We're looking for volunteers who would be willing to act as the lynchpins in a JT initiative to try to "get organised". Basically the idea is to copy the Edinburgh and East of Scotland Supporters club model in other areas, for example East Kilbride, Duntocher/Hardgate or Clarkston/Shawlands.
We'd like to arrange a trip by a couple of the Edinburgh folk to any interested group, so that they can explain the way it works, what it takes to run and how it gets funded. The JT will give a small start up grant to groups of fans who want to take up this offer, essentially just to get a bank account up and running and then you will be left to your own devices.
It's not "running a bus" - it's probably easier and much more informal than that, but to get it to work it will need a few folk who probably already know each other and who are prepared to put in a bit of effort at the start.
Send us your details via the link at the top of the screen if you are up for it, your e mail is a good start and we will get back to you.
We're also looking for students at Glasgow and Strathclyde who would be willing to set up supporters clubs via the Student Representative Councils. If you set up a "proper" club you will get a grant from the SRC and representation for your club at freshers week.
Again, a bit of hard work and organization will be needed at the start to get it going, but after that it should be easier. The JT are happy to help out with any aspect that we can. Send us your e mail address if you are interested and we will do the same mentoring visit to your embryo group, since the principles will be the same.
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Sunday, 28 June 2009
Response to the shareholders meeting
The Jags Trust Board has now had the opportunity to review the information gained at the recent shareholders meeting in relation to the partial sale of the stadium. The club board also made available a board document on the day of the meeting which set out some of the key elements of the proposal.
In simple terms the partial sale of the stadium is being driven by demands made on the club to reduce the level of debt and this will be achieved, but the club will not become debt free following this transaction.
We have some reservations about the detail of the deal but the ethos adopted by both the club and the property company is that Thistle minded investors and advisors are involved and that any perceived risks in making this move are reduced as a result.
It is our view that the deal is “soft” on both sides with the club getting some relatively quick investment and with the investors getting a reasonable and relatively swift return in today’s property market against their risk in putting up investment cash.
The Trust property team are of the view that the club would have been better to sell the entire stadium on a more comprehensive and “harder” deal, but the club advised the meeting that no suitable investors could be found although the extent of the efforts to find investors was not fully explored at the meeting. With the help of others, the Trust may have been able to offer some alternative and constructive views on these matters but without the necessary details of the precise nature of the development proposals we are not in a position to offer an alternative at this late stage.
We understand that the deal will go ahead relatively soon and we hope that the faith that the club has in this move will be rewarded by its success. Our Trust property team will offer its services to the club board should they wish to have their own group of Thistle minded advisors who would work alongside the property company and its team, ensuring that the football club interests are fully represented during the process.
In simple terms the partial sale of the stadium is being driven by demands made on the club to reduce the level of debt and this will be achieved, but the club will not become debt free following this transaction.
We have some reservations about the detail of the deal but the ethos adopted by both the club and the property company is that Thistle minded investors and advisors are involved and that any perceived risks in making this move are reduced as a result.
It is our view that the deal is “soft” on both sides with the club getting some relatively quick investment and with the investors getting a reasonable and relatively swift return in today’s property market against their risk in putting up investment cash.
The Trust property team are of the view that the club would have been better to sell the entire stadium on a more comprehensive and “harder” deal, but the club advised the meeting that no suitable investors could be found although the extent of the efforts to find investors was not fully explored at the meeting. With the help of others, the Trust may have been able to offer some alternative and constructive views on these matters but without the necessary details of the precise nature of the development proposals we are not in a position to offer an alternative at this late stage.
We understand that the deal will go ahead relatively soon and we hope that the faith that the club has in this move will be rewarded by its success. Our Trust property team will offer its services to the club board should they wish to have their own group of Thistle minded advisors who would work alongside the property company and its team, ensuring that the football club interests are fully represented during the process.
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Update From Shareholders Meeting..
