the relevant minute is copied below. “MB has confirmed there is £240k outstanding from the Benefactors who want a meeting to discuss. We can arrange a meeting but even with this figure there seems to be a £60k downfall. Benefactors feel £760k has been paid in to date. JW said there was an understanding that there would be £1mil of funding from existing benefactors at the time of the vote amongst members. MB spoke to PY prior to vote results being announced to say that additional benefactor funding would not immediately be available. DT raised that current position of the benefactors suggest that they do not or are unwilling to immediately invest existing funds. MB has stated that the current position is ‘uninvestible’. KL says we’re currently in transition period. Deadline has been given until the end of the month for the benefactors to provide additional funds and then we can draw a line under it and decide on a new way forward. PY happy to meet to discuss with benefactors as requested along with other Interim Board members. Meeting to be facilitated in forthcoming weeks between Benefactors and IB members, Face to Face is going to be more difficult due to geographical and proximity issues involved of IB members and benefactors. ACTION: Meeting to be arranged between Benefactors and IB members to discuss this current impasse. Remote meeting would be most suitable.” The legal opinion, obtained from a mutual law expert at the firm who had advised us throughout the amalgamation process confirmed this course of action. In particular, it re-iterated that in the absence of any binding legal agreement on the matter the society could not force benefactors individually or collectively to pay the outstanding amount, nor could they force transfer of the football cub ownership. Given that this would effectively be transferring half of the ownership of the football club for no financial contribution it was clear this would not be in the interests of the society, which may wish to accept investment into the football club at a future date, subject to member vote. We were advised to provide a deadline date of seven or 14 days to Bury FC Benefactors Limited for the investment to allow another opportunity for investment and gave a deadline of 31st July. It was confirmed that the outstanding monies would not be paid, and the matter closed. We had also advised further investment could be made, along with changes to the ownership structure but this would be subject to another consultation and member vote, as the terms of the previous agreement had expired. Again, this was in accordance with the legal advice we received and also the advice received from the Football Supporters Association (FSA) who had been involved throughout. It was expected that the benefactors would not agree with this, as they still believe the football club ownership should be transferred without any additional financial contribution from Bury FC Benefactors Limited. The dispute between board members of FSSB occurred when it was suggested that this situation be disclosed to members. Four board members wished to disclose the information to members, and four did not. The statement which was eventually released and can be seen here, and is repeated below, had been passed to the board of Bury FC Benefactors Limited for comment on the 1st August 2023 and we had received no comment on it other than that it had been received and they were not in agreement with its release. By the 6th August 2023 we had still received no comment on it, and I, acting as Secretary, took advice from the FSA on my obligations as I felt it was something FSSB members should be informed of given we had been asked about funding by some members, questions had been raised about the football club ownership and it was pertinent to the amalgamation vote which was a hugely significant event for members of both societies. It was issued to members by email on 7th August at 6pm and is copied below. Update from The Secretary of the Football Supporters' Society of Bury We have completed the amalgamation of the two societies, the name change to Bury Football Club and made Gigg Lane our home ground, which were the three items voted on by members in May. We also advised as part of the pre-vote information pack that we would move the ownership of the football club, which is Bury Football Club (2019) Ltd trading as Bury Football Club, under the ownership of The Bury Football Club Company Limited, subject to further financial due diligence. We have been advised by Bury FC Benefactors Ltd that at this stage they will not be investing the further £300, 000 they had committed to in the business plan presented to members. This does not place the stadium or club in any significant jeopardy as we are still able to access both central and local government funding in addition to holding our own cash reserves. There is no obligation on Bury FC Benefactors Ltd to invest this money, and we will continue to work with them as normal. Equally there is no requirement for the Football Supporters’ Society of Bury to make any changes to the ownership of the club, and so it will remain 100% owned by the Society, and separate from The Bury Football Club Company Limited, which the Society co-owns with Bury FC Benefactors Ltd. The Football Supporters’ Society of Bury also owns the majority of voting rights in The Bury Football Club Company Limited, so should not be prejudiced in any way by keeping the organisational structure in its current format. Should any party, including Bury FC Benefactors Ltd, wish to invest into either Bury Football Club (2019) Ltd or The Bury Football Club Company Limited at a future date they may do so by an approach to the board of the Football Supporters’ Society of Bury, who can take this forward to member consultation and a member vote if they believe it is a credible offer in the best interests of the club and the society. There are some significant legal and tax issues to consider as part of any transaction like this, in addition to the need for member approval, and so it is unlikely that any offer could be agreed and put forward for a vote quickly or without professional advice. Rod Peters Secretary to the Interim Board Why have the benefactors gone completely silent? Do they still want to take over the 49% stake? This is a question for the benefactors to answer, and they have made comment publicly on the matter. Our understanding is that they wish us to transfer the ownership of the football club now. As outlined in our earlier comments, the society board took the view, with external advice, that this was not appropriate without the transfer of the outstanding monies due. With the elections being delayed due to a data leak of personal member information, has the club started an internal investigation into this leak? Are the club now looking into such a serious GDPR breach especially with the upcoming board elections? We have investigated this issue. Firstly, there was no leak of confidential information and no breach of GDPR. Under section 30 of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 (the Act), it is a requirement that a registered society must keep a register of members including the members name and postal address (s.30(2)(a)). Pursuant to section 103(1)(b) of the Act, any member of the society has the right to inspect the register kept in accordance with section 30. Names and addresses of members are not, therefore, confidential. Any member has access to this information. We did attempt to discover who had posted the specific information about people who had multiple membership accounts linked to the same address but were unable to obtain this or evidence how it had been obtained. Board members did also take some time to clean the database to the best of their ability. The vast majority of accounts removed were duplicates where the same person had a membership for both societies. Where multiple accounts were registered to the same address we sought additional evidence that these were valid, adult voting accounts. In a very small number of cases we removed accounts where we could not obtain that evidence. Why are we still hearing reports of discontent between the 2 merged societies? As the person who acts as secretary to the society I have found all board meetings to be well mannered and easy to manage. It is healthy to have differences of opinion and when I look back there have been relatively few of these. Debate, discussion and challenge is a health mechanism of any board decision making process. A board election should have taken place far sooner that has happened, which is nobody’s fault. It has left the Interim Board in a position where it is being faced with issues which it does not has sufficient time to resolve, but has undertaken some considerable work to leave the new board with the information and tools to make some key decisions on complex matters. It should also be noted that every member of the Interim Board, who represents both societies, are volunteers with jobs and families and they have all invested considerable time to this project. Every one of them has regularly attended meetings, either weekly or fortnightly. There has been no lack of effort or commitment. There are entrenched attitudes amongst a small minority of supporters, but this is common to all football clubs. All clubs have factions, they are all plagued by anonymous social media accounts, and they are all subject to constant rumour and speculation. It is unrealistic and unreasonable to expect any board to eliminate this. Why are only a section of members receiving communication from the society? Some fans haven’t heard anything since the vote. We have been working through our email system to resolve any problems over the past month. The number of people experiencing problems is extremely small as a percentage of both the member database (well over 2000) and the total database (around 8000). We use Mailchimp, which is a very well-known system, for bulk emails. There is no single reason for the problems when they arise, the most common problems are that it is sent to junk or people have accidentally unsubscribed from emails. The voting emails come from a completely different system which is managed by Mi-Voice, so they have to resolved their own issues. In due course a new membership system will be built which can incorporate a ‘member only’ part of the website where all relevant information can be posted, rather than relying solely on email which will always be problematic. Any problems can be resolved by emailing me at CBSsecretary@buryfc.co.uk.

