ENERGY firm Ecotricity will today confirm they are joining forces with Forest Green Rovers.

Rumours that the company are to plough cash into Rovers have been rife since managing director Dale Vince was spotted watching last week’s pre-season friendly against Exeter City at the New Lawn.

There have even been suggestions that Ecotricity are poised for an outright takeover, although The Citizen understands Vince does not wish to become the club’s owner.

The 48-year-old will be at the ground this morning to outline his plans, heralding an exciting new era after last season’s financial woes.

Rovers narrowly avoided being served a winding-up petition by HM Revenue and Customs, with then chairman Trevor Horsley warning that debts incurred by the stadium build had left the club in ‘dire straits.’


The Keep The Green Alive campaign helped to safeguard their short-term future, but ambitious plans to raise £250,000 by the end of June fell well short.

On the plus side, Salisbury City’s expulsion from the Blue Square Bet Premier earned Dave Hockaday’s side a reprieve from relegation and boosted hopes of attracting fresh investment.

That now seems to have materialised in the form of Vince, who has built up an estimated fortune of £85 million from his green energy empire.

His first wind turbine in Nympsfield was installed in December 1996, since when Ecotricity has grown from a one-man band to a company of more than 160 people.

In 2004 he was awarded an OBE for services to the environment and electricity industry.

A keen football fan, Vince has previously sponsored Shortwood United and is a long-time friend of current Rovers chairman and former Stroud MP David Drew.

Rovers clinched a two-year shirt sponsorship deal with Coventry Building Society last month, but manager Hockaday currently has only 13 registered players – supplemented by Hartpury College students – available for this Saturday’s opening league fixture at Mansfield Town.