The change of ownership at Barrow AFC has been swifter than many would have expected and chairman Paul Hornby has said the new investors can’t wait to get down to business.

Hornby managed to put together a new ownership structure at Holker Street within four weeks of former owner Paul Casson making it public that he was stepping away after four years at the helm.

Instead of having an individual calling the shots this time, AFC will now be under the charge of a consortium of local businessmen and the Bluebirds Trust.

It was announced on Tuesday that three new investors are part of the consortium, of which Hornby is also involved, with Tony Shearer, Mark Hetherington and Kristian Wilkes all being from around Barrow.

Meanwhile, supporters will have their say in how the club is run through the Trust having a ten per cent stake in it and there is plenty of excitement about how the new regime will work out.

Hornby said: “It was about making sure we found the right investors because you could have got five or six business people to work together, but you’ve got to make sure that they get on and that they share the same vision.

“I think that’s where we’ve been incredibly lucky because the first few people that I approached were all on the same page and were all keen to get on board.

“I think that’s where we bought our own luck and that’s why it came together as quickly as it did.

“The next step is that we’ll be sitting around a table soon – the timing of the announcement was quite good because now the names are released it gives everyone a chance to draw breath.

“We know where we’re going this season and it just gives us time to put things in place for next season.”

Hornby will be staying on as chairman for the rest of the season, after which the position will be assessed, and him remaining will certainly help the transition.

The same can be said for directors Russell Dodd, Sid Blain and Jamie Reid, who all provide AFC with some much-needed continuity.

Hornby said: “It massively helps the transition because everyone has got their own skills in what they do on the board.

“Sometimes, and this is from speaking to one of the current directors, tThe problem is when you get a brand new board come in, everyone thinks they can change things and do things differently and they end up making the same mistakes that past regimes have done.

“By keeping a bit of continuality there, we can say ‘we did that’ or ‘that didn’t work’ and ‘if you’re going to do that, it has to be done differently’ so you can learn from experience and that’s key with the men we’ve got on board.”