We have to enforce some strict rules for the next Special General Meeting (SGM) meeting due to its nature and the specific circumstances surrounding it. As this is a Special General Meeting, we are only able to discuss the specific questions raised. The board have prepared written answers to those questions which can be access by clicking the button below. The questions are in bold and italics. The first question was answered previously and we have repeated it here for completeness. The only matters which are available for discussion are any points of further clarification arising from the responses given. We are not permitted to introduce any other business as part of the SGM. As there is currently a board election underway with voting in progress it is extremely important that the neither the SGM nor any comments made during discussion are used by candidates for the purposes of promoting their position. This is something we have been warned about by our external advisers. As a result we will not take questions from the floor but invite questions by email in advance submitted to the email address included in the responses. This will allow us to address only those questions which are admissible and decide who is best to respond. We will provide a full set of minutes after the event which will be appended to the information contained below. Tickets are free and available in advance for members only, so that we can assess likely numbers. When attending you will be asked for your membership number. If you are not a member your ticket may be cancelled or you may be refused entry. You will not be admitted without a ticket. The SGM will start at 7.30pm on Tuesday 10th October 2023 at The Elizabethan Suite, Town Hall, Knowsley St, Bury BL9 0SW. Tickets can be obtained by clicking this link. We expect it to take no longer than an hour. Rod Peters Secretary to the Interim Board Vote Countdown!

