Race Night Update!

All the Commercial Sponsorships are sold! All the Horses are sold! All that remains is for the night itself. If you have already bought or reserved a ticket, great! See you there. If not, fear not! You will still be able to come along on the night and get in by pay at the gate entry (£5)!

On the Night you will have the opportunity to place bets on the horses in the Races. Take a punt, and if your horse is the first to stumble over the line, make a tidy sum!

The final race of the night is the Auction Race: all 8 horses will be auctioned off, and the winning horse owner will take home half the pot and win 4 seats in Hospitality at Firhill for an SFL League Game this season. There will also be a Raffle, details for which will follow shortly.

See you at 7pm on Friday 27th November!
The Jags Trust Board

Centenary Fund - Further Incentive to Join!

As well as the chance to win great monthly prizes and a brand new Citroen car twice per year, the Centenary Fund offers you the opportunity to help the Club in its quest to return to the SPL. As the Chairman stated after 4 key players recently extended their contracts:

"The fact that we were able to do so at this time was due in no small measure to the success of the Centenary Fund which continues to grow and provide the Club with invaluable additional income. At our last home game the Club were presented with the latest £15,000 cheque from the Centenary Fund and it was that money that helped secure these four players on extended contracts."

As a further incentive for people to join the Centenary Fund, the Jags Trust & the Club are offering the opportunity for people who join up during the rest of 2009 to win a couple of excellent prizes.

To be eligible for the draw, which will take place in early January, all you need to do is sign up for the Centenary Fund at the Trust's Race Night on the 27th of November in the Aitken Suite or at the kiosk between sections 6 & 7 in the Jackie Husband Stand on any of the remaining matchdays before the end of the year. If you cannot make any of these events then you can download an application form from the Club's website - www.ptfc.co.uk - and send it to the Club, you will be entered if your form is received on or before the 31st of December (so get your form sent away quickly).

As is the case for Centenary Fund draws those at Gold level will have 4 entries, Silver have 2 and Bronze 1 entry - so the higher the level you join at the more chance you have of winning.

What can you win? There are 2 prizes - first prize is hospitality for 4 at one of the remaining league games and second prize is £20 worth of "Love2Shop" gift vouchers, these can be used at numerous high street stores.

Remember - you have to be in it to win it!

Good Luck.

Race Night Update (Again!)

Commercial Sponsors:

The 8th and 9th races have been sponsored by McCrea Financial Services and the Firhill Management Team. We extend our warm thanks to all of our Race Sponsors who have helped to make the night possible. Below is the full list of our Race Sponsors:

Race One - Energy Sense UK
Race Two - Greaves Sports
Race Three - Leukaemia Research Trust
Race Four - The Glaswegian
Race Five - British Waterways Board
Race Six - Jim Alexander - Environmental Air Conditioning Ltd.
Race Seven - The Brass Monkey Pub
Race Eight - McCrea Financial Services
Race Nine - The Firhill Management Team

Horses:

Horses are still available to be purchased at just £2 each! Buying a horse gives you a 1 in 8 chance of winning a Race Prize, and you get to name your horse as you want it to appear in the Race Night Programme. To reserve a horse, email cowiegs@aol.com.

Tickets:

Race Night Tickets will be on sale on the Supporters Buses and from Jags Trust Board members on Saturday's excursion to the Dunfermline match. Tickets are £5 and ensure your seat on the night in the Aitken Suite.

Hospitality Draw!

With the New Year quickly approaching, what better way to welcome 2010 than by enjoying the excellent hospitality on offer at the first game of the year at Firhill against Greenock Morton?

The Trust are happy to announce that they will be having a draw in December and the lucky winner will receive hospitality for 4 at the game on 2nd January 2010. To be part of the draw all you need is to be a "paid up" member of the Jags Trust by the 1st of December!

So if you have already renewed your membership or joined for the first time then you don't need to do anything (apart from cross your fingers). Don't worry though if you have not got around to renewing your membership yet or have forgotten to join up (you know you want to) as you can still do so by following the instructions on the "Join" page of the Trust website

Good luck!

Race Night Update

Jags Trust Race Night Friday 27th November

Commercial Sponsorship
We are delighted to announce that since the last update, we have secured a further three sponsors.

British Waterways Board, Environmental Air Conditioning Ltd and Brass Monkey Pub have all been confirmed as Race Sponsors. The Environmental Air Conditioning Ltd race is to be called "The Malcontent Handicap". We are very close to being able to announce an eighth sponsor, leaving only one race left for Commercial Sponsorship. Get in contact with us now to avoid disappointment.

Horses
You can still buy Race Horses for the night at £2 each by Paypal as previously intimated. Alternatively, you can reserve horses and pay on the night. To reserve horses, please send an e-mail to cowiegs@aol.com giving your name, contact details and a desired horse name. Remember if your horse comes first in its race you win the race prize!

Tickets
Tickets are still available as before, but if you are unable to buy your ticket before the night, you can still pay on the night. Tickets are £5 each.

If you have any questions about the Race Night, please contact me at cowiegs@aol.com.

Many thanks,
Graeme

Martin's Month - October 2009

3rd – Today is the first occasion that the Trust are using the Warriors' shop in the Jackie Husband stand as an area for people to sign up for the Centenary Fund. The news in the morning that 4 players have signed contract extensions and that income from the Centenary Fund helped to achieve this is a great boost. There is a good level of interest and 4 new members are signed up (another member joins in the Main Stand along with 2 Junior Jags thanks to the efforts of Steven Hollinsworth aka Wee Scamps). I am also pleased to report that my colleague Graeme aka Woodstock Jag gave this month's pie the “thumbs up”. As for the game itself we record a 2-0 victory which takes us to the top of the division – only 28 games to go!

12th – A Jags Trust Board meeting this evening. Before the meeting those who attended the game away to Dundee tell the rest of us how well the team played and how unlucky we were. As for the meeting there are, as usual, lots of things to discuss and these include the Centenary Fund, Kieron's report on Community Development, the Hall of Fame Dinner Dance and the Race Night that is being held in November. Other fundraising initiatives are also discussed and further details on these will be published on the Trust website when they have been confirmed.

17th – Back in action at Firhill today for a game against Ayr United. The Trust are back in the Warriors' shop between sections 6 & 7 to allow people to sign up for the Centenary Fund, join the Trust or to buy horses/tickets for the Race Night on the 27th of November. We have a lot of interest in these and sign up another 4 Centenary Fund members. Also making an appearance today was the Jags Trust t-shirt which went down very well alongside my red jumper (the t-shirt is a lovely yellow). The game itself saw us keep up our record of clean sheets in the league here at Firhill as we record a very well deserved 2-0 win. It was nice to see that Mark Roberts got a good ovation from the Thistle fans when he was substituted (it was even better though to see him miss that header in the second half).

20th – The Centenary Fund draw at Firhill today. After the success of our recent attempts to get people signed up on matchdays it is time for October's draw. Congratulations to all of the winners – especially Joyce Towers who won a signed ball (well done Gran). The Citroen car will be drawn on the 31st against Raith Rovers, so still a chance for those who did not win anything today.

23rd – An evening that I have been looking forward to for several weeks – the Hall of Fame Dinner Dance to induct the 1971 League Cup winning team. The event is at the aptly named Thistle Hotel in Glasgow and the Trust had taken 3 tables at it. I am at the table with some of my fellow Board members and forum users and their wives. The evening is hosted by Dougie Donnelly and he does a good job (well for a Clyde fan). The meal is very nice and credit goes to the hotel staff who did an excellent job in making sure things ran smoothly. The inimitable Bertie Auld helps with the raffle – congratulations to those who won prizes. The auction had a number of excellent prizes – a framed '71 replica top which was signed by the team, a threeball at Loch Lomond golf course, a trip to the Manchester Derby in April plus others. Two of the items went for over £1,000 and the others all raised good funds as well. There was a great speech by Robert Reid who talked about the day itself and the manager at that time, David McParland, gave an excellent and funny speech about his time in charge. Unfortunately I had to leave before the dancing started so I could not show my “moves” but I am sure that there was as much fancy footwork on the dance floor as there was on the pitch on that wonderful day in 1971.