This report will attempt to share as much of the information that was shared during this meeting, but it does not reflect any specific views of the Trust Board. This issue is a critical one for the future of Partick Thistle, and the information received and, it has to be acknowledged, the areas where there are questions unable to be answered or still to be raised make this a complex issue where some thought and analysis needs to be applied before confirming our views. The Trust Board will be addressing this in the coming days and will share our views with you once reasoned conclusions have been reached.
Although all of the club directors were present with the exception of Billy Allan, the top table was populated solely by Allan Cowan (who chaired the meeting) along with Tom Hughes and David Beattie. David did acknowledge early on in the meeting that as one of the main investors in PropCo that his main role in the meeting was to speak on that behalf.
Tom started the meeting by giving an overview of the club’s financial history from the Save The Jags campaign to the present day. During that period, we have never been debt-free.
The previous attempts at resolving the debt issue were also covered, including the most recent proposals with Keyhaven which would have resulted in the club occupying a stadium on the other side of the canal. Ultimately, this failed owing to the bank’s unwillingness to accept the final personal guarantees that were required to secure the finance. This happened immediately before the credit crunch hit, and it was supposed that this proposal was an early casualty.
The proposal currently being considered is an attempt to use the value inherent in the ground to get rid of the debt which was stated as being in the region of £1.8M - £1.9.
The ground has recently been valued at £3.6M and the original intention was to seek to raise up to £2M. This does not look likely to be successful.
On that basis, the scenario would be to sell the Main Stand and South end for £1.8 to PropCo with the club retaining 50% ownership.
David Beattie also confirmed that the club was in talks with Glasgow City Council and British Waterways about the overall development of the canal and its surroundings. He stressed that these talks were speculative at the moment, and entirely separate from the current issue.
At this point, questions were taken from the floor, and the following attempts to cover the major points raised;-
Although all of the club directors were present with the exception of Billy Allan, the top table was populated solely by Allan Cowan (who chaired the meeting) along with Tom Hughes and David Beattie. David did acknowledge early on in the meeting that as one of the main investors in PropCo that his main role in the meeting was to speak on that behalf.
Tom started the meeting by giving an overview of the club’s financial history from the Save The Jags campaign to the present day. During that period, we have never been debt-free.
The previous attempts at resolving the debt issue were also covered, including the most recent proposals with Keyhaven which would have resulted in the club occupying a stadium on the other side of the canal. Ultimately, this failed owing to the bank’s unwillingness to accept the final personal guarantees that were required to secure the finance. This happened immediately before the credit crunch hit, and it was supposed that this proposal was an early casualty.
The proposal currently being considered is an attempt to use the value inherent in the ground to get rid of the debt which was stated as being in the region of £1.8M - £1.9.
The ground has recently been valued at £3.6M and the original intention was to seek to raise up to £2M. This does not look likely to be successful.
On that basis, the scenario would be to sell the Main Stand and South end for £1.8 to PropCo with the club retaining 50% ownership.
David Beattie also confirmed that the club was in talks with Glasgow City Council and British Waterways about the overall development of the canal and its surroundings. He stressed that these talks were speculative at the moment, and entirely separate from the current issue.
At this point, questions were taken from the floor, and the following attempts to cover the major points raised;-
- The point was raised about “selling the family jewels” and, in particular, the varied history of clubs who have to continue operating in a situation where they have no tangible assets. In this scenario, where is the security in the long term?
It was pointed out that the bank is effectively in charge of what we are able to do or not do because of the conditions aligned with our debt. If PTFC are unable to service the debt to the satisfaction of the bank, then they would be able to call in the debt at any point. In the current climate, that is not a comfortable place to be.
The full deal would have allowed us to clear the debt and free the club from these strictures. The current proposal will reduce but not remove this – however, it will still be subject to approval from the bank and they will ultimately be the ones to determine how the money raised in this way would be utilised.
It was noted that the football club would still retain ownership of the Jackie Husband Stand, the North Stand and the playing surface. In that sense, the football club would retain the fundamentals to allow them to continue to operate.
The discussion expanded to cover some of the practical aspect of the timing in the property development. As the Main Stand would require to be demolished to meet the objectives of PropCo, then this would mean that facilities at the South End would require to be built as a prerequisite for this to happen. It was also confirm that the facilities that would be built would also take into account the requirements of the Glasgow Warriors, ie 22 places instead of 17.
