Fraudster Alex May/Alick Kapikanya Investing In Grimsby?

[Tippy Tappy Football]

John Tondeur on BBC Radio Humberside kept referring to a big breaking story on Grimsby today on the Grimsby Telegraph pages. It looks like the fraudster Alex May (previously known as Alick Kapikanya) is looking to invest in Grimsby Town. He was the bloke who tried to buy Notts County. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison in 2014 for stealing the identities of elderly widows and widowers, secretly seizing ownership of their houses and then repeatedly remortgaging them. He swindled £3.5 million. raspberry of the earth. Surely the EFL would not allow this.

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/spor ... by-4792583

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... ge-7023550

[Spiritater]

What the EFL do never surprises me.

[Tippy Tappy Football]

15 pages on the proposed Grimsby takeover and Alex May on the Fishy Forum. The funniest comment was the fact that Alex May must be trying to buy Grimsby Town because the black and white stripes reminded him of prison bars.

Grimsby fans are very concerned that John Fenty is now thinking about selling Grimsby Town to a consortium involving a con man when he has rejected previous offers to buy the club from Tom Shutes, a philanthropist and successful property developer who is looking to redevelop Grimsby docks and who would build Grimsby Town a new ground in that area. Two other Grimsby born entrepreneurs are also involved with Tom Shutes. John Fenty rejected those offers saying that he is the "custodian" of the club and Tom Shutes had not provided proof of funding.

Tom Shutes said in reply in May this year that he had drawn up plans to buy the club with Grimsby born Jason Stockwood - who has held leadership roles at lastminute.com and Match.com - and Andrew Pettit, of the famed family of Grimsby butchers.

“For what must be about two years, I have agreed various different versions of a takeover, in good faith - all of which were, in the end, rejected. The three of us got together and we put a cash offer on the table - it was a cash offer for the shareholder interest in the club, for several other of the largest shareholders, and a repayment in full from cash of all the outstanding debt.

Mr Shutes said Mr Fenty deserved a “lot of credit” for “saving the club and stabilising things financially”. He said: “We genuinely wish them nothing but the best so what we’ve said is...you know who we are, you know where we are: if you’d like to talk at some future date, we’re really happy to engage. And in the meantime, what we’re going to focus on and concentrate on is a fantastic real estate proposition for a new community stadium based in the docks.”

https://forum.thefishy.co.uk/Blah.pl?m-1607785406/s-0/

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news ... an-4110684

[Tippy Tappy Football]

Grimsby Chairman and Conservative Councillor, John Fenty, has admitted that he set up a company with fraudster, Alex May. A key question will be whether John Fenty knew Alex May was a fraudster but a simple google search would have revealed that.

"John Fenty has confirmed that he set up a company with convicted fraudster Alex May, but says the pair are no longer business partners. Mr Fenty, Grimsby Town's majority shareholder, issued a statement after the Grimsby Telegraph revealed Mr May had been at Town's game with Mansfield on Saturday. The leading Tory councillor on North East Lincolnshire Council also said he would be updating his official register of interests to reflect the business he set up with Mr May, Town Centre Living Ltd. He said the company is not actively trading.

Mr May, who changed his name from Alick Kapikanya by deed poll, was jailed for six years in 2014 for his part in a multi-million pound scam. He was sentenced after leading a gang of con artists who targeted elderly homeowners in Manchester from 2007, and was found to have stolen £3.5million and attempted to secure another £3.3m.

Having been involved in a takeover bid of Town, acting as an advisor to Colin Dodd, Mr May then set up the company Town Centre Living Limited with Mr Fenty in April of this year, with files on Company House showing they both took more than 25 per cent shares. The company is registered in Manchester, with both Mr May and Mr Fenty included in the certificate of incorporation completed in April as the only initial shareholders. Companies House records Mr May resigning as a director in November, leaving Uljana Adamczyk, understood to be Mr Fenty’s partner, listed as the company's only active director.

Mr Fenty’s statement said: “I wholly own the company called TCL which has yet to trade, and when it commences trading I will declare it on my declarations of interest accordingly. The original purpose of TCL was to trade some business in a joint-private venture with Alex May. That was put on hold, so I acquired his shareholding and he resigned as a director at the same time. Companies House records will show this. I have been working on some private development projects in Whitchurch, Liverpool and Halifax, and they will be traded through this new company accordingly.”

