Hibs

The new Hibernian share issue launched on February 25, with the Club setting up a new way of online payment following supporter feedback on the previous process.

Thanks to the technology offered by local financial technology business ShareIn, supporters can apply for shaes directly on the Club’s own website.

An original share issue which ended in August last year – allied with the ongoing activity of the collective ownership vehicle Hibernian Supporters Limited – has already seen supporter ownership leap from around 2% to more than 20%.

Chief Executive Leeann Dempster said: “Many of you will have been following Hibernian for years, for decades – perhaps even a lifetime. I’ve not been here that long, but I’ve bonded to the Club ever since I walked through the door. I feel like I belong here.

“That feeling of belonging is something that is central to this Club’s history. We came into existence to help a community to integrate, to belong. That is at the centre of everything that we do. We need you to belong here too.

“We needed, and we have, a strong team on and off the pitch. While we have the privilege of working here, we are simply custodians, guardians here to look after the Club and to hand it onto the next generation. In a way, I guess nobody ever really owns a football club, rather everybody who cares about it owns it. Every supporter who feels the passion owns it. It’s the people who live locally. It’s you. It’s whoever you sit next to at Easter Road.

“So what does that mean when it comes to running the Club? What is your role? For me a big part of it is to protect the Club, to protect our history, our home at Easter Road and to protect our identity and our values. What we want is the supporters to be involved, to make sure that the people that are running the Club are doing the right thing. We need to ensure that any decisions that are made, are made for the right reasons and the long-term future of the Club.

“I’ve had a lot of dialogue with you since I arrived and it’s very clear that you wanted change and you wanted a voice. Many have stepped forward to invest and to have their say, and with that comes the opportunity to guide the Club forward. I think this Club is about to erupt in the most positive way, we don’t just want to get back into the top-flight, we want to be chasing silverware and to lead you back into Europe – a journey we pioneered for British football nearly 60 years ago.

“The bottom line is, we want the Club to succeed. These aren’t just aspirations – it’s a plan. A plan that needs you; all of you. A successful share issue will help deliver that plan and make it come to life, it will help us fund our football ambition, it means that we can plan ahead knowing that we have cash in the bank to pay our bills and to attract the best talent. I think it’s time to help this great Club stand on its own two feet. The opportunity is here and now.

“We want you to be able to stand tall and say with pride: “I support Hibernian.””

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John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.