It was confirmed that at this stage there are no detailed costings on this first stage of development, but that discussions had taken place with the Head Of Planning at Glasgow City Council and with the Deputy Lord Provost. However, it was hoped that this would be in place within 2 years - The impact of the proposed deal on the level of debt and also on our trading position was raised.
It was confirmed that this deal would make £900,000 available to the football club which would be intended to reduce our debt with the bank (although, as noted earlier, still subject to their approval).
It would assist the trading position by £60K-£70K per annum. (If the full deal had gone through, this would have been improved by c£200K per annum given that there would be no residual debt-servicing or capital repayments.)
It was acknowledged that this would, in itself, not allow the club to operate at a break-even level.
It was asked if the £900K being sought was in place, and David Beattie confirmed that this was the case. The four investors are David Beattie, Billy Allan, Alan Lobban and Gavin Stewart. - Questions were asked about the 5% per annum priority return being granted to the investors. This would be paid only once development occurred and would be a first charge of any profits. In other words, this would be paid to the investors before any excess proceeds were shared amongst the shareholders (from which the football club would receive 50% of this net amount)
- Information was sought on whether there were professional advisors involved in this project and, if so, who they were. It was confirmed that there were and the names of the firms were shared – this covered architects, lawyers, accountants, and chartered surveyors. It was stated that all of these people are working on a pro-bono basis until the development deal is put in place, and all are Thistle supporters.
- Given that there will be directors with a shared interest in both the football club and PropCo, the matter of how conflicts of interest would be dealt with was discussed. Out of this discussion, it was confirmed that the PropCo board would have five members – the Club would have one place with the other major investors occupying the other four. The net result of this is that although the football club would have 50% of the equity, they would have 20% of the voting rights.
In this situation, the security of the club is reliant on the fact that all the investors are “Thistle-minded” as otherwise there seems little to stop a change in the situation in all or any of the other four voters having the potential to put the club in potential jeopardy. The question was asked in converse that if these investors are so Thistle-minded, why should they object to improved protection for the future of the football club?
At this point, Gavin Stewart who is one of the major investors in PropCo added some comments. He did suggest that this was not the best investment he’d ever make and was, in his view, already weighted in favour of the club. He was firmly of the view that this was a deal that would lower the club’s profile with the bank and would offer it a chance for a future that might not otherwise be present. He was also of the view that the voting structure as outlined was entirely appropriate for what was being established.
It was asked if the club had considered making the deal a harder one with appropriate protection for the football club but allowing the net to be spread wider in the investment community. The club’s view was that such investors are not out there at the moment.
Of the responses received from the advert in the FT, only one group was really interested in pursuing something but the board felt that this was inconsistent with their aims as it was solely driven by property development. - David was asked for an assurance that any development work would be professionally project managed with the Project Manager owing a duty of care to both Partick Thistle FC Limited and Propco. He gave this assurance, and noted that this would be a prerequisite given the potential involvement with Glasgow City Council on the wider planning brief.
- It was noted that the JagsTrust had sought a private meeting on this matter following the Annual General Meeting and several times since then. David Beattie said that it would not have been appropriate to have a meeting as for much of this time, there was nothing firm to discuss. However, provided that there were clear objectives and outcomes to arise from such a meeting he would now be glad to do so.
- It was also noted that should there be additional investment received that that the percentages owed by all parties would be diluted. In other words, if we received more than £1.8M the additional monies would mean that the club’s shareholding would reduce below 50% dependant on the amount and the club would receive 50% of the investment capital injected.
- It was also confirmed that income from the Glasgow Warriors would remain with the football club
- The available time for consideration of other alternatives was requested from the board – any such alternative plans would need to be within the next two weeks.
Monday, 22 June 2009
Shareholders' Meeting Pt 2.............
Despite various requests, the Trust Board has not been able to secure a face to face meeting with the Club Board in advance of the shareholder meeting.
