Lewes FC Women's £5m investors a step closer to having stake in team

Opinion has been split on the proposal since it first emerged several weeks ago – with those in favour saying it could transform the women’s team and help other aspects of the club but those against saying it is a big move away from the idea of the club being fan-owned.

Owners had a week to vote whether to move forward with the proposal or ditch it – and two thirds of those who voted backed it.

A Lewes FC statement said: “Owners were asked to vote from the 24th October to 31st October on (a) Moving forward with the Mercury/13 proposal; (b) not moving forward with the Mercury/13 proposal.

“1,080 votes were cast, of the 2,573 eligible owners (the largest owners’ vote in the club’s history).

“The results of the vote are as follows: Turnout: 42%. Number of votes found to be invalid: 1. 732 votes (67.8%) in favour of moving forward with the Mercury/13 proposal. 347 votes (32.2%) not in favour of the Mercury/13 proposal.

"Civica Election Services independently conducted the vote process and have provided confirmation on the fairness and accuracy of the recordings, as far as reasonably practicable.

“As a result of the vote, directors will continue to move forward with conversations with Mercury/13 to explore the potential partnership and will revert with updates over the coming weeks. We thank you for taking part in the consultation and for your contributions as we move forward with next steps.”