Structure of the organisation – How we arrived at the current position I have previously given an update on where we are with the structure of the organisation and the relationship with the benefactors, but with more questions and so much misinformation in circulation I have prepared this more detailed note which summarises how we have arrived at the current position. As secretary of the Football Supporters’ Society of Bury (FSSB) I have no vote, my role is to record discussions and decisions made and where appropriate share these with members. My role is primarily to protect the members’ interests and if, as Secretary, I believe the society is not acting in the best interests of its members then I must remedy the situation. As a result, these notes are intended to be a factual record of events, rather than a statement of opinion. External advice has been sought and received all the way through this process, and I will refer to this where relevant. In summary: The current ownership structure was agreed by all seven of the board members present. There were no objections and one person was absent due to holiday. We have acted in accordance with the external advice we sought from both our lawyers and the FSA. The facts were supported by other impartial individuals involved in discussions, including the Investment Director at Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Opportunities to discuss or comment on our previous communications have been offered to the benefactors. There is no reason the structure cannot change once the promised funds are committed, it just needs member approval. The contents of this report have all been agreed as accurate by the board of FSSB. There was very little difference in the information presented to members from the first amalgamation vote in October 2022, which did not pass, and the second vote in May 2023 which was approved. The formalities of the motions themselves were identical and all of the actions required from these motions are complete. Specifically, Bury FC Supporters’ Society members (BFCSS) were asked to approve the amalgamation of the two societies. Shakers Community Society (SCS) members were asked to approve the amalgamation of the two societies, change the playing name to Bury Football Club, and move playing venue to Gigg Lane. The differences between the two votes simply reflect that SCS owned the football club, then playing as Bury AFC, which needed member approval to change playing name and home ground. BFCSS owned a controlling interest (in that they owned the majority of voting rights) in the company which owns the stadium, called The Bury Football Club Company Limited. The other co-owner of The Bury Football Club Company Limited is Bury FC Benefactors Limited, which is the vehicle which holds the shares on behalf of the benefactors who invested in half of the cost of the acquisition of Gigg Lane, the other half funded by central government money in the form of the Community Ownership Fund, which falls under the remit of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC). In regard to the benefactors’ contribution to acquire Gigg Lane they have no expectation or desire to earn a financial reward. Two other key pieces of information were noted within the documentation issued to members prior to the vote, which are pertinent to the current situation. One was that the organisation would be restructured so that the football club would fall under the ownership of The Bury Football Club Company Limited, which would give Bury FC Benefactors Limited an equal share in the football club, albeit without voting control. The other was that a successful vote to amalgamate would result in additional capital committed to the project. This included £300k from the two societies, £450k from Bury Council, the remaining £300k from DLUHC and around £300k from Bury FC Benefactors Limited. There is some dispute as to the exact figure which should be used for the benefactor contribution but as no monies have been committed at all so far, I do not think this point is relevant at this point. DLUHC have confirmed that around £300k of the £1m agreed is still available to draw down from their fund. Prior to the second vote SCS board members wished to evidence to its members that this money was still available. It was evident from its own finances that the society could meet its obligations. Bury Council reconfirmed their own commitment, subject to the conditions previously outlined, and DLUHC confirmed the remaining funding was still available. Understandably, it was not possible to evidence the Bury FC Benefactors Limited money was available as it had not been committed and we were advised it would not be committed unless the second amalgamation vote was successful. This was not a surprise. No additional funding has been provided from Bury FC Benefactors Limited to The Bury Football Club Company Limited other than the initial funding required to purchase the stadium in early 2021. A request for a letter of intent from benefactors was requested but not provided and it was accepted this would have no binding legal status. There was a desire from both sides to find a solution to this, as the SCS board was uncomfortable recommending the merger to members based on this level of uncertainty. The Investment Director at Greater Manchester Combined Authority, who had chaired various meetings on the second amalgamation, was asked to discuss the availability of the benefactor funding with a director and representative of Bury FC Benefactors Limited, who confirmed that the funding was available and conditional only on the merger. This information was relayed to the SCS board to provide some additional comfort and evidence that this information had been provided to a third party, not just the SCS board. We received written confirmation from that Investment Director on the 11th2023 that this conversation took place and I have copied the relevant statement below: “At the working group meeting on 10th February, the minutes show that in order to move forwards towards a vote one of the points you (SCS) needed was confirmation that the £300k of funding from the Benefactors was still available. The minutes note that the £300k was subject to a positive outcome of the vote.” “Further to this meeting I had a conversation with Matt Barker to understand the position with respect to the additional benefactor monies as given the status of the vote at that time, Matt had not wanted to revert to Benefactors and ask for a letter of commitment. In my conversation Matt was clear that whilst he did not feel it was the right time to go back and ask for a letter of commitment from the Benefactors, that he was comfortable that this funding was available subject to a positive vote outcome and that I could reiterate this message to you ( SCS). In addition, the Q&As, which were approved by that same director and representative of Bury FC Benefactors Limited, and issued to members of both societies ahead of the merger vote read: “All of the previous funding is available again should a vote go through this time. This is an instant £1.3m rising to an estimated £2.3m over time. This includes a further £300,000 from the existing benefactors. There has been no further capital invested or donated to the project since the first vote. There will be some confirmatory diligence undertaken to confirm all funds are in place as expected before the merger completes.” It was understood, therefore, that the additional benefactor money was readily available, and subject to no conditions other than a positive amalgamation vote, given that it was to come from existing benefactors who had already committed funds. The exact source of the funds, whether it be new or existing benefactors is not material, other than by stating the money could come from existing benefactors it gave the SCS board far more confidence it would be made available. Bury Council were also concerned to establish that this funding was available. The terms of their own funding which are detailed in their cabinet paper of 13th June 2022 states: “The business plan includes a commitment of £1m from private benefactors of which £730k has been invested to date. The balance of £270k will be invested if the merger discussions are successful and will be used as match funding, alongside the Bury Council funding, to release the balancing £300k of grant from the Community Ownership Fund.” The business plan originally submitted included additional funding from Bury FC Benefactor Limited. We were advised that there were no available Bury FC Benefactor Limited funds after voting had closed. There was no immediate financial pressure caused by this situation, however once it became apparent that the money would not be committed a discussion amongst the FSSB board members was held at a board meeting on firstly the 4th July 2023 ( where seven board members were present) and later on the 18th July 2023 ( where seven board members were present) ) about the next steps. At the meeting on the 4th July 2023 the relevant minute confirms that: ‘It was agreed by all that it would be wrong to transfer Bury Football Club (2019) Ltd to The Bury Football Club Company Ltd as the financial diligence has not been completed and Bury FC Benefactors Ltd have not provided an additional £300k into that company as set out in the original merger proposal.’ It was also agreed at the meeting on the 4th July 2023 that: “advice from Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP would be sought (should these funds be made available in future) about whether a member vote would be required. Bury Football Club (2019) Ltd trading as Bury Football Club would remain a wholly owned subsidiary of the Football Supporters’ Society of Bury’ A course of action was agreed at board meeting on the 18th July 2023 attended by seven of the eight board members. All seven voted in favour of this and the relevant minute is copied below. “MB has confirmed there is £240k outstanding from the Benefactors who want a meeting to discuss. We can arrange a meeting but even with this figure there seems to be a £60k downfall. Benefactors feel £760k has been paid in to date. JW said there was an understanding that there would be £1mil of funding from existing benefactors at the time of the vote amongst members. MB spoke to PY prior to vote results being announced to say that additional benefactor funding would not immediately be available. DT raised that current position of the benefactors suggest that they do not or are unwilling to immediately invest existing funds. MB has stated that the current position is ‘uninvestible’ KL says we’re currently in transition period. Deadline has been given until the end of the month for the benefactors to provide additional funds but keen that all avenues should still be explored with the benefactors to resolve the matter. PY agreed that the deadline was sensible and then we can draw a line under it and decide on a new way forward. PY happy to meet to discuss with benefactors as requested along with other Interim Board members. . Meeting to be facilitated in forthcoming weeks between Benefactors and IB members, Face to Face is going to be more difficult due to geographical and proximity issues involved of IB members and benefactors. KL suggested that a minute taker be present and a second set of eyes and ears. ACTION: Meeting to be arranged between Benefactors and IB members to discuss this current impasse. Remote meeting would be most suitable.” The legal opinion, obtained from a mutual law expert at the firm who had advised us throughout the amalgamation process confirmed this course of action. In particular, it re-iterated that in the absence of any binding legal agreement on the matter the society could not force benefactors individually or collectively to pay the outstanding amount, nor could the benefactors force transfer of the football cub ownership. Given that this would effectively be transferring half of the ownership of the football club for no financial contribution it was clear this would not be in the interests of the society, which may wish to accept investment into the football club at a future date, subject to member vote. We were advised to provide a deadline date of seven or fourteen days to Bury FC Benefactors Limited for the investment to allow another opportunity for investment and gave a deadline of the 31st July 2023. It was confirmed that the outstanding monies would not be paid, and the matter closed. We had also advised further investment could be made, along with changes to the ownership structure but this would be subject to another consultation and member vote, as the terms of the previous agreement had expired. Again, this was in accordance with the legal advice we received and also the advice received from the Football Supporters Association (FSA) who had been involved throughout. It was expected that the benefactors would not agree with this, as they still believe the football club ownership should be transferred without any additional financial contribution from Bury FC Benefactors Limited. The dispute between board members of FSSB occurred when it was suggested that this situation be disclosed to members. The board was equally split on this issue and we did not have a majority vote to disclose the information to members. The statement which was eventually released and can be seen here, and is repeated below, had been passed to the board of Bury FC Benefactors Limited for comment on the 1st August 2023 and we had received no comment on it other than that it had been received and they were not in agreement with its release. By the 6th August 2023 we had still received no comment on it, and I, acting as Secretary, took advice from the FSA on my obligations as I felt it was something FSSB members should be informed of given we had been asked about funding by some members, questions had been raised about the football club ownership and it was pertinent to the amalgamation vote which was a hugely significant event for members of both societies. It was issued to members by email on the 7th August 2023 at 6.00pm and is reproduced below. Update from The Secretary of the Football Supporters' Society of Bury We have completed the amalgamation of the two societies, the name change to Bury Football Club and made Gigg Lane our home ground, which were the three items voted on by members in May. We also advised as part of the pre-vote information pack that we would move the ownership of the football club, which is Bury Football Club (2019) Ltd trading as Bury Football Club, under the ownership of The Bury Football Club Company Limited, subject to further financial due diligence. We have been advised by Bury FC Benefactors Ltd that at this stage they will not be investing the further £300, 000 they had committed to in the business plan presented to members. This does not place the stadium or club in any significant jeopardy as we are still able to access both central and local government funding in addition to holding our own cash reserves. There is no obligation on Bury FC Benefactors Ltd to invest this money, and we will continue to work with them as normal. Equally there is no requirement for the Football Supporters’ Society of Bury to make any changes to the ownership of the club, and so it will remain 100% owned by the Society, and separate from The Bury Football Club Company Limited, which the Society co-owns with Bury FC Benefactors Ltd. The Football Supporters’ Society of Bury also owns the majority of voting rights in The Bury Football Club Company Limited, so should not be prejudiced in any way by keeping the organisational structure in its current format. Should any party, including Bury FC Benefactors Ltd, wish to invest into either Bury Football Club (2019) Ltd or The Bury Football Club Company Limited at a future date they may do so by an approach to the board of the Football Supporters’ Society of Bury, who can take this forward to member consultation and a member vote if they believe it is a credible offer in the best interests of the club and the society. There are some significant legal and tax issues to consider as part of any transaction like this, in addition to the need for member approval, and so it is unlikely that any offer could be agreed and put forward for a vote quickly or without professional advice. Rod Peters Secretary to the Interim Board