Fans have voiced their displeasure in Mr May being associated with Town, while the Mariners Trust have now announced their opposition following a board meeting on Sunday."

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/spor ... by-4794965

[wardy12345]

I’m surprised that the sentence was so light I’d have thought life would be more appropriate.

Looks to me like another Burry situation but this time the the ground will be a block of flats

[Martin Shaw]

[Tippy Tappy Football]

Ian Holloway hits out at Grimsby Town owners and potential investors in statement

Well done to Ian Holloway for speaking out about recent developments at Grimsby Town relating to the proposed investment by fraudster, Alex May. Ollie has always seemed a decent bloke. I hope he succeeds at Grimsby.

Ian Holloway’s Statement
To the fans of Grimsby Town Football Club. Let me say, first and foremost, that I’m not going anywhere unless I’m told to. The love that you, the fans, have shown myself and my family since my arrival has exceeded even my highest expectations, on and off the pitch. However, of late, developments away from the football itself have made it increasingly difficult to work to full potential on a day-to-day basis and, most importantly, place this club on an honest, positive, front footing. This is as frustrating to me as much as any fan.

Those who own this club, and those who makes noises about wanting to own this club, have been playing politics with something that is very precious to this community, and it must stop now. Mistakes have been made, undoubtedly, and while there is certainly enough mud to sling, I instead want to use this chance to appeal to everybody who holds the current and future fate of Grimsby Town in their hands to stand up tall, communicate candidly with the fans and make amends for the past few months. Earn back their trust and respect. This is your challenge.

We are where we are, but I’m not walking away from the fight. However, at the same time, I have been around long enough to know that you, the fans, need to know where I stand. And I stand with you.

Going forward, I shall use my social media more regularly to communicate. As manager of this club, I will now focus solely on the football and I ask all fans to rally behind the players, as I know you will. It has not been the start to the season we had hoped for, but there is a long way to go, and we must all pull together. I genuinely believe in the potential of this club, but we need to do better, beginning at the top, and that’s the gauntlet I throw down today.

Finally, if speaking this openly brings about my demise then so be it. I’m not here for the money, and I’ve made mistakes in not communicating fully before in my career, and I won’t make that mistake again. The most important thing to me is that the fans feel that they can trust myself and my team, win or lose, rain or shine.

Up The Mariners.

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/spor ... wn-4809559

[ParisStag]

The club is an an absolute mess, playing their worst football for years....

and they still got a point out of us!

[Spiritater]

Not many teams haven't.

[dukeofportland]

i can see grimsby and southend going same way as bury.good ownership and fans relation to the ownership is key. i fear they may be more to fall...sad how football is run by some people

[Tippy Tappy Football]

Ian Holloway has said he will not invest in Grimsby Town following recent events off the field at the club.

"It’s been a turbulent week for the Mariners after convicted fraudster Alex May was pictured sitting with the club’s directors last weekend. He went on to announce his intentions to buy shares in the club, but following backlash from supporters, his application to acquire £1million worth was rejected by the Town board. Tom Shutes, who led a takeover bid for the club last year, then held a meeting with Mariners chairman Philip Day on Wednesday, with the two parties set to continue discussions over potential investment.

Unhappy with recent events at the club, Holloway released a statement on Thursday demanding that the club’s owners and potential investors stop “playing politics”, and has now seemingly called off his plans to invest in the club as part of his role on the board. Asked after the 1-0 win over Scunthorpe United whether the week’s events had changed his mind, Holloway responded:

“Yes. How can I invest in something that I don’t know who’s going to get it or who’s got it? Why do I want to be caught in that? I can’t take sides can I? I know why I came here, and my mindset hasn’t changed. But if anybody thinks I’m going to give my money over and give it over to different things, I’m not going to do that. That’s it. They’ve got to sort themselves out.”

Holloway added: “I’ve told our fans where I am, what I want to do and how I’m going to do it. I hope they believe me and I hope they understand. “The rest of it, it’s no good people making up stuff, it’s all about them understanding, because I can’t control things can I? What the hell is it to do with me? We’ve just got to get on with it, and your team matters, and I know it matters, and I want to make you have a better team."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p091z8z5

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/spor ... wn-4815889


I can't see Ian Holloway lasting much longer at Grimsby. He sounds like he's on the edge.