Rochdale AFC is urgently seeking a £2m investment to avoid possible liquidation by the end of March, chairman Simon Gauge has announced. The National League club has accumulated losses exceeding £1m over the past year, following relegation from the Football League.
Gauge has called an emergency general meeting of shareholders at Spotland stadium on 7 March to find investors. He stated he is “looking for an investor to inject £2m to gain 90% of the club”. The chairman, who has loaned the club £566,000 alongside his family, said he can no longer finance the club alone.
The club became fan-owned in August 2022 after rejecting a hostile takeover from the Morton House consortium. Since then, financial pressures have mounted, with the loss of Premier League solidarity payments after leaving the Football League, though parachute payments continue.
Rochdale currently sits 12th in the National League, six points above the relegation zone. However, entering administration could trigger a 10-point deduction. Gauge emphasised that passing a resolution at the EGM is critical to create conditions sought by investors and stave off liquidation.
“Let me leave you in no doubt, this resolution needs to be passed for us to have any chance of securing the required investment that will ensure the long-term future of our club,” Gauge said. “If it isn’t passed, the threat of liquidation at the end of March is very real.”