Our sole motivation from day 1 has been to return to a united Bury FC to Gigg Lane for ALL supporters and the community. We have objected in the past when certain members of BFCSS sought to dismiss those who followed Bury AFC, The Pendulum has now swung entirely the other way as SCS seeks to cleanse the management of any BFCSS representatives and marginalise the Benefactors as much as possible. This is morally and commercially wrong. By the FANS for the FANS means all fans, not just those that happen to agree with a small group of the leadership. It is so disappointing to feel forced to issue this statement as there is so much to be celebrating – the number and hard work by the volunteers (matchday and every other day/night of the week), a great atmosphere at matches, especially at Gigg, some memorable moments like the first match and Benito Lowe’s lastminute winner against West Didsbury & Charlton. Also it’s great to see the many new, young fans coming to matches and loving the experience just as much as those who’ve been watching for years and returned to their beloved Gigg. If we’re all together this can become even greater, if we’re divided the honeymoon period will sadly end. Please ensure that in the forthcoming vote for elections to the new CBS3 board you consider carefully who you elect, or we are seriously worried that the control will rest in a small group that in our experience is not focused on an inclusive, sustainable, community football club.

The Interim Board for the Football Supporters' Society of Bury would like to provide the following statement with regards an update of the ongoing election process. The nomination period has now closed. All nominations have now been vetted to ensure they abide by the Elections Policy and Code of Conduct. As a result, we can now circulate the list of nominees and open the voting period as per the Election Policy. These will be issued separately to members by email from by Mi-Voice. Voting has now also opened and will be open for a period of 21 days. This is a slight deviation from the previous anticipated timetable but will allow sufficient time for people who wish to vote after the SGM arranged for the 10th October 2023. An updated calling notice for the Election SGM can be found at the bottom of this email and will take place on Thursday 19th October 2023 where the results of the election will be announced via an online meeting. Members are encouraged to read the statements from all nominees before casting their vote. We are also able to confirm that the data cleansing work on the database has been completed. Board members from both previous societies have spent numerous hours in recent weeks going through membership lists to remove any duplicates and request additional information for any accounts that have been deemed as possibly invalid. Any accounts that were unable to provide the required information have been excluded from voting, along with any duplicates who were members of both Societies. The Interim Board are in unanimous agreement that they are happy to publicly sign off the final membership database submitted to Mi-Voice who will oversee the election. Whilst we acknowledge concerns raised by members, we hope that this statement will reassure members that all possible work and effort has been done to ensure the validity of the database and we can move forward to electing the first Board of the Football Supporters' Society of Bury as a united membership. The formal Calling Notice is here. If you have any issues regarding the voting process, please contact support@mi-voice.com in the first instance.

Update from the Football Supporters' Society of Bury Following the conclusion of the investigation and further discussions with the independent election scrutineers Mi-Voice, the Interim Board are pleased to announce that the nomination period will be reopening imminently. We’d like to provide the following updated election timeline to members as promised in our previous statement in an attempt to keep members informed as best we can with progress to having a fully elected Board in place. Nominations will reopen from Friday 15th September 2023 for a period of 10 days. This is to allow sufficient time for anyone to submit, amend or withdraw nominations should they wish. Anyone who previously submitted a nomination will be contacted directly by Mi-Voice after the 15th September 2023. Once the nomination period has closed on Monday 25th September 2023, an independent Election Committee will collate the nominations and will confirm that all nominees are valid in accordance with the Election Policy and Conflict of Interests Policy. We expect this will take no more than 5 working days. We anticipate voting will then open on 29th September 2023 for a period of two weeks, with the results announced at an online Special General Meeting at 7pm on the 13th October 2023. All votes will have been cast either electronically or by postal ballot ahead of the meeting where the results will be announced. The formal calling notice can be viewed here. Significant time and effort has been spent cleansing membership data with the aim of ensuring that only paying adult (Aged 16 or over) members will be able to vote in the upcoming election, and that each member has one vote, even where they were a member of both societies. It is not possible to achieve absolute perfection in this matter. No society such as ours can achieve that. We believe we will have the most accurate possible electoral database we can achieve and any further delays to the establishment of a newly elected board would have a more negative impact on the Society than additional work on the database and inevitable further delays which we believe will be immaterial to the result. Invalid voting accounts will always be deleted from the database where they are discovered, and this applies throughout any voting period. Any accounts which have been flagged as potentially invalid will be contacted prior to voting opening to provide proof they are a legitimate account. Any account unable to provide sufficient proof will be unable to vote in the election. Anyone who has knowingly created a membership using false information can notify us by 25th September by emailing d.triggs@fssb.co.uk for any invalid or false Shakers Community memberships and k.lee@fssb.co.uk for any invalid or false Bury Football Club Supporters Society memberships. These invalid memberships will be deleted with no further action taken ahead of voting commencing. Further action will be taken against individuals who have, in the opinion of the Board, knowingly created false or invalid memberships. Any other questions or queries related to the election should be sent to support@mi-voice.com. We will aim to provide a further update to members once the nomination period has closed.