31st – A game against Raith Rovers today to finish the first third of the season. It is also a further opportunity to sell tickets and horses for the Race Night on the 27th of November in the Aitken Suite. Business is fairly quiet but we do manage to shift a few tickets and horses on the day. There is more good news later in the evening with a further two commercial sponsors just about signed up. I would also like to thank the Jags fan who made a very generous donation towards the Race Night, I won't embarrass him by naming him here but he knows who he is – thanks again! We also get another new member of the Centenary Fund – every little helps. The draw for the car is made at half time and I think everyone is relieved that neither a Jags Trust Board member or a Thistle player wins it! It was also very encouraging to see so many youngsters turn up in their Halloween costumes – I did not realise that Batman supported the Jags! A few “grown ups” also had costumes on (you know who you are) but they were not in the same class as the youngsters. Well I suppose I need to mention the game now. Thistle did not play as well as they have done recently but some credit should go to Raith Rovers who executed their game plan very well. Although the game was lost 2-1 we are still only 4 points from the top of the table with 72 points still to play for and if we all stick together then I do believe that we have an excellent chance of being promoted.

Race Night & Centenary Fund

Prior to the game against Raith Rovers on Saturday there will be the opportunity for people to purchase horses and/or tickets for the Race Night on the 27th of November. These will be available for purchase in the Aitken Suite before 2pm and at the kiosk between sections 6 & 7 in the Jackie Husband Stand in the build up to kick off and during the half time interval.

Tickets for what should be a very enjoyable evening are priced at £5, horses can be purchased and named for £2. There is still an opportunity for an individual or company to sponsor a race at a cost of £50. Our most recent sponsor is The British Waterways Board and we extend our thanks to them. Should you be interested in sponsoring a race or have any questions about the Race Night then please contact cowiegs@aol.com.

There will also be another opportunity for people to sign up for the Centenary Fund at the kiosk prior to kick off. The 2 games so far where this facility has been available have seen £80 worth of new membership added, so lets get through the £100 figure on Saturday!

Race Night Sponsor

We are delighted to announce that in addition to Energy Sense UK, Leukaemia Research Fund and Greaves Sports, we have a new commercial sponsor for the Jags Trust Race Night.

The Glaswegian, the City's local newspaper, is part of the Daily Record Group and provides extensive coverage of Glasgow's big two (Thistle and Queen's Park!) as well as Junior Football in Glasgow. We are very pleased that they have taken this opportunity to support the Supporters' Association and the Club in this way, and we extend our gratitude to them for doing so. You can visit their website at www.theglaswegian.co.uk

The opportunity to sponsor a Race is still available to any company or individual for £50. For this, commercial sponsors: receive two complimentary tickets to the Race Night; get to name their race; have their logo/advert on their race's page in the evening's programme; can present the race prize to the winning horse owner, and will be mentioned in all our subsequent promotion of the event.

If the contents of your wallet can't quite stretch that far, fear not! You can sponsor as many horses as you like for the event at £2 each. Details of how you can pay are in previous news bulletins: you can pay by PayPal or at the Raith Rovers game at the Warriors shop in Section 6 of the Jackie Husband Stand.

Race Night Tickets are also on sale at £5 each and can be reserved online, paid for by PayPal, paid for at the Raith Rovers game and collected at the Rovers game. Book in advance to avoid disappointment with the inevitable rush on Saturday.

If you are interested in Commercial Sponsorship, or would like to reserve tickets and horses, please don't hesitate to contact cowiegs@aol.com

easyfundraising - Free Funds

Did you know you don't have to spend anything to raise funds for us with easyfundraising? The "FREE FUNDS" page lets you raise OVER £250 for The Jags Trust without spending a penny! The featured retailers will make free donations just for switching to their service, participating in free trials or even simply registering on their site!

For example, eBay offer a £4.50 donation when you register and place just one bid (it doesn't even have to be a wining bid!), while The National Lottery will pay us £2 just for registering on their site and playing Lotto online for the first time!

LOVEFiLM offer an £5 donation when you sign up for a 14 day free trial of their dvd rental service.

Please log on to http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/thejagstrust and click on the FREE FUNDS page for more details.

Paypal and the Race Night

We are able to clarify the issue regarding PayPal fees for Horses and Race Tickets.

To avoid either you or the Trust from incurring fees, the best thing to do is to add fees from an attached Bank Account to your PayPal account first. Then when submitting the payment to us, select the payment type as "Other".

Of course, you can buy horses and tickets at the Centenary Fund stall at tomorrow's game if you so desire. Tickets are currently being sent to the printers, however, we can take your name, details and payment, and we will arrange for you to be united with your ticket as and when is convenient.

You can, of course, join the Centenary Fund by filling in a form at the booth! And remember folks, if you would like the JT to gain shares for you joining the fund, write "JT" in the Agent's box!

See you tomorrow.

Sign Up for the Centenary Fund at Firhill (and other stuff as well).

On Saturday members of the Trust will again be in the Warriors' shop in the Jackie Husband Stand (beside the entrance to section 6). We will have Centenary Fund application forms, pens and envelopes so people can sign up for this important fundraiser in a couple of minutes prior to the match starting. Given the recent comments of the Chairman on how the Centenary Fund played an important part in the Club's ability to extend the contracts of 4 of our players and the manager's desire to add to the squad now is an excellent time to join up - you will be making a positive impact on the Club as well as giving yourself the chance to win prizes on a monthly basis!

Also, we will have application forms for the Trust so that you can join up and give the Trust a stronger voice. You will also be able to register you interest in purchasing either a ticket or a horse for the Race Night that the Trust are running in the Aitken Suite on the 27th of November.

We look forward to seeing lots of you on Saturday (and the rest of the home games as well) and remember, as someone once said: You have to be in it to win it!

Race Night (7pm on 27th November)Update

We are pleased to announce that we have another two Race Sponsors in addition to the aforementioned Energy Sense UK. One sponsor wishes to raise awareness for the Leukaemia Research Fund, a Charity dedicated to researching blood cancers and disorders, which affect 25,000 people in the UK alone each year. You can find out more about the Leukaemia Research Fund at http://www.lrf.org.uk

The LRF Race on the night will be called "The Kenny Brannigan Defensive Handicap".

The other sponsor is well known to most Jags Fans, and needs little introduction. Greaves Sports, the largest Independent Sports Retailer in Scotland, and commercial partners with the Jags have agreed to sponsor one of our races for which we are very grateful.

Another update on the Race Night will follow soon, but in the mean-time, why not take the opportunity to buy a horse for the night, and/or tickets for the evening itself? Horses cost only £2 to sponsor each, you can name it, and if your horse wins its race, you win a prize! Tickets for the event are £5 per person.

You can buy both Horses and Tickets with PayPal to paypal@jagstrust.com (please click to pay any applicable fees, and mark clearly what you are paying for) or at the Centenary Fund booth in the Jackie Husband Stand on match-days at Firhill.

If you are interested in our Commercial Race Sponsorship package, please contact us at secretary@jagstrust.com

Many thanks once again.

Paying for Horses and Tickets by Paypal

Further to our previous announcement regarding the Jags Trust Race Night on 27th November, you can pay to sponsor a horse or buy Race Night tickets using the Trust's Paypal service.

Simply send the corresponding amount via Paypal to paypal@jagstrust.com and indicate clearly in the text box what you are paying for.