As members will have seen from the Club's letter to shareholders published on the Club website, two options are being pursued: to sell the whole ground to a property company in which the Club will retain a 50% stake; and to sell the main stand and former south terracing to a property company in which the Club will retain a 50% stake. However the Club decides to proceed, there are a number of key areas which the Trust would like to see the Club explain in greater detail:
As members will have seen from the Club's letter to shareholders published on the Club website, two options are being pursued: to sell the whole ground to a property company in which the Club will retain a 50% stake; and to sell the main stand and former south terracing to a property company in which the Club will retain a 50% stake. However the Club decides to proceed, there are a number of key areas which the Trust would like to see the Club explain in greater detail:
- Best Value for Money: It is clear to all that we are sitting at or near the very bottom of the property market. Against this backdrop, what options, other than the sale of all or part of its property assets, have been explored to enable the Club to trade on a break even basis, and to ensure that the Club secures the very best value for money from its property assets?
- Effect of Sale on the Club's Ability to Break Even: What is the minimum level of debt reduction which requires to be achieved in order to justify the property deal proceeding? What is the current shortfall between income and expenditure, and to what extent is that shortfall met by the reduction of Bank of Scotland debt achieved throught this proposal?
- Lease Protections: What protections will be built into the deal to ensure that the protection offered by the long lease back of the whole ground (under option 1) or the main stand and former south terracing (under option 2) will remain in place regardless of the Club's financial status?
- Conflicts of Interest: How will potential conflicts of interest will be addressed in the event, as seems likely, that the Club directors will also be property company directors / investors?
Shareholders Meeting....
As things stand, the JagsTrust has not received a positive response to our request for a meeting prior to the Shareholders' Meeting this coming Wednesday.
The Trust Board will be meeting on Tuesday evening at the offices of Semple Fraser in Glasgow to discuss our approach to Wednesday's meeting.
If other members of the Trust would like to attend, please let Allan Heron know in advance and you will be supplied with the relevant details. Please be aware that our ability to support additional numbers is limited so requests will be dealt with on a first-come, first served basis.
The Trust Board will be meeting on Tuesday evening at the offices of Semple Fraser in Glasgow to discuss our approach to Wednesday's meeting.
If other members of the Trust would like to attend, please let Allan Heron know in advance and you will be supplied with the relevant details. Please be aware that our ability to support additional numbers is limited so requests will be dealt with on a first-come, first served basis.
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Rooted In The Community.....
Re-establishing Partick Thistle as a valued and integral part of the community is one of the prime aims of the JagsTrust. Our elected member of the Club Board, Kieron Dempsey, has led the way on many initiatives as the club’s Community Director. We hope to provide you with further details over the coming weeks and months, but Kieron reports below on his excellent efforts to date:-
Our community programme has almost run full circle with the anniversary of the Trust’s first event A League for All coming in June. The programme has been running for about 18 months and as a joint initiative with the club for six months beginning November last year.This programme is designed to benefit the community and to create closer links between the Jags Trust and Partick Thistle Football Club with regard to Community Development projects and issues.
Partnerships
We are pushing ahead on a number of areas of our engagement programme and initiatives. Currently, we are in partnership or in the process of making partnerships with a number of groups including: Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH), Glasgow Old People’s Welfare Association (GOPWA), C.O.P.E. (Caring Over People’s Emotions), GYP (Govanhill Youth Project), WestGAP (West Glasgow Against Poverty), Street League, Show Racism the Red Card, Scottish Refugee Council, Glasgow City Education, Glasgow City Asylum Support Group and two Glasgow colleges of education. These will soon be joined by North Glasgow Mental Health and hopefully Glasgow University. In tandem with these we are now working with Glasgow Rugby on some joint initiatives.
Groups/Initiatives
We have been working with a number of groups including: the elderly, youths, school children, ethnic minorities including Roma and Asian kids and adults; NEETs (not in employment, education or in training); socially excluded groups including the homeless, disabled, people with mental health issues and, soon, those with addiction problems.
Initiatives include: ASSIST Training, Anti bullying, Learning Centre (North and South), Literacy and Numeracy, Healthy Heart, Health and Well being, food and hygiene, A League for All, Roma centred integration football team, and, possibly, a female football team.