We have completed the amalgamation of the two societies, the name change to Bury Football Club and made Gigg Lane our home ground, which were the three items voted on by members in May. We also advised as part of the pre-vote information pack that we would move the ownership of the football club, which is Bury Football Club (2019) Ltd trading as Bury Football Club, under the ownership of The Bury Football Club Company Limited, subject to further financial due diligence. We have been advised by Bury FC Benefactors Ltd that at this stage they will not be investing the further £300, 000 they had committed to in the business plan presented to members. This does not place the stadium or club in any significant jeopardy as we are still able to access both central and local government funding in addition to holding our own cash reserves. There is no obligation on Bury FC Benefactors Ltd to invest this money, and we will continue to work with them as normal. Equally there is no requirement for the Football Supporters’ Society of Bury to make any changes to the ownership of the club, and so it will remain 100% owned by the Society, and separate from The Bury Football Club Company Limited, which the Society co-owns with Bury FC Benefactors Ltd. The Football Supporters’ Society of Bury also owns the majority of voting rights in The Bury Football Club Company Limited, so should not be prejudiced in any way by keeping the organisational structure in its current format. Should any party, including Bury FC Benefactors Ltd, wish to invest into either Bury Football Club (2019) Ltd or The Bury Football Club Company Limited at a future date they may do so by an approach to the board of the Football Supporters’ Society of Bury, who can take this forward to member consultation and a member vote if they believe it is a credible offer in the best interests of the club and the society. There are some significant legal and tax issues to consider as part of any transaction like this, in addition to the need for member approval, and so it is unlikely that any offer could be agreed and put forward for a vote quickly or without professional advice.

Shakers fans, brace yourselves! We've made two wins out of two in the North West Counties Premier Division. Here's the roundup of the midweek games: The First Division South champions, Wythenshawe, continued their impressive start in the Premier Division. This time, they served another 4-0 defeat to fellow promoted side Cheadle Town. Twice scoring in each half, the Ammies are now topping the table, but we know it's early days. Burscough's fans must be ecstatic after winning a five-goal thriller at home to Lower Breck, clinching the winner just five minutes from time. Despite trailing twice, Burscough showed resilience and debutant Alberto Canache provided the dramatic winner. Now let's talk about what you've been waiting for - Bury! Following up the 5-1 opening day glory over Glossop North End, the Shakers marched to a 3-1 victory at relegated Colne. The boys in blue wrapped it up in the first half, with Andy Briggs and Benito Lowe scoring for the second game in a row and Darius Palma sealing the third. Colne managed a consolation, but the Shakers are on a roll, and we're loving it! Kendal Town is also off to a great start, recording another 1-0 victory, this time over Longridge Town. Robert Wilson's penalty secured the Mintcakes another three points. Wythenshawe Town notched their first win of the season with a 3-1 home triumph over West Didsbury & Chorlton, recovering from an early own goal to take the victory. In other games, AFC Liverpool edged Skelmersdale United 3-2, while Prestwich Heys dominated Pilkington 3-0. Ramsbottom United's last-minute heroics ensured a 2-1 victory over FC Isle of Man, and both Irlam and Barnoldswick Town continue their unbeaten starts. Rounding out the fixtures were draws for Squires Gate and Charnock Richard at 1-1, while Padiham and Litherland REMYCA played to a goalless draw. Shakers, the start to our season has been nothing short of thrilling. Two wins from two, and we're hungry for more. Keep backing the boys, and here's to making this season memorable. Let's keep the faith and support the Shakers all the way! #UpTheShakers! #BuryFc #UTS

