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By David Berrie
Thu 23rd March 17
The future of the Road Safety Western Force – the State’s only Super Rugby franchise – is still uncertain, with the possibility of an Australian team cut from the competition being reiterated by SANZAAR last week.
In a bid to secure the team’s future, the Road Safety Western Force today launched the Own the Force Prospectus and is calling upon the community to get behind the team by purchasing shares in the club at www.owntheforce.com.au.
Western Force Owners Limited Chairman Tony Howarth said this was the time for sports fans to get behind the sport and help save the club by buying shares in the club.
In an Australian first, the club’s #owntheforce campaign is offering the public 10,000 A Class Shares for an investment of $1,000 each via a public listed company – Western Force Owners Limited.
Mr Howarth said it was fantastic to see early 5,000 people register their interest to own a share of the club in recent months.
“The support to date has shown the strength of the Western Australian rugby community. Players and the club are thrilled, but now it’s crunch time, and we need more West Aussies to get behind the future of the club,” he said.
Investments will secure the operating licence for the Road Safety Western Force from the Australian Rugby Union.
“Fans will own the club and we’ll have the rights to operate a professional Western Australian team that can participate in the Super Rugby competition,” Mr Howarth said.
The Road Safety Western Force kicked off the 2017 season with a solid start – winning one out of their three games. To secure the future of the Western Force and play a part in Australian sporting history, purchase shares at www.owntheforce.com.au
The new ownership is based on the sale of ownership certificates at a value of $1,000 each, payable over a period of twelve months. Unlike stocks or shares, the certificates would not be transferrable except to family members. Owners would be entitled to a range of benefits including:
•Voting rights to an advisory committee and the new Road Safety Western Force board of management,
•Approval of the reappointment of key positions within the Road Safety Western Force organisation,
•Input into match day and team activities and specific owner’s functions, and
•A range of discounts on both Western Force membership purchases and Rugby WA player registration fees.
The #owntheforce model is based on community ownership principals, which have been put in place to great success at FC Barcelona soccer club (the second most valuable sports team in the world) and the Green Bay Packers, the American football team who have won more Super Bowls than any other team in NFL history.
People power was a key factor in Rugby WA and the Road Safety Western Force being awarded their Super Rugby franchise in 2004. Additionally, the team has enjoyed significant support from the WA Government including investment in the upgrades at the team’s home ground at nib Stadium, and the building of a world-class training centre in Floreat that is utilised by many other sporting codes.
https://www.westernforce.com.au/arti...paign-launched
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
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Seems to me there's no limit on how many shares a person can buy.
Which means that while it's a nominally a thing for fans with $1,000 to burn the whole thing could be taken over by a person or persons with a lot of money to throw around.
Given this and the limited amount of say the actual shareholders have in the say in the running of the company this could be used as a way for a very small group of shareholders to own the force rather than as a way for the fans to have a say.
While that's not a reason not to buy shares it's something I think people should keep in mind when forking out their hard earned cash.
I'm also wondering why the email regarding the launch and prospectus was sent to my membership email address and not the email address I used to express interest in the first place. Bit of a major fuck up that one.
As stated mate
The sent the email to the email address I use for my membership (work email)
the email address I used for the expression of interest is a completely different one (private gmail) and as yet the prospectus email has yet to show up at that email address.
Considering they're NOT sending the email to those email addresses used to express interest in it is, I think, a major fuck up.
I see, I'm sure it will turn up at that Gmail address when they hit the other button![]()
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!
It would make sense to me that RugbyWA will send notification of this out to every email address that they have access to. Members and to people who have expressed an interest too.
MI5 - i think you will be notified a couple of times via your different email addresses.
Exile
Port Macquarie
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!" - Rocky Balboa
A quick scan of the prospectus has made me think there are several changes from the initial story.
The key one (IMHO) being the lack of any possibility of a payment plan.
That will further weaken the community aspect of this share offer as people like me on fixed incomes will struggle to gett $1000 together by the end of the financial year.
It is very likely to end up with the top end of town buying a parcel of shares, gaining voting rights and leaving the rank and file to their own devices.
I think the concept is good, and I'm not suggestign that anybody should avoid buying shares based upon that piece of information alone, but unless somebody has a spare gorilla they can lend me, I won't be able to chip in.
C'mon the![]()
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Have not read yet, but the above summary does say payment over 12 months.
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!
Someone clarify something for me: if we put money in to buy shares in the campaign, yet the ARU still officially "Owns (the intellectual property rights of) the Force", what would stop them using the funds if the club winds up after a couple of years, or even before, themselves? Forgive me, I don't understand this shareholder/prospectus stuff...
The western force owners Pty ltd will be a completely separate entity to the ARU or Rugbywa (although rugbywa is a shareholder of 1 share).
The funds from the shares are going to be used to buy the IP from the ARU. The ARU will have no access to any fuds except for what we have paid to them.
If the force are cut from super rugby all monies are returned to the shareholders.
The main risk is if SANZAAR decide to cut the Force after we have bought the IP from the ARU(I.e. In 2020) then only what is left would be returned to shareholders. Although I imagine that the ARU would compensate the company in some form and that would be returned to the shareholders.
Hope that makes sense.
Will these shares pay dividends?![]()