To sponsor a horse in one of the first 8 races is just £2 and Tickets for the Night are £5 per person.

Buy now to avoid disappointment!

Jags Trust Race Night - 27th November 2009

We are pleased to announce that the Jags Trust will be holding a Race Night from 7pm on Friday 27th November in the Aitken Suite at Firhill.

The evening will involve nine horse-races, each of which will consist of 8 competitors. Bets can be placed before each race, then the race shown on screen and a winner declared. Take a punt and hope to strike lucky!

The Trust is offering several Sponsorship opportunities for the event. In the first eight races, each horse can be bought and named for the princely sum of £2. Perhaps you think "Outpaced by Maxi" (copyright Tom Hogg) stands a chance against "Thistle Doo". If your horse wins the race, you stand to win one of the special race prizes, so it's always worth a shot.

The final race will be an Auction Race, with each horse auctioned off in turn to the highest bidder. The winning horse owner takes half of the Auction pot: the higher the bids, the bigger the reward!

Perhaps you would be interested in sponsoring one of the races? For £50, you or your organisation can secure an advert in our full colour A5 programme, can name the race you sponsor, present the prize on the night to the race-winner, and receive two complimentary tickets to the Race Night itself. We are pleased to announce that Energy Sense UK have already agreed to sponsor one of the night's nine races. All race sponsors will feature in our publicity for the event as soon as they have signed up, so the sooner you sponsor a race, the better.

There will also be a supper buffet laid on, and tickets for the event are available at £5 per person.

If you are interested in any of the sponsorship opportunities or securing your tickets now, please contact the Trust at secretary@jagstrust.com.

Come along, have some fun, and help the Trust raise funds for its Club and Community activities!

Graeme Cowie

Sign Up for the Centenary Fund at Firhill

On Saturday the Jags Trust will be occupying the Warriors' Shop in the Jackie Husband Stand (beside the entrance to section 6). The purpose of this is to make it easier for people who wish to join the Centenary Fund to do so. Forms, pens and envelopes (so that your form remains confidential) will all be provided - all you have to do is fill in the form, putting JT in the appropriate box of course!

The majority of the information required to complete the form can be found on a person's bank card (bank sort code & account number), the only piece of information that people might not know "off the top of their head" is the address of their bank (I had to dig out a statement to get mine) so if you are planning to come along and sign up you may want to have it written down somewhere.

The Centenary Fund is a very important fundraising vehicle for the Club which also benefits the Trust through the allocaton of shares so the more members that it has then the better it is for all of us. If you have not joined yet then tomorrow is the perfect opportunity for you to do so, if you want to come and ask questions then please do so and hopefully we will be able to present the case for joining.

There will also be Jags Trust membership forms available, although you don't have to be a member of the Trust to join the Centenary Fund (but it would be nice). If you just wish to stop and say "hello" that would also be appreciated.

See you on Saturday.

Martin's Month - September

3rd – The Jags Trust AGM in the Aitken Suite this evening. I remember to photocopy Centenary Fund application forms at work (I won't tell if you won't). Ensured that all the chairs had a form on them before people arrive. Kieron Dempsey gives a very informative talk on his role as JT Board Rep and the work that is being done in the community. Our guest speaker is Denis McQuade who gives a most enjoyable and informative talk on both his time here as a player and his current role. There is a lot of good work being done in getting Ambassador level groups/individuals signed up. Not a big surprise, but Denis likes Chris Erskine as a player – I wonder why? After the meeting is complete I get the opportunity to speak to several fans which was very nice.

5th – Not Jags Trust related but Scotland beat Macedonia 2-0, bring on Holland!

6th – The Alba Cup Quarter Final against ICT. After a quick read of the programme in the Aitken Suite it is time to take up position at the top of the South Drive for Centenary Fund application form duty (my JTB colleague Allan Heron takes a position at the North entrance). I decide against trying to get the Raith Rovers manager to join as he is here on a spying mission. The response from the fans is very encouraging and that is very much appreciated. As for the game itself, I think we deserved to go through but you don't always get what you deserve and we lose out on penalties. We will play worse this season and win in my opinion.

9th – Not Trust related but Scotland lose (cruelly as usual) to Holland 1-0. Oh well bring on the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

14th – The JTB meeting this evening in the plush surrounds of David Stewart's office. It is the first meeting of the Board since the results of the elections were announced. A new chairperson, David Stewart, is appointed and from the 5 new members myself, Morag and David land 2 year terms with Tom and Graeme getting 1 year terms. A number of topics are discussed at length (2 hours 45 minutes to be precise). These include the structure of the Board, Kieron's feedback on community development, the Centenary Fund, the Fun Day and a programme of social events for the next few months.

19th – Today is the Fun Day at Firhill to mark its centenary. The Trust are running several stalls and I arrive at 10am to find several colleagues and helpers already there setting things up. A big “thank you” should go to Tom Hogg who did so much in getting prizes together along with a band of helpers – thanks guys! The day goes very well with a lot of families in attendance, the weather was not too bad (only a couple of light showers) and everyone seems to enjoy themselves. It is the first outing for the Centenary Fund banner and thanks go to Eddie Prentice for getting this made. With everyone in a good mood the game kicks off with the Jags playing in the excellent Centenary top (I have already purchased mine). The team put in a good professional performance and record a 2-0 win. Today was one of those days when everything went well on and off the park and showed what can be achieved when we all work together.

22nd – I am at Firhill today this afternoon for the Centenary Fund draw. The draw is over fairly quickly (congratulations to all the winners) and this allows the opportunity to discuss how the Fun Day went. The money raised through the Trust run stalls was just under £400 and it will be added to the money McMillan Cancer Support raised with their refreshment marquee. This was a great achievement and many thanks go to all the people who volunteered to help on the day and, of course, the fans who turned up in excellent numbers and supported the event.

As always if you have any comments or questions then please add them and they will be addressed.

Partick Thistle Hall Of Fame Dinner - 23rd October 2009

23rd October is a date that raises the interest of every Thistle fan. That was the day in 1971 when Partick Thistle humbled Celtic (then undoubtedly one of the top teams in Europe) by four goals to one in the final of the Scottish League Cup.

The line-up on that day is etched into the memories of everyone who had the pleasure of being there, and is a fundamental part of the education of any self-respecting Jags fan!!

This year marks the 38th Anniversary of that memorable occasion and it makes for an opportune time for the team collectively to be entered in the Thistle Hall Of Fame.

You can make the 23rd October this year a memorable occasion by joining the JagsTrust at its' tables at the Hall Of Fame dinner which will be held at the Glasgow Thistle Hotel in Cambridge Street, Glasgow.

The evening will commence at 1900hrs (for 1930hrs) and will include a 4 course meal followed by the induction ceremony with the evening topped and tailed by dancing until 1 o'clock in the morning with the band "Grounds For Divorce". Dress code for the evening is "Lounge Suit"

The cost of joining the Trust tables will be £40 per person. This is cheaper than would be the case if you bought the tickets individually from the club - we can offer this lower cost by buying a table. At this point, we have committed to buying two tables - should there be sufficient interest we will buy more tables subject to availability.

If you'd like to attend, please contact David Stewart or Allan Heron with your details.

Payment can be made by Paypal to the JagsTrust account which is paypal@jagstrust.com. We are also happy to receive the payment in two instalments if that makes being able to attend the event easier for you. Please ensure that you mark all payments via Paypal as "Hall Of Fame Dinner". We will also be able to receive payment in cheques or in cash.

This should be an excellent evening and is a rare opportunity to see all of our heroes together again. We hope you can come along and join in the recognition of these giants in the history of Partick Thistle.

Scottish Football : Online Survey

Supporters Direct in Scotland have put together an online survey to measure the views of supporters on a range of footballing issues. The survey only takes a few minutes to complete and covers pyramid leagues, youth football and the running of the game in Scotland.