Welcome back to Gigg Lane, Shakers fans! The Premier Division is back, and oh boy, did we return in style. Bury triumphed in our opening fixture, and the excitement was palpable. Let's dive into the details: Saturday marked the beginning of a new era for Wythenshawe, Pilkington, and Chadderton, celebrating their promotion to Step 5 with victories. Wythenshawe impressively brushed aside Ramsbottom United 4-0. Pilkington began their new journey by overcoming Squires Gate 2-0, while Chadderton made their presence known with a 3-0 triumph over Litherland REMYCA. But the highlight of the day, undoubtedly, was right here at Gigg Lane, where 5,451 of us – setting a new Premier Division record – witnessed our unified Bury demolish Glossop North End 5-1. Andy Welsh's men were relentless, taking a 3-0 lead within the first half an hour. Quickfire goals from Benito Lowe and one from Andrew Briggs gave us a flying start, and the atmosphere was electric. Jordi Nsaka added a fourth, and after Glossop managed a mere consolation, Jack Lenehan sealed the deal with a brilliant finish. The crowd's roar was deafening, and the kick-off delay of 15 minutes due to congestion only heightened the anticipation. Unfortunately, the opening day wasn't as joyous for the teams dropping back into the North West Counties. All four tasted defeat, Colne being thrashed 3-0 at West Didsbury & Chorlton. Skelmersdale United, another fallen side, went down 3-1 to Padiham. Meanwhile, despite being down to ten men, FC Isle of Man recorded a 2-0 win over Wythenshawe Town. Burscough picked up a promising 3-1 win over Prestwich Heys, and Longridge Town came from behind to draw 2-2 with Irlam. The other fixtures saw a 1-1 draw between Lower Breck and Barnoldswick Town, Charnock Richard's 1-0 win over Cheadle Town, and Kendal Town scraping past AFC Liverpool 1-0. But let's not lose focus, Shakers faithful! This was OUR day, OUR triumph, and it's just the beginning. The spirit is alive at Gigg Lane, and we can't wait to see where this season takes us. Onwards and upwards, Bury! Here's to more glorious days ahead! #BuryFc #UpTheShakers! #UTS

Creating A Safe Environment For Supporters For our football club to grow, it’s vital we create the right atmosphere inside the ground which makes people feel safe and welcome and encourages people to bring their children, and get involved regardless of their gender, race, or sexuality. We would like to remind everyone that by turnstiles is a poster containing the following regulation: ‘The use of threatening behaviour and/or foul or abusive language is strictly forbidden and may result in arrest and/or ejection from the Ground. The Club may impose a ban (including, but not limited to, a ban for one or more Matches) and/or the removal of season ticket(s) for any such behaviour.’ We know things can get heated at football games, and we can all say things in the heat of the moment. We can forgive a mistake. But if you feel threatened, or if you observe anti-social behaviour which persistently breaches this regulation please let a steward know. This is a regulation we are prepared to enforce. It’s vital to the long term success of the club that we do so. If you are concerned that there is a safeguarding issue and a vulnerable person is at threat, you can also contact safeguarding@buryfc.co.uk with your concerns. You can find our safeguarding policy here. We want everyone to enjoy what will be a historic season for the club and hope you will assist us in ensuring that that happens, without exception. Tuesday 7.45pm: Nelson v Bury We’ve added an extra friendly at short notice to allow some players to top up their minutes ahead of Saturday’s season opener against Glossop on Saturday. We haven’t yet put tickets on sale for Glossop just yet as we will discuss next week what stands can be opened and what capacity limits we will be working under for this first fixture which is likely to be very well attended. We will put them on sale as soon as this has been confirmed. Collect Your Season Ticket The ticket office at Gigg Lane will be open Monday to Wednesday this week, from 10am to 12 noon for season ticket card collection. Please remember that cards are only available if purchased prior to Sunday 2nd July 2023. All season tickets purchased after that date will be digital ONLY. Further collection times are to be arranged and will be communicated To allow us to give you your card please bring the following with you: The email or text showing proof of purchase; The name of the person who bought the ticket; and The five letter season pass reference code e.g. WSXCL which was sent in the confirmatory text or email you will have received after purchase. More information on this, including where you can find your five letter season pass reference code, is available via the button below.

Welcome back, Bury Football Club We are delighted to confirm that the FA have now formally approved the use of the playing name Bury Football Club, for the start of the new season. We will see Bury FC take to the pitch once again on the 29th of July, ready to kick off at 3 pm in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division. You can read all about it using the button below. Read More We’ve already made some signings, and we can’t wait to release the news to you on our new website over the next few weeks. We have a list of friendlies to release ahead of the, which includes a first home game on 8th July against EFL opposition. The full list will be rolled out once the last game is finalised. Season tickets are also ready to go, we are just waiting for final confirmation of the league numbers, as any final changes are agreed or rejected this coming week. We have also submitted all of the necessary paperwork to amalgamate the two societies, Shakers Community and Bury FC Supporters' Society, and expect that to complete within the next two weeks. Once done, we will issue an eight week Calling Notice for a first General Meeting of the new society when the newly elected board will be announced. The process for board nominations will be issued well in advance and members will be asked to vote for nine board members to look after the interests of the club in future. Nominations may come from anyone who has been a member of either Shakers Community or Bury FC Supporters' Society for at least six continuous months immediately prior to the General Meeting. There is a huge amount of work going on at Gigg Lane to get things ready for the new season. The amalgamation has given us a vastly improved aggregated balance sheet and we have committed a budget to making improvement around the stadium already, but please bear in mind this is a work in progress so some of the work underway is not obviously visible to supporters, such as improving pitch irrigation, and some will take time to put in place. We are working hard to make sure your money is spent wisely and make every visit both safe and enjoyable

