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ShareLiverpoolFC believes in the democratic ownership of Liverpool Football Club by its fans.
The proposed structure demonstrates how ShareLiverpoolFC can be structured to bring democratic ownership of the club to its fans. A clear 'one-share: one-vote' structure ensures that no one ever owns more than one share. Fans will vote for the membership of a Fan Parliament and for the ShareLiverpoolFC Board. The ShareLiverpoolFC Board will be responsible for appointing the Board of the Football Club. 
An Industrial and Provident Society ShareLiverpool Limited has been set up as an Industrial and Provident Society (which is the structure used by co-operatives and housing associations) with the main object of strengthening the bonds between Liverpool FC and the community which it serves, and representing the interests of the community in the running of the Club. The Constitution The ShareLiverpoolFC Constitution - formally approved by the Financial Services Authority - has been written to make us a democratic organisation with a permanent and binding commitment to community benefit. The cost of one share in the Society will be £5,000. No-one will ever own more than one share and no-one will ever be able to take profits or surpluses out of the Society. Our aim is to get to the point where, through ShareLiverpoolFC, the fan-shareholders own Liverpool FC, and the Club is run in accordance with 'the Liverpool Way'. It's a big aim and we may not get all the way immediately but we will take any appropriate step which forwards the prospect of ShareLiverpoolFC taking full control of the Club. We want the Club to be successful on the pitch and to play a positive role in the community off the pitch. We want a commercially astute football club to provide the funds required for player purchase and other projects. What if I can't afford £5000 for a share? LFC has a large income and big commitments, so the cost of taking full control would also be huge. That's why each share in ShareLiverpoolFC is priced at £5,000. We would need that money from tens of thousands of people to buy a controlling stake but nearly 40,000 fans have already expressed an interest via the website. There may be circumstances where we will only require an initial payment of £500 for a part-paid share (for example, in order to demonstrate the commitment of our members and our credibility to negotiate on their behalf). People will be able to pay the full amount if they wish, but people who buy a part-paid share will be taking on a commitment to pay the whole £5,000 if and when it is called for. We will not call for any payment at all unless we believe there is a realistic prospect of acquiring a significant interest in Liverpool Football Club. We will not call for more than £500 unless we have a specific deal for members to consider. Anyone who buys a part-paid share will become a member of the ShareLiverpoolFC Society and will be able to stand for election and vote in elections. We know it's a lot of money for many individual fans and so we have made special provision in our Constitution to enable people to club together: as a family, at work, in the pub, in a football team or elsewhere to buy a stake in ShareLiverpoolFC. We've been asked by supporters for some help on how to go about it and this section below gives some ideas. How does a group membership work? Under the Constitution, a 'named member' can hold a share on behalf of a group of people, and that can be recognised in the share register. So if a group of people in a pub clubbed together to buy a share, the register might say 'John Smith on behalf of the Frog and Bucket'. John Smith would receive information and notices of meetings from ShareLiverpoolFC and would have the right to use the vote attached to the share. He would also probably collect the money from everyone to pay for the share so it's important that you choose someone who has the trust of everyone involved to be the named member. Under the Constitution, John would have to be either a Liverpool supporter or in sympathy with ShareLiverpoolFC's aims, and he would have to agree to be bound by the rules set out in the Constitution. As a group, you will probably want to agree some means of John passing on information about ShareLiverpoolFC to the people who have contributed and consulting them about any vote he has to cast. The named member should reflect the opinion of the group when voting. What rights are attached to a share? Just as for individuals who own a share, the named member in our example, John Smith, would have the right to attend members' meetings and to see and approve each year the accounts of ShareLiverpoolFC and a report on performance. He would also have a vote on the appointment of auditors. There will be elections to the Board of ShareLiverpoolFC each year when one quarter of the Board will stand down or retire. John would be able to stand for election and cast a vote in the election. If ShareLiverpoolFC has the right to appoint members of the Board of Liverpool FC, that right will be exercised by the ShareLiverpool Board and they will appoint a representative or representatives from among their number to join the Club Board. [see Diagram above] There will also be regular elections to a ShareLiverpoolFC Parliament, which will be a forum for around 100 members to express views about ShareLiverpoolFC and Liverpool FC, and will be used to form and test opinions on important issues. Just like individual shareholders, John would be able to stand for election to the Parliament and cast a vote in the election. Where very big issues arise, the Board of ShareLiverpoolFC may decide to seek the views of all members before making a decision. John will have the opportunity to express a view as a named member. What do you need to do to form a group? It's up to you to decide who will be involved, who the 'named member' will be and how you will operate but there are some things we recommend you think about: Whether you collect money in a bucket or by agreed subscriptions from individuals, you should have a written statement of what the money will be used for (including what happens if for some reason you don't buy a share), who the named member of ShareLiverpoolFC will be, and how information about ShareLiverpoolFC will be communicated to the group. The statement should make it clear that if £500 is invested collectively in a part paid share in ShareLiverpoolFC through a group scheme, that money cannot be returned to the individuals who contributed. It should also make it clear that after paying the initial 10% (£500) there is an obligation to pay further sums of money, up to a total of £5,000 when they are called for. If payment is not made, the right to vote attached to the share will be lost and the money already invested is liable to be forfeited and used to fund ShareLiverpoolFCs aims according to its Constitution. You should therefore be clear as a group from the start how you will come up with whole £5,000 if and when it is required. For example: say there are ten fans in your group. The initial payment of £500 for a part-paid share would cost every member £50 each. Each member must also agree to contribute a further £450 towards full payment for the share if and when the remaining payment of £4,500 is called upon. Of course, the group can choose its own way to raise the full payment in readiness by weekly or monthly instalments or by adding new members to the group for example. If that full payment is not called upon, the group can redistribute the collected money to its members. If people in your group are being asked to contribute a certain amount at once or by instalments we would recommend you have a written agreement signed by all the members of the group which is kept in a safe place. You should record:
What members of the group agree to contribute and when (including the further payments up to a total of £5,000 which ShareLiverpoolFC can call for at any time);
Who the members of the group are Who the 'named member' is to be Who is responsible for collecting money and paying it over to ShareLiverpoolFC What happens to the initial £500 payment if you don't buy a share How information about ShareLiverpoolFC will be communicated to members of the group How a decision will be made as to how to cast the vote attached to the share What happens if someone fails to pay an amount called for; and Whether and how people can leave or join the group.
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