The responses will be used to allow Supporters Direct to contribute to current and future discussions surrounding Scottish football. The closing date for responses is Sunday 18 October 2009.

The survey can be found at: www.surveygizmo.com/s/172960/scottish-football

All those who complete the ten minute survey will be entered into a prize draw to win a Scottish football club shirt of your choice (not that readers of this site will be assumed to have any choice in the matter!).

Firhill Centenary gala day

The Jags Trust are delighted to report that the sideshows at the club gala day raised almost £400 for Macmillan Cancer Care and with the cost of participation at only 20p for each stall, that demonstrates that our volunteers dealt with almost 2000 individual "shots" at the stalls! That's a throughput per volunteer of more than one wean a minute, which is why we were all a wee bit tired by 2pm, but it was great fun and we hope to take part in the next centenary event in 2076.

The Trust provided all of the prizes for the stalls and in financial terms we achieved a more than 100% return on that investment. Look out for more of the same in the weeks and months to come, with members subscriptions being invested to either raise cash for the trust to buy shares, support community initiatives or help local charities.

September's Centenary Fund Draw

The draw for this month's Centenary Fund will take place on the afternoon of Tuesday the 22nd. With Alan Archibald's golf day taking place on Monday and my work commitments on that day it was simply not possible to have it on Monday. I hope that this short delay will not be too inconvenient and may I take the opportunity to wish everyone good luck in this draw.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Martin Towers

New Chair for Trust Board

One of the first items on the agenda for last Monday's meeting of the new Trust Board was to agree a new Chairperson for the coming year.

The Trust Board agreed that this person should be David Stewart and he takes this on with immediate effect.

Commenting on his new role, David said "I am honoured and apprehensive in equal measure to be appointed as Chairman of our Supporters' Association. It's clear that we face a difficult period ahead, but with some drive and determination from the Trust Board and the help of volunteers from amongst the fans, I am hopeful that in the year ahead the Trust will become a more visible, productive, approachable and stable organisation working hard for the benefit of the Club that we all care so much about."

The terms of office to apply to our newly elected members was also decided by the drawing of lots. As a result of this, Tom Hogg and Graeme Cowie will serve for one year whilst Morag McHaffie, David Stewart and Martin Towers will serve for two years. All will be eligible for re-election at the end of their current period of office.

World Champion Signs For JagsTrust

"Its the only team I ever wanted to sign for.." says WBU lightweight world champion.....

World champion boxer Wullie Limond today signed up as a member of the Jags Trust. The champion boxer was eager to sign up as a member at Firhill. "I meant to join the Trust last year when Kieron mentioned it to me but never got round to it...". Wullie "never got round to it" as it was a busy year for the Garthamlock hero. 2009 was the year the fighter was fated to take the title of world lightweight boxing champion.

Wullie's effort to reach the top was frustrated in February of 2009, when his opponent for the vacant WBU title Godwin Mutampuka failed a medical at the very last moment. Wullie got his big chance a few months later and took the title via a unanimous decision against English champion Ryan Barrett on the 29th of June. It was a convincing win that saw Wullie dominating. In his usual clever boxing style Wullie held the centre of the ring for the whole of the fight using his accurate jab to hold off his opponent whilst landing some hefty body shots to weaken him and take the title.

Wullie also caught the eye of the public when he knocked down Amir Khan in 2004 on live television in front of a massive audience. Khan won the fight but not without some controversy, as many thought he'd had been given a long count after he hit the canvas.

The world champion has been a Thistle fan all his life and supports the work the Trust does in the community. "I am happy to offer any support I can - if it helps the community I am happy to help." The world champion also joined the club's Centenary Fund the same day and ticked the JagsTrust box to help us in our efforts to get more of the club's shares in the hands of the fans.

Dunfermline game 19 September...help!!

As many Trust members will already know, the club is holding a gala day on 19 September to mark the centenary of the first match played at Firhill Stadium against Dumbarton Harp in September 1909.

The Trust has volunteered to help with the event and will be involved in manning sideshow stalls, but we need more people than the current Trust board since there are only eight of us in total. No particular skills are involved, just a willingness to chip in and help out by making sure that the stalls are well run and that all the kids taking part have a good time.

Please contact Tom Hogg on 07775 726560 or honved71@gmail.com if you can lend a hand.

Brown McMaster

Many of you will have seen coverage in the Sunday press on Brown McMaster and, in particular, the question of whether he has satisfied the SFL requirements in relation to an interest in more than one club.

The JagsTrust has been advised that there has been no change in the ownership in the shares held by the McMaster family.

Any change in ownership of these shares needs to take full account of the basis in which they were gifted in the first place which was to preserve the future of Partick Thistle (as recorded at Companies House) and not as a consideration in relation to services rendered or to be rendered. Any transaction based solely on the needs of Brown McMaster to preserve his position as President of the Scottish Football League is not necessarily the same as one that is in the best interests of Partick Thistle.

In particular, any proposal to transfer these shares to another major shareholder who is currently a sleeping partner would not be welcomed by the JagsTrust.

If Mr McMaster needs to divest himself of his shares, AND has the best interests of Partick Thistle at heart, then the Trust would be more than happy to receive his shares on the same basis as he was granted them.

Martin's Month - August

To give members of the Trust a better insight as to what members of the Trust Board do there will be a new monthly feature, which starts today with my "diary" for the month of August:

1st - The first home game of the season and the first opportunity to hand out Centenary Fund application forms. Fortunately the weather is fine and the team turn in a good performance with a 5-1 win. We run out of forms a bit early so must remember to take more at the next game!

10th - A JTB meeting this evening at Maryhill Community Halls. The first part of the meeting is open to all fans and 2 supporters come along - thanks guys. We discuss at length what the Trust should do at the forthcoming Shareholders' meeting and eventually decide that abstaining is the best course of action. The rest of the meeting deals with issues including the Centenary Fund, fundraising and player sponsorship. We decide that we will sponsor Craig Hinchcliffe's away top but that "Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres" is what will appear in the programme and on the club website.

11th - I have a meeting with Eddie Prentice in the afternoon to discuss the Centenary Fund with him. The meeting is very productive and we agree on a number of things (some of which you will see the benefits of in future home games). There is just enough time to head back to the city centre and grab a bite to eat before heading to Firhill for Archie's testimonial against Liverpool (okay a Liverpool XI). Thistle play well and there is a good turnout for Alan.

15th - First league game of the season at Firhill (I have a bad feeling in the morning as games against Ross County never make for good viewing). Meet up with fellow JTB members and we take up our positions for giving out Centenary Fund forms. There is a good take up from the fans and I head to my seat just before kick off feeling more positive about the game than I had earlier - new found positivity doesn't last long! My early morning bad feeling was right - another awful game to watch involving Ross County, well at least we didn't lose.

20th - The Shareholders' meeting takes place this evening in the Aitken Suite. I had only to walk from Queens Cross to Firhill and I was soaked by the time I got in - what a country for weather! The meeting takes place in a fairly positive atmosphere and there is a productive Q&A session. Members of the JTB ask various questions and make constructive points - prices in the Aitken Suite on matchdays, stewarding of small away supports and the selling of season tickets are all brought up. I make a point on selling season tickets in 3 instalments over May, June & July and the Chairman says that they will look at this.

25th - I am at Firhill in the afternoon to represent the Trust at the Centenary Fund Draw. Whilst there I take the opportunity to discuss a couple of issues with Eddie before getting on with the draw. 28 individual winners later and my name wasn't one of them, my JTB colleague Allan Heron does win a prize (I must remember to mention my commission when I see him at the game tonight). After grabbing a bite to eat (a very nice fish supper if you must know) I meet up with a couple of colleagues at Firhill. Tom takes a bundle of Centenary Fund forms and says he is going to the pub (I like his style) and Allan isn't for paying any commission (well that's the last prize he will win). Again we get a decent response with our efforts in handing out application forms , unfortunately the team don't fare so well and a last gasp goal ends our involvement in the League Cup (well the League is the main thing). I meet with a supporter after the game who had contacted me with an idea for the Trust and we discuss it whilst walking up the road.

