YORK Wasps shareholders have helped put the club on a stronger financial footing after agreeing a share consolidation designed to help bring in more investment.

The move to effectively reissue fewer shares at a higher individual price was overwhelmingly voted through at the club's annual meeting yesterday.

The shareholders supported the resolution to consolidate all the existing £1 shares into new £100 shares, which effectively means that members previously owning fewer than 100 shares either sold them at their market price to the directors or topped them up to 100 by buying more. Each new £100 share equates in value to 100 of the old shares.

The directors were thus authorised to re-sell the resulting fractions of a share - in other words each old share - at a price determined by the club's auditor. That price was 1p each.

The resolution not only helps bring in more money but also creates a more manageable share register and is thus less costly administratively.

Chairman John Stabler told the shareholders: "The value of shares was falling to nominal value and every year we had to contact about 3,500 names on the share register - it's an administrative nightmare. We came up with this proposal to improve matters.

"Some people will be disappointed that they've got, for example, 70 shares and may lose them. The biggest loser in this were my 55,000 shares, which now equate to 550 shares. But we must do it."

The meeting also heard why the club was forced to enter into the creditors' voluntary arrangement earlier this year. Although the club made a trading profit of £127,000 in the year ending November 30, 2000, they had net liabilities of £311,000 which were due.

"Going into the CVA saved the club, but because of the financial implications the squad broke up and the club suffered its worst-ever season.

"But we are as good as out of the CVA now - we will be officially released from the CVA in a few weeks and will be trading in normal fashion totally debt free.

"We have new backers and new sponsors, and a thoroughly professional and enthusiastic new coach (Leo Epifania). And we are negotiating to purchase the stadium with a view to upgrading it."

He added: "The season is coming quicker than we would like in terms of getting a quality team together but players continue to come on board and we are hopeful more are going to arrive this week and next.

"We want to finish the season in the top nine and get into (National League) division one the following year and we are working flat out towards that end."

Updated: 11:36 Friday, November 16, 2001