Seriously founder Andrew Stalbow fronts investor group set to acquire Bath City Football Club

Seriously co-founder Andrew Stalbow is leading an investor group set to acquire England football club Bath City FC.

Stalbow is heading up the Bath City Holding Company, which includes over 50 investors with backgrounds in sports, tech, games, finance, healthcare and consulting. It includes Tears for Fears co-founder Curt Smith, who will become a club Ambassador following the purchase.

The community-owned non-league club confirmed a threshold for the sale of the club has now been reached. Should the deal complete, Stalbow will be named executive chairman. 

The group has raised approximately £6 million in a seed round to invest into the club. The semi-professional club currently plays outside the top professional leagues. The new investors aim to invest in infrastructure to make Bath City Football League-ready.

The new board will include a seat for a Bath City Supporters Society representative, taken by current chair David McDonagh. Members of the society will also have prior consent rights over “some fundamental aspects of the football club and enhanced consultation rights”.

"Biggest project"

Stalbow has extensive experience in the games industry, having worked at Angry Birds studio Rovio as executive VP of strategic partnerships and co-founding Best Fiends developer Seriously, where he worked as CEO. He later sold the company to Playtika.

Prior to that, he also worked at 20th Century Fox as senior VP of mobile, working with various IPs such as Avatar and The Simpsons.

In a video to Bath City FC fans, Stalbow said the deal was “the biggest project that I’ve ever worked on”.

“Thank you to all the shareholders for putting their faith in us,” said Stalbow. 

“Since the announcement, we have been overwhelmed by all the messages of support that we have received. They have reinforced our view that this is a very special club. There are generations of families for whom Bath City has been such an integral part of their lives. 

“We are determined that this will continue, not just for them but for many new fans too. We take this responsibility very seriously and we will work tirelessly to unlock the potential of Bath City.”

Bath City chair David McDonagh commented: “This is a momentous occasion for our Club. Since we announced the potential takeover, there has been a very positive reaction from our fans as shown by the 96% of Supporters Society members who voted to approve the deal. 

“We’d like to give a huge thank you to the shareholders for returning their paperwork so diligently and to all the people, both within the club and the wider fanbase, who have helped us to track down shareholders and get this across the line.

“Everyone is very excited by the vision that Andrew Stalbow and his team have set out. We look forward to the future with optimism, and in the firm belief that we have found fantastic new custodians for our club, who will work to deliver for fans and the wider community.”