YORK City majority shareholder Glen Henderson has requested that board members appointed by York City Supporters’ Trust resign from their positions.

The move from City’s highly unpopular outgoing chairman comes as the Supporters’ Trust missed Tuesday’s (April 4) deadline to find a buyer for his 51 per cent stake in the club.

A statement from the Supporters’ Trust confirmed that there have been no changes in the day-to-day running of the club, which is overseen by Interim General Manager Paula Stainton, and that they “will not consider changing their nominated club board members before a new owner is found.”

The Trust also admitted that they believe that the two Trust-appointed Directors, Mike Brown and Alistair Smith had “worked tirelessly in recent months”, including securing funds of £50,000 to meet the club’s payroll last month, and that they believe that the pair’s knowledge of the club and its operations are vital during the takeover.

Henderson can now sell his shares on the open market, but the Trust will still play a crucial role to “ensure that the process goes ahead smoothly,” with Brown confirming to The Press that talks between Henderson and interested parties had commenced from as early as Wednesday morning (April 5).

The Trust must be provided with 28 days’ notice before a transfer of any shares in order to complete relevant due diligence on any prospective buyers, while they must also approve any exchange of shares. Permission can only be withheld if there are reasonable grounds to do so.

Henderson is unable to sell his shares for less than the £650,000 that he offered them to the Trust for, though they may waive that total, most likely in exchange for funds that can be directly injected, if they believe that it is in the club’s best interests.

The statement concluded by the Trust thanking City supporters for the impressive atmosphere that they have created at the LNER Community Stadium in recent weeks, and that they look forward to tomorrow’s Yorkshire Derby against Halifax Town.