NEW Castleford Tigers shareholder Martin Jepson has revealed that the money put into the West Yorkshire club when he came on board towards the back end of last year amounted to almost £1.2 million.
Jepson, who hails from Castleford, acquired just over 32 per cent of the club’s shares in December last year, putting what was described as a ‘significant seven-figure sum’ into the Tigers immediately.
Since then, work has begun in earnest to improve the facilities at The Jungle with seating erected in the Princess Street Stand ahead of an overhaul of the Main Stand in the near future.
Jepson himself, speaking on The COYFCast podcast, revealed the inside story of his investment, where it has gone and what it helps the club do.
“The money is in the bank account, it’s all paid in. The money was just shy of £1.2 million and it roughly matches the loans that are outstanding to the Fulton family. In terms of that, I effectively have 32.5 per cent and that is the same shareholding as Ian and Janet,” Jepson told The COYFCast podcast.
“That money went straight into the club. I paid separately for Janet and Ian’s shares, that was a separate transaction. The money went in as a loan which is the way people tend to do these things. It’s an interest-free loan and I can’t touch it again for five years.
“What does the money do? It keeps the club going, simply. It’s available to be drawn against if we want to do a project against it or bring another player in but it gives the club some breathing space.
“When I joined the club, it didn’t have any debts except the debt it owned to the Fultons and now the debt is owed to me. We own our ground and we don’t have any bank debt.
“But if we just stand still we will lose money potentially as most – if not all – Super League clubs do.”
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