Hereford United: Club will stay at Edgar Street says chairman

Edgar StreetPA

Hereford United have played at Edgar Street for 90 years

Hereford United chairman Andy Lonsdale says there are no plans to move the troubled club away from its Edgar Street ground, following significant investment from backers.

Lonsdale confirmed the injection of cash will clear their pending winding-up order and ensure the Bulls can stay at their home of 90 years.

"It's a large investment, we won't have any problems satisfying the petition.

"We want football to stay at Edgar Street forever," Lonsdale said.

Bulls director John Edwards announced on Monday that they were "100 per cent" certain the club would avoid being liquidated when they attended the hearing of their long-standing winding-up petition in London on 1 September.

Trevor Owens, BBC Hereford and Worcester sports editor

"This sudden apparent influx of money has raised as many questions as it has answered. Uppermost among them are: where has the money come from, and why would you invest in a struggling Southern League club with reported debts of well over a million pounds?

"While most fans would accept there is always a degree of commercial confidentiality in such deals, the club needs to be as transparent as possible if it is to have any hope of regaining the trust of disillusioned supporters."

His comment came only days after Marc Landsman, the insolvency expert who worked with the club on its failed Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), advised against anyone putting money into the business.

But now the future suddenly seems brighter with season tickets on sale and Lonsdale is adamant the Bulls are in a position to go from strength to strength.

"We had an emergency meeting with investors over the weekend and they agreed to put more money into the club and we're looking forward," Lonsdale told BBC Hereford and Worcester.

Hereford investors revealed soon - Lonsdale

He confirmed one of the investors was Essex-based company Alpha Choice Finance, who bought former owner Tommy Agombar's shares when he was disqualified from having any involvement at Edgar Street, said he was not in a position to reveal details of others.

However, the Bulls chairman rejected the idea that the club was preparing to move out of its home ground to leave it free for potential redevelopment.

"There's been speculation that we want to re-locate to elsewhere in Hereford, but that is definitely not going to happen," Lonsdale added.

"Football will stay for as long as we're in control and as per the leases."

After two defeats and a draw, Hereford beat Banbury United 1-0 on Tuesday to record their first win of the new Southern Premier season, having been expelled from the Football Conference because of their financial problems.

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