In a season which saw Cheltenham Town, fresh from relegation, put in a middling performance that culminated in the team finishing fifteenth in EFL League Two with a 3-0 defeat away to Bromley, many fans are optimistic that a potential sale of the club to businessman and former Burnley chairman Mike Garlick might herald a bounce at Whaddon Road.

In a statement from the board of directors, the club said it was delighted to announce that its principal shareholders had signed a letter of intent, including a period of exclusivity with Mr Garlick, who is also the owner of Spanish squad Antequera FC and Gibraltar club St Josephs.

Cheltenham Town's statement added: "Mike Garlick has worked in football for almost 20 years, from 2006 first as a director and then chairman and majority shareholder of Burnley Football Club.

"Under his stewardship he achieved two promotions to the Premier League while chairman and kept them in the Premier League for six seasons out of seven, including a seventh place finish and European qualification in the 2017/18 season. Burnley was profitable in every Premier League season whilst he was chairman."

Back in October last year, club chairman David Bloxham indicated that three of the club's four biggest shareholders were willing to sell their stakes if a suitable new investor was found.

In further CV notes which Robins fans may welcome, Burnley-born Mr Garlick, 61, also owns St Joseph's FC in Gibraltar which has qualified for the Europa Conference League for the last three years running and been drawn against Northern Ireland club Cliftonville FC. The club has also finished in second place for two years running in the Gibraltar league since he acquired it, in 2022.

FC Antequera, also in the businessman's portfolio since 2024, is based near Malaga and currently plays in the Spanish third division, having recently qualified for the playoffs for La Liga 2 as the Spanish equivalent of the EFL Championship, in his first year of ownership.

In addition, Mr Garlick has also served on the Premier League audit and remuneration board, and was jointly responsible for appointment of senior Premier League executives between 2018 and 2021.

Prior to his career in the football business, Mike spent 20 years founding and developing MBA Michael Bailey associates into an international IT consultancy, eventually floating the company on Nasdaq Europe in Brussels. He has a degree in technology and management from the University of Bradford, lives in Hertfordshire and is married with two children.

Chairman David Bloxham said of the potential sale: "The Board and principal shareholders have worked tirelessly over the last nine months to find the right investor who can secure the financial future of the club whilst at the same recognising and maintaining its identity and community values. We are delighted to enter into a period of exclusivity with Mike Garlick and believe his interest in the Club will herald an exciting future for the Club and its fans."

Fans are now playing the waiting game, but early forum feeback suggests the sale of the 1889 club, based at Whaddon Road, would find broad support in the ranks.

One fan said: "The process should be smooth and no expected issues due to his good record in the football business," with another adding: "My initial reaction is this feels a very 'safe' person to takeover given his wealth and experience in football. Obviously still to be concluded and we don't know how long that takes but given his involvement in other clubs hopefully that's relatively quick."

They added: "We never hear from our current owners so would be great to hear from Mike once it's all done and dusted on how he plans to take us forward and his plans for that new main stand we desperately crave."

St Joseph's FC announced Mr Garlick as the Gibraltar club's new owner three years ago. In a statemet on the potential acquisition of Cheltenham Town, the club said the move will not affect Mr. Garlick's position at the Gibraltar club as it looks to "build upon the fantastic progress that has been made since he acquired the club in 2022."

There may also be an expectation that the club's financial performance would feel a bounce from new ownership. The club's latest financial year saw a loss of £32,000.