29th - A must win game at Firhill today against Morton! A couple of JTB colleagues have failed late fitness tests for Centenary Fund duty but on the plus side we have a debutant - young Graeme is making his first start of the season. The weather stays dry but it is very windy - I keep having awful visions of me chasing after a couple of hundred forms as they blow around the South Drive (thankfully I manage to keep a tight grip on them, which is more than the Morton defence did with Liam). We manage to get nearly all of our forms handed out and now its game time. After a nervy start the team get on top and we run out 5-0 winners - a great way to end the month!

What happens in between those dates you ask (don't you), well there is a lot of discussion that takes place on the Trust Board Google Group and I always have a look at what is being discussed on the JagsForum so that I have a sense of what people are thinking about various topics.

If you have any questions or comments then please feel free to post them and I will do my best to address them.

The Centenary Fund

As we enter the month of September the centenary of Firhill grows ever nearer and our minds focus on not only the great times we have had at "The Stadium of Dreams" (copyright Campbell Hughes) but what the future holds for our Club. Nobody knows for certain what the future will bring but the one thing that is certain is the fact that Partick Thistle needs to generate more revenue each season.

The Centenary Fund is the main fundraiser for the Club and the better it does then the more money is generated for the Club as well as more shares going to the Trust. Over the last couple of months the Trust and the Club have been in regular discussion about how we can, by working together, move the Centenary Fund to the next level. At the moment the Centenary Fund is on course to be the most successful fundraiser the Club has ever had and that is down to the great backing given by the fans - thank you!

As they say in adverts for a certain supermarket chain, "every little helps" and that is also true of the Centenary Fund. It would not take a huge percentage of people who regularly attend games at Firhill, but have not as yet joined, to sign up to make a significant difference to the income being generated as every new member regardless of the level they sign up for is profit to the Centenary Fund.

At each of the home games this season members of the Trust Board have been handing out application forms (and may we take this opportunity to thank all of the people who have taken one and/or have stopped to talk to us - it is much appreciated). The plan is to have a presence at every home game this season and we are looking at the ways we can improve our matchday operation.

In our discussions with the Club we have stressed the importance of getting the facility for people to join online available and the indications are that this will be in place sooner rather than later. We are also aware that people expect the draws to take place on their scheduled dates with the results being published as soon as possible after the draw. This has been communicated to the Club and improvements in this area will occur.

We are aware that the financial climate means that everyone has to make tough decisions on what they spend their money on and your backing is never taken for granted. If you have already joined the Centenary Fund then we thank you and if you are in a position to join then we would urge you to do so. If anyone wishes to ask a question or make a suggestion regarding the Centenary Fund then they should add their comments to this article or get in touch with the Club (mail@ptfc.co.uk).

You can download an application form by clicking on the Centenary Fund link at the top of the page, once completed you can either post it to Firhill or hand it in at the office on a matchday. We would also ask that you put JT in the box provided as this means more shares for the Trust.

Thank You.

Annual General Meeting

Please remember that the Annual General Meeting of The Partick Thistle Supporters Association Ltd will take place this coming Thursday 3 September in the Aitken Suite at Firhill commencing at 1930hrs.

In addition to the formal business at hand, we are delighted to be able to confirm that we will be joined by club legend Denis McQuade who will share his memories of his time at the club as a player, as well as telling us what he hopes to achieve in his new role as Club Development Director.

Papers for the meeting are available on the Trust website (and check back again for any later additions). Draft accounts for approval will be made available on the night of the meeting.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Thursday evening

We like this and we hope you like it too - thanks Colin!

Centenary Fund August draw - results preview

The official PTFC website is down at present (27 August) and the official results are currently unavailable. Until the site is back up, here are the results as noted by the Trust representative who attended Tuesday's draw.

£250 - P McGaughay (417 Bronze)

£100 - David Stevenson (66 Silver)
£100 - Alan Wallace (73 Gold)

£50 - C J McLean (28 Silver)
£50 - Irvine Reid (69 Silver)
£50 - M Talbot (294 Bronze)

£25 - M McGuthrie (1 Silver)
£25 - Iain McIver (78 Gold)
£25 - Donald McAskell (240 Bronze)
£25 - Allan Heron (208 Bronze)

£20 - Graham Elrick (11 Gold)
£20 - Robert Templeman (409 Bronze)
£20 - Mark Rowntree (67 Silver)
£20 - Peter Murray (20 Gold)
£20 - Christine Thomson (70 Silver)

Hospitality(x4) - F N Walker (64 Silver)
Hospitality(x2) - Bill Minnis (109 Gold)

Signed Shirt - Neil McNab (4 Silver)

Signed Ball - Howard Niblock (113 Gold)
Signed Ball - John Cross (84 Silver)
Signed Ball - Andrew Aitken (368 Bronze)
Signed Ball - Michael Gleeson (31 Silver)
Signed Ball - David Walker (116 Gold)
Signed Ball - Neil Roden (99 Gold)
Signed Ball - C Whitehouse (421 Bronze)
Signed Ball - Robert Marshall (110 Silver)
Signed Ball - M Jamieson (120 Bronze)
Signed Ball - Ian Maxwell (328 Bronze)

Congratulations to all the winners!

Support Thistle Strips To Ghana....

As some of you may remember, in 2006 Thistle fan Adam Lockyer organised an appeal to take Thistle shirts out to Ghana. Thanks to your generosity, he managed to take over 100 children’s and youth shirts out with him. These shirts were used to kit out boys teams at under-12, under-14 and under-17 level and also a girls team. All of these teams are run by the Right to Dream Underprivileged Children’s Centre. The tops are still used by these teams and there is a strong affection for Partick Thistle in the local community, even though most will almost certainly never get the chance to see the mighty Jags in action.

Time rolls on, and Adam is currently back out in Ghana for a 6 week work stint. He has been in touch with the Trust to let us know that a group of folk who have grown too old for the under-17 team have entered an adult team into the Accra Regional 3rd Division in Ghana for the new season. Future Stars FC are currently renting tops each week since they can’t afford to buy them.

The Trust is looking for fans to make a Paypal donation towards the cost of 14 to 16 adult home tops that we hope to send out to kit out the Future Stars. We appreciate that times are tough at home, and that fans have already been very generous in digging deep to sponsor the Nomads, OTIG and EEoS tops. Your generosity is never taken for granted and is deeply appreciated. However, we do hope that some of you can spare a donation for this very worthwhile project.

Time is fairly tight, unfortunately, with the next group of volunteers (who will take the tops with them) heading out to Ghana at the start of September, so if you can spare a donation then please send it to the Trust via Paypal using the payment address paypal@jagstrust.com. Please remember to add a comment that the money is intended for the Ghana appeal.

If you want to know more about the charity, then you can check out via this link.

Thanks in advance for your support. We’ll post updates as this progresses.

Club EGM notes

Twenty shareholders or their proxies attended the EGM on 20 August at Firhill. Five Jags Trust board members were present, some of whom are shareholders in their own right.

The meeting opened with a brief introduction from the Chairman and a request for questions of clarification.

The Trust asked for more information on resolution three, which was in relation to changes in the Articles of Association of the company in order to comply with The Companies Act 2006. The meeting was advised that these were issues of consolidation in relation to changes already implemented, some of which were relatively historic.

