Barrow Raiders held their annual AGM for members on Wednesday 11 December, with the accounts for the period December 2022 to November 2023 revealing losses of £128,540.

Whist the balance sheet remains very strong, which is a rarity in rugby league, the losses are still a concern.

Managing cash flow has been challenging, especially servicing short term debt repayments as a result of the purchase of the old Josephine’s site, repayment of a former chairman’s historic loan, and government bounce bank loans taken out during COVID.

Barrow Raiders are no different to other clubs, with a reported £5 million losses spread amongst the 14 Championship clubs in the accounts presented to the RFL for the recent IMG gradings.

As with other clubs, the Raiders would like to acknowledge and thank their chairman for covering the losses with a combination of donations and loans ensuring that we remained a competitive Championship club and were able to support our Betfred Women’s Super League side and run a foundation that won the accolade of RFL Foundation of the Year for 2023.

It is clearly our ambition to become self-sustainable whilst at the same time continuing to improve all aspects of the club, with the short-term aim to be a play-off contending team and improve our facilities so that we may begin to increase revenues, both on matchdays through increased crowds, and through diversified income streams.

With this in mind, the board of directors revealed to members the proposal to launch a new debenture book, with the aim of bringing vital revenue to match the ambitions of the club.

We are hoping to attract new members to purchase debentures which will give those individuals ownership of the club and voting rights.

Disappointingly a proposal to remove the 25,000 cap on voting rights, that we hoped would open the door to large investors, failed to reach the 75% approval needed by the members, with just one individual in the room, along with proxy votes from a former chairman, being able to scupper the proposal, ironically stating that the rejection was to stop one individual controlling the club. Frustratingly, all other members in attendance voted in favour.

The board of directors intend to call an EGM in the very near future and bring the resolution back to the table. It is vital that if there are big investors out there, that we open the door to them and give them the say in the club that their investment merits.

In the meantime, the club plan to go ahead with their recruitment of new members to bring a freshness to the club and to help continue its upward trajectory.

As the club is about to enter its 150th anniversary year, an appeal is being made for new members to invest in the club through the purchase of debentures, and presented the following proposal at the company meeting:

Overview

Barrow Raiders’ ambition is to a make a positive difference in our community.

We aim to inspire our communities, and form a lasting family-oriented club legacy, that is deep rooted in the pride of Barrow-in-Furness and our surrounding area. We aim to achieve this through 2 key areas:

  • Optimise our sporting potential though our men’s, women’s and learning disabilities forms of rugby league, providing pathways for progression to all engaged within the sport.
  • Continue to provide social and economic betterment of the community that our club stands for.

Your club

Barrow Raiders will be celebrating its 150th anniversary year in 2025, and in recognition of this proud achievement, we aim to celebrate our club’s history and grow our club’s future.

In 1930, Barrow Raiders offered our first debenture. This set the path for the club to become a limited company by guarantee, and all debenture members are the owners of the club.

As a result, our club is at the very heart of our community as the community own it.

In the last few years, our expansion has been inspiring to the RFL and other clubs. Despite not having a wealthy investor, the club has a proven men’s Championship team, a Women’s Super League team, a thriving Able Raiders for players with learning difficulties, and is continually growing the support to the community.

Your moment – our future

For our 150th year, the club is looking to increase investment and create opportunities for everyone to contribute, to something that is deeply rooted in our community and for future generations to come.

We would like to offer the opportunity for you to secure your place in Barrow Raiders’ future, by buying debentures to continue to support all our initiatives and to strengthen our club and build on our sporting prowess.

Funds raised initially will allow the club to:

  • Maintain a competitive playing squad, challenging for both men’s Championship play-off and Women’s Super League play-off positions.
  • Invest in areas of the club that will allow growth of our community engagement, with the aim to set up a route to a permanent community hub at Craven Park.
  • Build a commercial department that can attract ambitious partners, increase matchday revenue, and grow crowds through improved game day experiences.

By becoming a debenture holder, you will become a member and owner of the club and will directly influence the club’s direction. You will have voting rights at the Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings and help shape the future of your club.

Barrow Raiders is your club. We want to make this a club that we are proud to own, at the very heart of our community, to turn our vision into reality.

We encourage potential new members and owners of the club to contact the club secretary: karen.barrowrlfc@outlook.com

We want a club that the whole town can be proud of, with members and supporters of the club retaining ownership. The club for the people, being owned by the people, with them able to appoint a board of their choice, influenced by the wishes of the ownership.

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