Steve Lansdown provides £13m injection into Bristol City as Robins appoint new director

Bristol City majority owner Steve Lansdown has injected £13million into the club via the allotment of shares, as has become the norm for the Guernsey-based billionaire around this time of the year.

Companies House has published the “statement of capital following an allocation of shares” for Bristol City Football Club Ltd on June 28. The £13m is the lowest amount since 2019, with £78m invested through the same method over the last five years. That alone is reason to suggest the Robins are on a far more stable financial footing than in previous years where they have been in danger of breaching the EFL's Profit and Sustainability rules.

The exact reason for the investment is unknown but it could be to help alleviate the club’s debt which stood at £96m as per the last published accounts, albeit with £90m owed to Lansdown’s own Pula Sports Ltd, or to help fund player sales for this transfer window ahead, or simply to assist with the general operational running of the football club as losses for 2022/23 stood at £22.2m.

It does once again reiterate Lansdown’s financial commitment to City as the Bristolian takes an increasing back seat in terms of the general day-to-day running of the club. The 71-year-old wasn’t involved in the hiring of head coach Liam Manning in November, with that task placed in the hands of technical director Brian Tinnion and chairman Jon Lansdown.

Although Steve Lansdown still attends matches regularly at Ashton Gate and away from home, son Jon revealed to Bristol Live in May : “He’s obviously still very connected with the club in terms of how much he cares and everything else but not as intertwined with it in terms of what happens on a day-to-day basis.

“I’m not saying it’s for good but he’s talked about doing that for years and it’s never quite gone away but it is natural because it’s like, right, who’s the best person to talk about this?”

Steve Lansdown’s last public interview in a City context was in August last year for BBC Radio Guernsey when he discussed Alex Scott’s sale to Bournemouth and he hasn’t spoken to local or club media for more than 12 months.

In May, Lansdown’s wealth was estimated at £1.168bn by the Sunday Times Rich List, a reduction of £11m from the previous year’s edition. His financial services company Hargreaves-Lansdown, in which he still retains a six per cent stake, is currently in the midst of a £5.4bn takeover by CVC Capital Partners.

City have, in effect, been “up for sale” for several years with the Lansdowns seeking new partners to take the club forward or even potentially sanction a full takeover, should the terms be agreeable. But despite discussions with various parties, and a number of other Championship clubs changing ownership post-Covid, nothing has materialised with City’s chairman indicating nothing is imminent on that front.

Companies House has also confirmed that Tom Rawcliffe has been appointed as director. Rawcliffe was promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer last September, having previously served as Chief Financial Officer, following the exit of former CEO Phil Alexander.

Rawcliffe forms part of the new organisational structure at the head of the football club, with City eschewing the concept of a specific club CEO with the decision-making shared between Tinnion on the football side of the business, chairman Jon Lansdown, Rawcliffe and Bristol Sport CEO Gavin Marshall.

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