The meeting then voted on all three resolutions at once although it was later pointed out that each should have been taken in turn and the exercise was repeated towards the end of the evening. However, in both cases, the show of hands indicated a substantial majority in favour. As a result, there was no need for individual holdings to be taken into consideration as part of the voting process (this is the process allowed for in the rules for shareholder meetings).

The meeting was opened up for general questions and there were a number of points of interest as follows.

Taking the reduction of debt into consideration, the club is projecting a loss of £50,000 to £60,000 this year. (On reflection, it was not clear if this was the financial year or the football season.) This is less than in the past few years and there are a number of factors which have come into the equation, some of which have a negative impact.

The Ambassador scheme has been successful with nine people signed up at £10,000 per season. Some of these are folk already spending significant amounts in hospitality so the net effect is not an increase of £90,000 in income, but it is significant.

Income from the Centenary Fund is acknowledged as a major contribution.

Increased costs have been incurred in signing up the manager on a three-year deal and in bringing in more players over the summer. It was not stated as such, but the implication was that the salary budget has been increased.

Looking forward, the club is planning for breaking even year in, year out, although it was implied that this is subject to so many variables as to be almost impossible to predict. The meeting was told that some initiatives would take time to grow to fruition whilst an event such as promotion or relegation could change things literally overnight.

When challenged further on these matters Tom Hughes stated that the budget deficit could be fixed very easily by moving to a mixture of part and full time players but this is not contemplated at the moment.

The board acknowledged that becoming more of a selling club was part of the reality of our current position.

Some concerns were raised about the cost of stewards and police in a frequently almost empty North Stand. The club feels that its hands are tied by the police in these instances and there are marginal cost savings if fans are shifted into the Jackie Husband stand due to the need for more stewards to enforce segregation.

As far as the stadium development is concerned, this is unlikely to take place until Spring 2011 at the earliest, due to ongoing discussions with Glasgow City Council in relation to the surrounding area and the impact that the development will have.

There is an ongoing desire to see a four-sided stadium remain, despite some areas having a very small depth from trackside to the rear of any seating. Terracing is being considered as an option and the board were receptive to the idea that fans should and could have an input to that decision.

The proposal to have back of shirt sponsor has fallen through. In addition there is a delay in dispatch of the new away kit due to an issue with the colour of the Ignis logo which is now resolved. The club will talk to Greaves about the season ticket discount voucher which expires at the end of August since the new strips will arrive at Greaves around that deadline.

Under some strong criticism from the body of the meeting, the club agreed to look again at the revised prices in the Aitken Suite with a view to further reductions back towards last season’s levels.

As can be seen from these brief notes, the meeting covered a lot of ground not directly associated with the business in hand. If trust members or other supporters have any queries about any of the items above, please use the comment function in this section of the site and we will do our best to answer them.

Club EGM

The shareholders of the club tonight voted to approve resolutions which will result in the transfer of the south terrace and main stand to a property company in which the club will retain a 50% stake.

The meeting also addressed a number of other points that are of interest to trust members and a further update will follow shortly.

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Club EGM - Update

The Trust Board met on Monday 10 August 2009 to discuss, amongst other things, how the Trust will exercise its vote at the upcoming EGM to decide on the Club Board’s proposal to sell the Main Stand and south end to a group of investors. The meeting was open for attendance by all interested supporters. After much debate, it was agreed that the Trust should abstain at the EGM.

The Trust Board did not feel that it could, in all conscience, actively vote in favour of selling off our heritage, particularly at this point in the property cycle, but we understand the reasons being given by the Club Board for this move to be deemed necessary. The meeting felt that to vote against the proposal was, however, unhelpful to the Club looking forward, and this resulted in the decision to abstain from voting in the upcoming shareholder meeting.

All Trust members are aware that the Trust Board has tried to engage with the Club over this matter and we will continue to make attempts to ensure that adequate safeguards are put in place.

The Trust Board are now focusing on the season ahead and the challenges that the Club faces to operate on a more stable financial footing. It is clear to us all that the property deal will not, on its own, achieve that. We are actively involved in a number of proposals which will assist in that regard and news of these will be made public as soon as we can.

Help Maggie's Centres with the Trust

The Jags Trust have linked up with Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres to sponsor Craig Hinchcliffe's away jersey for the forthcoming season in a move that will see the Maggie's name in every matchday programme and the charity receiving Hinchy's signed (and hopefully washed!) jersey next May.

In addition Maggie's are asking Jags fans to join in with their 2009 Life Walk which takes place on 3 October, the date of our first home fixture against Airdrie United. Further details of the walk can be found by following this link where you can also find out more about Maggie's and the work which they do in supporting cancer patients and their families.

This year's Life Walk winds its way through the West End via the latest site for a new Maggie's centre at Gartnavel before passing through Maryhill on its way back down Byres Road to the centre on Dumbarton Road. The total route is ten miles and Jags fans would be able to finish the walk, take in the Centenary exhibition at Kelvingrove and still have time to wander up to Firhill in plenty time for the kick off.

Elections To The Trust Board

Nominations for election to the Trust Board closed on Friday 24th July. At that date the following valid nominations had been received.

Treasurer

Margaret Forsyth

As only one valid nomination has been received, Margaret Forsyth has been returned as Treasurer to serve for a further two year term

Trust Board

Graeme Cowie
Tom Hogg
Morag McHaffie
David Stewart
Martin Towers

As there are five places available, all candidates have been returned to serve on the Trust Board and there is no need for a members' ballot.

Three of the positions are for a two year term, with the remainder for a single year. The allocation of these amongst the five successful candidates will be determined by the drawing of lots at the first Trust Board meeting following the Annual General Meeting.

As required, all candidates supplied a statement in support of their candidacy and this is available from the Trust website.

Thanks once again go to Kenn Elder of the ArabsTrust for acting as independent member of the Election Management Group for the third time!

Beach day at Ayr

The Jags Trust are keen to make sure that away trips are as enjoyable as possible even if the game and the result don't meet our expectations.

Knowing that a significant number of fans intend to dress for the beach on Saturday, we've been in touch with Ayr United to let them know in advance so that their security staff and the match commander are aware and they will hopefully apply a light touch.

Ayr United have responded positively but if any fans do feel that a less than tolerant approach is shown on Saturday, please let us know. There's little that can be done after the event but we want to have information that we can pass on to other Trusts and Supporters Direct to try to deal with stewarding problems at first division grounds.

Shareholders' Meeting confirmed......

It has been confirmed that the Shareholders Meeting will be held on Thursday 20th August.

Today's Evening Times reprints the press release from the club in full

Property Update......

The Trust Board understand that the shareholders' meeting to approve the proposal to sell 50% of the stadium to a property company in which the club will retain a 50% share will be held before the end of August, and that letters confirming the details will be heading to shareholders in the next few days.

The view of the Trust Board remains as set out in previous items on this site. Nevertheless, it remains necessary to consider how we will respond at the forthcoming meeting. The next scheduled meeting of the Trust Board falls on next Monday evening (10 August). This will be held in the Blythswood Room in Maryhill Community Central Halls on Maryhill Road commencing at 1900hrs.

The shareholders' meeting will be the first item on our agenda and we would welcome the attendance of any fans who would like to come along and contribute to the discussions - as ever, if you do intend to come along please contact Allan Heron or at 07789 030527 in the first instance so that we are aware of likely numbers.

Erik Geddes on the Airdrie policing

IT'S NOT everyday that you get a You've Been Framed moment in Airdrie but it certainly felt that way recently for dozens of Partick Thistle fans.

Around 2.30pm, on July 25, a train carrying Thistle supporters, including families with kids, arrived at Drumgelloch station and was met by Lanarkshire police officers. Most Thistle fans wouldn't be too proud to admit at being slightly relieved by the sight of police officers at some point over the years. However, Saturday's escort to the ground was interrupted for 15 minutes where the group of some 60 or so fans were held back by the police and lined-up, filmed and told nothing about the reasons for this.