Today our thoughts are with friends, family & the whole Bury footballing community as our dear friend Amanda Freeman is laid to rest. RIP Mandy 🤍💙

The motion to adopt of the Gigg Lane Stadium as the football club’s home playing venue was approved by 97% of the vote. 1116 were in favour, 34 against and 9 abstentions. The motion to adopt Bury Football Club as the playing name was approved by 92% of the vote. 1046 were in favour, 95 against and 24 abstentions. The Resolution that the Society and Bury Football Club Supporters’ Society Limited (Register number 29385R) (“BFCSS”) shall be amalgamated pursuant to section 109 of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 was approved by 97% of the vote. 1109 were in favour, 35 against and 15 abstentions. As the Bury Football Supporters’ Society also approved their motion to amalgamate with a 90% majority we are pleased to confirm that the amalgamation will proceed subject to the Confirmatory Vote which will now begin and the results announced at the next General Meeting at 7pm on 19th May.

Bury Football Club Supporters Society would like to thank all fans who voted on the future of your club. A fan owned club is nothing without its loyal fans, you are all valued and have a part to play. Under Section 111 of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 this resolution must be passed by not less than two thirds of those members present and voting at the meeting (whether in person or by proxy), and must be confirmed by a further Special Resolution at a second general meeting. Votes in favour are 952 (90.1%) and votes against the resolution are 105 (9.9%) During the SGM and the voting process the independent company Mi Voice have ensured compliance, counted, ratified all eligible votes and verified the result. The outcome of the vote is that the required threshold of 66.6% has been achieved, the resolution has therefore passed. What we are building today, is for those who will look back, be proud of the work we as volunteers have put into establishing this club as a shining example of a sustainable fan owned football club. We would ask every person to now look to themselves as to how best you can support Bury Football Club. The future of your club is in your hands, join us, become members and be a part of the future. Do not walk away, come back to be part of the future of Bury FC, we are the Shakers.

As we approach the conclusion of the amalgamation vote we would like to remind members of both societies of the process should the amalgamation be approved. Shakers Community Society had just over 1400 eligible voters and Bury FC Supporters’ Society had around 1300. These are big numbers in the context of fan ownership, and turnouts were high last time at 80% and 75% respectively. We are pleased to report that we will be near those turnout numbers again. There are two votes required to pass the motion to amalgamate the two societies. The first is the most critical as it requires under law a two thirds majority from each society’s members. The results will be announced after 7pm on Friday 5th May. There will be a second confirmatory vote, which simply asks members to ratify the decision made with the results announced at another Special General Meeting 14 days later on Friday 19th May. This should be a more of a formality as it requires a simple majority of 50% of members to vote in favour. Both societies need to approve both votes independently for it to go through. If it’s all agreed, the paperwork will be filed with the Financial Conduct Authority, and an interim Community Benefit Society board will be formed to deal with administration such as banking and to launch a full election so that a new board can be created based on the votes of the combined membership of both societies. The Terms of Reference for the Interim Board can be found here. The election process is already written and part of the paperwork members were issued with before the current vote started and should complete by 30th June, so that a new, fully elected Community Benefit Society board is in place in advance of the start of the new season. There is no need to cancel your current membership. This revenue is critical to us. They will remain valid, with the same voting rights until we start to transfer memberships to the new Community Benefit Society. This could take some time, but as the new Society membership will be £5 per month or £60 per annum any renewal subscriptions paid to either Society will be credited forward. We are hopeful that the vote will be approved this time, and look forward to welcoming everyone to Gigg Lane to watch Bury Football Club in the summer. Shakers Community members will receive an email invite to the Zoom meeting for the General Meeting on Friday.

The 25th of April 2011 was a day that will always hold a special place in our hearts. It was the day our club secured a crucial 3-2 victory over Chesterfield, which saw us gain promotion to League One despite losing Alan Knill a month prior. The game got off to a nervy start for Bury, as Steven Schumacher picked up a yellow card just two minutes into the match. Probing of defences was undertaken by both teams until Tom Lee's goal in the 12th minute gave Bury the lead. We can all agree the game was an absolute rollercoaster ride, with both teams creating chances and the scoreline constantly changing. As a fan, I was on the edge of my seat throughout the match, cheering us on every time Bury pushed forward and holding my breath whenever Chesterfield attacked. Bury maintained their lead until the second half when Craig Davies' goal in the 50th minute equalised, but it wasn’t long until David Worrall's goal in the 55th minute put Bury ahead again. Chesterfield refused to give up, and Jack Lester's goal in the 63rd minute gave Chesterfield hope of a comeback. With just minutes remaining, Bury's talismanic striker Ryan Lowe stepped up to score the first of his two goals, making the score 3-2 and setting up a thrilling finale. And in the dying minutes of the game, Lowe scored the decisive goal in the 87th minute, sending the travelling fans into raptures and securing promotion to League One. Looking back, it was a truly unforgettable game and a fantastic achievement for Bury FC. Despite the field setbacks, the team showed tremendous resilience and character to mount a comeback and secure the victory we needed to earn promotion. As a fan, I will never forget that day as one of the greatest in the history of our club.