Politically
We have had a presentation at the Scottish Parliament, had ourselves mentioned in the Commonwealth Legacy Debate, mentioned again by both the chairman and CEO of SAMH in their speeches launching their new national initiative to combat mental health issues in the 3 in 4 Project (which is an initiative based on preventive care). Finally, a visit from the Sports Minister took place at Firhill on 2nd June.
Our community programme has almost run full circle with the anniversary of the Trust’s first event A League for All coming in June. The programme has been running for about 18 months and as a joint initiative with the club for six months beginning November last year.This programme is designed to benefit the community and to create closer links between the Jags Trust and Partick Thistle Football Club with regard to Community Development projects and issues.
Partnerships
We are pushing ahead on a number of areas of our engagement programme and initiatives. Currently, we are in partnership or in the process of making partnerships with a number of groups including: Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH), Glasgow Old People’s Welfare Association (GOPWA), C.O.P.E. (Caring Over People’s Emotions), GYP (Govanhill Youth Project), WestGAP (West Glasgow Against Poverty), Street League, Show Racism the Red Card, Scottish Refugee Council, Glasgow City Education, Glasgow City Asylum Support Group and two Glasgow colleges of education. These will soon be joined by North Glasgow Mental Health and hopefully Glasgow University. In tandem with these we are now working with Glasgow Rugby on some joint initiatives.
Groups/Initiatives
We have been working with a number of groups including: the elderly, youths, school children, ethnic minorities including Roma and Asian kids and adults; NEETs (not in employment, education or in training); socially excluded groups including the homeless, disabled, people with mental health issues and, soon, those with addiction problems.
Initiatives include: ASSIST Training, Anti bullying, Learning Centre (North and South), Literacy and Numeracy, Healthy Heart, Health and Well being, food and hygiene, A League for All, Roma centred integration football team, and, possibly, a female football team.
Politically
We have had a presentation at the Scottish Parliament, had ourselves mentioned in the Commonwealth Legacy Debate, mentioned again by both the chairman and CEO of SAMH in their speeches launching their new national initiative to combat mental health issues in the 3 in 4 Project (which is an initiative based on preventive care). Finally, a visit from the Sports Minister took place at Firhill on 2nd June.
Sunday, 14 June 2009
Another New Face......
We are pleased to announce that Martin Towers has joined the Trust Board with immediate effect. Biographical details for Martin are shown below, along with the details for Carol Briggs
Carol Briggs
Carol currently works in a medium secure unit supporting people with mental health issues. She has experience in fundraising on a number of levels, and has successfully set up a club in North Lanarkshire for children identified by 3 local head teachers for having bullying tendencies. Two other groups who have benefited from her fundraising experience are ptfc.net fc (now JagsTrust AFC) and theharrywraggs.com.
Carol was introduced to Thistle by my father in the late 70s. She is known to posters on the forum as Ptfccaz.
Martin Towers
Carol Briggs
Carol currently works in a medium secure unit supporting people with mental health issues. She has experience in fundraising on a number of levels, and has successfully set up a club in North Lanarkshire for children identified by 3 local head teachers for having bullying tendencies. Two other groups who have benefited from her fundraising experience are ptfc.net fc (now JagsTrust AFC) and theharrywraggs.com.
Carol was introduced to Thistle by my father in the late 70s. She is known to posters on the forum as Ptfccaz.
Martin Towers
Martin is 32 years old and lives in Cumbernauld. He started supporting Thistle at Secondary School after moving to Summerston. He studied maths at Stratclyde University followed by a couple of years working as a supply teacher before joining Inland Revenue (now HMRC) nearly 8 years ago.
Driving the Centenary Fund forward so it meets then exceeds its target income is the area he would like to be involved in but for the short term is happy to be involved in anything that will result in the membership seeing the Trust functioning effectively.
Driving the Centenary Fund forward so it meets then exceeds its target income is the area he would like to be involved in but for the short term is happy to be involved in anything that will result in the membership seeing the Trust functioning effectively.
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