Forward Intelligence Teams (FIT) are the name given to the camera carrying cops. FITs are becoming more and more common in all areas of public surveillance, however this episode outside Airdrie's ground was a first for most Jags fans.

Life-long Jags fan Alan Fraser, 47, retail manager, attended the Challenge Cup game, which Partick Thistle eventually won 0-1. He was there with his 12-year-old son Alfie, and they were part of the contingent held-up.

He said: “I was interested in what the whole thing was about, I couldn't get forward to ask the police as we all had to stand in on the pavement. “The WPC at the back was friendly enough but didn't have any information to give us as to why we were being delayed entry into the ground.

“I suppose if this sort of thing did eliminate football violence then it would be worthwhile but I couldn't see the point of what the police doing on Saturday. I don't know how this sort of thing is helpful to anyone. Also I don't mind too much if the police escort us to the ground but quite why they were filming I don't know. "

“They didn't film Alfie or me close-up, but I imagine they will have as we walked down the hill before getting stopped.”

In May, towards the end of last season, a street brawl in Glasgow's west end - which resulted in one man needing surgery on his head - brought home the fact that football violence is alive and kicking. As there was little sign of the easily identifiable Airdrie or Thistle casuals it seemed all the more surprising, and annoying that our days football viewing had been delayed, with surveillance cameras in our faces.

Inspector Bill Crawford, from Motherwell Police station was match commander at the game and explained the policing of the fans. He said: “We felt there could, due to historical issues between certain supporters of Airdrie an Partick Thistle, have been problems. We were trying to identify anyone that has been or was going to cause trouble and filming lets us do it retrospectively.”

I told Inspector Crawford of the families and children present in the crowd being held back and asked if he was able to confirm or deny that they were working on the (quite bizarre) idea of intelligence that suggested these supporters were potential trouble-makers.

He said: “I'm not in a position to say that there was or wasn't any intelligence gathered on any individuals. I wasn't there at that time but I did speak during the course of the game to the Inspector that was there with that team. We can't discriminate and say 'you might be and you might not be a trouble-maker' when dealing with a crowd.”

"We can't discriminate and say 'you might be and you might not be a trouble-maker' when dealing with a crowd.”

The Inspector confirmed that there were no arrests before, during or after the match. Speaking about the footage shot by the FIT squad, or as they are known in Lanarkshire, Evidence Gathering Teams (EGT) I tried to press him to explain what will now happen with the footage. He said: '”It will be reviewed, and if it is believed that there is nothing of any evidential purpose or value then it will be destroyed. It's also to enhance the officers safety. With regard to if anyone who wants to have a go they might think twice.”

For games in the future at Airdrie, and indeed across the country, the police boss was keen to play down, but not rule out, his own or other forces deploying this tactic again. He said: “I wouldn't say that police EGT meeting supporters would be a natural default position. It's not to be ruled out though and maybe used in a situation where we have had problems in the past. "

“It's not cost effective and not best value for us to just throw everything we have at policing games so we only use it after we have risk assessed the situation. We want to minimise the threat of danger and maximise the safety for everyone.”

The days events were neither rash nor reactive but strategic and matter-of-fact. The supporters were compliant and eventually allowed in just before kick-off. It does however raise questions about police powers and UK subjects civil liberties in the twenty first century.

Section 8 of the 1998 Human Rights Act is there to protect citizens from 'interference from public authorities'. On the face of it this wasn't the case on Saturday 25th August. On a much more basic level it dampens the appeal of following SFL football. An already expensive hobby, it's not overly surprising clubs are failing to attract the crowds they need when supporters are now being stopped and filmed by the state on their way to the ground.

(c) Erik Geddes

Property Update......

Several weeks have now passed since the shareholder meeting to discuss the Club’s proposed property deal. The Trust Board understands that the Club Board remains committed to pressing on with a partial sale of the ground (being the Main Stand and South end), subject to final shareholder approval. We have not been provided with a date for this shareholder meeting as yet, but expect that it will take place before the end of August, with the deal completing shortly after the meeting.

Given the allocation of shareholdings at the Club, we fully expect that the decision to proceed with the partial sale to be ratified at the shareholder meeting, regardless of whether or not the Trust supports the proposal. We will shortly canvass our membership to obtain your view on this issue before the upcoming shareholder meeting.

It is well known that the purpose of the property deal is to reduce the debt repayments which are due to the Bank, so as to assist the Club to trade at break even going forward. Based on the level of investment in the property deal disclosed by the Club Board at the June shareholder meeting, the Trust Board estimates that the reduction in payments due to the Bank (assuming no additional borrowing) will be in the region of £60,000 per annum. That clearly leaves a significant six figure funding gap when we look at the annual losses posted by the Club in recent years.

The Trust Board also understands that funds received from the sale of Gary Harkins and Marc Twaddle will be allocated towards last season's losses. As such, the proceeds from the sale of these players will have no direct impact on the position with the Bank.

The Trust Board therefore does not believe that the proposed property deal will, on its own, generate the kind of annual savings which are required in order to safeguard the Club’s future, in even the short to medium term. We do not like the deal that is on the table, but we have to be realistic and accept that without the significant financial backing needed to make any alternative options feasible, the Trust cannot stop the deal from proceeding.

It is clear that in the current environment, the Club cannot continue to operate at a loss unless significant new investment is found – in short, the Bank is unlikely to continue to fund a loss making business. Since the Club Board has been unable to secure the level of investment which would see the Bank debt cleared, they believe that they have no option but to proceed with the proposed property deal while also looking at other ways of cutting costs and increasing revenue, all at a time when the wider economy is struggling under recession.

We know that none of this makes pleasant reading, but every Thistle fan is united by a desire to ensure that the Club survives for generations to come. We all want better players, and clamour for them, but we have to be realistic in our expectations. The Club has been making unsustainable losses for a number of years and we now have to pay the price for that.

The Trust Board is committed to trying to help the Club Board to achieve the magic “break even point”, so that the long term security of Partick Thistle Football Club can be guaranteed. In reality, that is our only option. We hope that all supporters will join together in demonstrating to the Club Board that we accept as fans that we can sacrifice short term success for long term stability. We all have a part to play in helping the Club to achieve that stability.

Regardless of our differences, we are all united by our love of the Club, and we believe that this is the only way forward to secure its long term future.

Help The Trust As You Save Money On Your Bills......

The Jags Trust has enrolled as a Community Fundraiser with the Utility Warehouse Discount Club, who are owned by Telecom Plus, a FTSE 250 business who supply all utilities to domestic and business customers at discounted rates. We have a dedicated website which explains the system in more detail, but the principle is that by switching your gas, electricity, landline, broadband or mobile (or ideally all of them) to Utility Warehouse, the Jags Trust will receive a monthly commission, based on the value of your bills, forever, so long as you stay with UW.

The commission is typically around £4 per customer per month, so the benefits for the Trust are obvious - with only a small number of customers we could cover all of our day to day running costs of mailing, printing and meeting room hire through this alone, leaving us to run fundraising events that will generate clear profit.

Whilst the Jags Trust are now in partnership with UW as introducers, anyone considering this needs to do their own research and make sure that switching from another provider is the correct thing for them to do.

UW is a multi level marketing organisation with 300,000 customers at present and it does not advertise but relies on local agents to develop business on its behalf by word of mouth and referral. The JT are now effectively one of those local agents although the commission is slightly smaller for us than it would be for an individual agent.

We have heard that one of the Old Firm are close to signing up as agents and have a database of well over 150,000 targets so we are keen to get this going. If we introduce another agent, for example another fans trust, we also get a fee for that as well as a small residual commission.

