Owner Wallace increases Stevenage stake

Stevenage owner Phil Wallace has bought another 45,000 shares to increase his stake in the League One club to 98.5%.

Businessman Wallace took over the then non-league club in 1999 and they were promoted into the English Football League in 2010.

They have had two spells in League One, the current one resulting from promotion in 2023 under former manager Steve Evans.

Wallace reportedly turned down offers to sell in 2005 and 2019 and he said in a statement after increasing his majority shareholding: "My support for a club I've been the custodian of for over 25 years will not waver and we have consistently followed a policy of keeping the club solvent for future generations to enjoy.

"This wasn't too difficult when the club were in lower leagues, but in League One now – if you want to compete – the cost is significantly more and becoming quickly unsustainable.

"We expect to file our 2024-25 results shortly and this cash injection simply replaces our losses to date, to keep our club solvent and in good shape."

Wallace said the losses across the whole of League One were "thought to be over £120m" and were "unsustainable".

He hopes the appointment of the game's first football independent regulator, David Kogan, will help bring about a more stable financial base.

"The reliance on owner funding to keep our sport competitive at our level needs to be replaced by sustainable clubs able to function without owner funding, or one day we won't have a national game as we know it," Wallace added.

"I would expect the Regulator to be making clubs sustainable front and centre of their involvement with our game, supporting reduced costs, better housekeeping and a redistribution of football income from the top down."

Stevenage are sixth in the table under Alex Revell and hoping reach the Championship for the first time in their history.

They are away to Stockport County on Saturday.