Anyone with any queries can call the support phone number 0800 131 3000 quoting our reference number which is E33962.

The local executive director of UW, Stewart Paterson, is also happy to handle enquiries on 0800 298 2090.

Micro supporters clubs

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.

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.

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;-

• 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.

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:

1. 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?
   
   
2. 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?
   
   
3. 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?
   
   
4. 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?

The Trust Board will be attending Wednesday's shareholder meeting on behalf of its members, and will attempt to clarify these and other points of detail with the Club. The Trust Board will report fully on the outcome of the shareholder meeting as soon as possible thereafter.

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.

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.

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

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.

Further Information on Stadium Company Proposal...

The Trust Board has now received confirmation that income from all stadium activities generated after the sale and leaseback of the stadium to the property company will accrue for the benefit of the football club (i.e. the tenant under the lease).

Whilst this is welcome, we do consider that a meeting to address all of the remaining issues would be the most productive way forward, and the Trust Board will continue to press the Club Board to agree to such a meeting.

Further updates will be posted as and when information becomes available.

Update on Stadium Company Proposal

A copy of this statement in PDF format is available to download here

Introduction


Since the beginning of April, The Jags Trust has been working with a number of professional advisors (acting in their private capacity) who are also supporters of Partick Thistle to try to determine the strategy of the Football Club board in relation to the proposed split of the existing stadium assets from the football business as outlined at the Football Club AGM. These same advisors have been making their own enquiries to the Football Club board and to date only limited information has been forthcoming. The assessment made by the Trust and its advisors in this note can only ever be as good as the information provided. As more information becomes available, the Trust may require to alter its position from the one outlined below.

Given the passage of time and the ongoing uncertainty, the Trust needs to make its position clear and explain matters, to the best of its ability, to its members. The following note has been put together using information freely offered by the club board, available at the club AGM or within the public domain. Where full information has not been made available and assumptions have been made, these are clearly identified.



Background

• Partick Thistle Football Club Limited (the “Football Club”) owes a significant debt, believed to be in the region of £1.6M, to Halifax Bank of Scotland (the “Bank”).
  


• This money is secured against Firhill Stadium in the same way that a loan for a residential purchase is secured against the house that is being bought. In the event that the Football Club defaults on its loan repayments, or breaches other terms of its loan agreement with the Bank, then the Bank is entitled to recall the loan.
  


• If the Football Club is then unable to immediately repay the loan in full, the Bank would be entitled to “call up” the security, ultimately resulting in the repossession and sale of the stadium in much the same way that houses are repossessed.

Until recently, the value of Firhill has significantly outweighed the amount of debt that has been secured against it – i.e. if the Football Club were ever to default on the loan, the Bank remained confident that the money received from any repossession and sale of Firhill would be more than enough to re-pay the loan in full. (It is important to understand that the “value” of Firhill that the Bank is interested in, is the value of the land for development, most likely residential development.)

However, over the last 18 months, several things have happened which are likely to have changed the position with the Bank:

1. Property prices, and in particular the price of residential development land, have plummeted. It is possible that the land is worth less than half of the value it could have achieved if it had been sold in the summer of 2007.
   
   As a result of this, the amount of the Football Club’s debt is now much nearer to the development value of Firhill, meaning that the Bank may not be comfortable that it could easily repossess Firhill and recover its loan should the Football Club default on its repayments.
   
   Added to this, purchasers of residential development land are currently few and far between, meaning that even if the Bank repossessed, it could be difficult for it to find a suitable buyer.
   


2. The crisis within the financial sector has, amongst other things, forced all banks to carry out a review of their balance sheets, looking at which borrowers present a serious risk of defaulting on their loan repayments and, where appropriate, forcing them to take appropriate action to reduce their exposure to the risk of “bad debt”.
   


3. The recession in the wider economy will almost certainly have a detrimental impact on the Football Club’s income over the next few years.

We know from previously published annual accounts that the Football Club has already been operating at a loss for a number of years. With a possible reduction in income as a result of the recession, and in the absence of the Bank being willing to continue to support a loss making business, the Football Club may find it difficult to sustain full time football.

Add falling property prices into the mix, and it is easy to understand why the Football Club Directors believe that significant action as outlined at the Football Club’s 2009 AGM, is required to pre-empt any possible withdrawal of support by the Bank.

The Proposal

Against this backdrop, the Football Club announced plans in March 2009 to raise money through the sale of Firhill Stadium to a separate company (the “Property Company”) which would enable the Football Club to repay its debts in full to the Bank, but at the expense of selling its primary asset, namely the stadium. The Football Club announced that investors in the Property Company would be “Thistle Minded People” and that the Football Club would retain a “major interest” in the Property Company.

Immediately following the sale, the Property Company would lease Firhill back to the Football Club. Details of the terms of this lease were not released by the Football Club in March, however, the following details have since been disclosed by the Directors of the Football Club in response to questions raised by individual fans and the Jags Trust:

• The duration of the lease will be in the region of 100 years;
  
  
• A nominal annual rent (e.g. £1) will be charged by the Property Company to the Football Club under the lease;
  


• The Football Club will retain responsibility for the repair and maintenance of the stadium.
  


• The Football Club would retain a 50% interest in the Property Company. In effect, a 50% stake in the land would be sold in order to clear the debt.

The Benefits

• The sale of Firhill to the Property Company would remove the cost of servicing the debt (reported in the press to be around £175,000 per annum) from the Football Club’s balance sheet, giving it a better chance to break even without the Bank debt dragging it down.
  


• Repayment of the debt would take the Bank out of the picture and enable the Football Club to proceed safe in the knowledge that the Bank could not repossess Firhill. (Note that even if the Property Company “mortgaged” Firhill to a bank at a later date, the bank would be obliged to sell Firhill with the lease still in place should a repossession take place, so while the landlord might change, the Football Club should be unaffected.)
  


• The grant of a 100 year lease at an annual rent of £1 gives the Football Club some security to enable it to plan for the future.

The Drawbacks

• Following the sale of Firhill, the Football Club would not be able to approach a bank for any form of secured lending since it would no longer have any tangible assets to offer the bank in security. The market for unsecured lending is expensive and limited, so in effect, the Football Club would require to operate within its means going forward.
  
  For the year ending 2007, the Football Club posted losses of £269,000 (which included Bank interest costs of £100,000). In 2008, the Football Club posted losses of £512,000 (which included Bank interest costs of £83,000). Supporters will recall that the “option” granted to PTF Developments straddled these two financial years, so while the figures are skewed somewhat, any impact of that option should even itself out over the two year period.
  
  If we assume that the larger figure of £175,000 for loan repayments is correct, once this sum is deducted from the Football Club’s overheads, it appears that the Football Club is still unable to reach the break even point. In a very short space of time, without the option of further bank borrowing (this option will be lost if there is no land asset to “underpin” its business model), the Football Club will run out of money unless it is able to substantially reduce costs or increase income to enable it to break even.
  
  We are not aware of the Football Club having made any public statement as to how they intend to achieve a break even trading point.
  


• Switching from outright ownership of Firhill to being the tenant under a lease (even a long lease) presents its own problems. Insolvency of a tenant will typically result in the landlord being able to terminate the lease.
  
  In practical terms, this means that if the Football Club were ever put in administration then the Property Company would be entitled to terminate its lease, even if the Football Club successfully came out of administration (for example as Motherwell did a number of years ago). The Football Club have not confirmed in public whether protections will be put in place to prevent this from happening.
  


• It is not clear how the structure of the deal would impact on the Football Club’s ability to generate revenue from the stadium. For example, would income from catering and shop concessions, the ground share deal with Glasgow Warriors, corporate hospitality, trackside advertising, international matches, boxing matches, concerts and function hire be for the benefit of the Football Club or the Property Company?

Differing Interests of Property Company and Football Club

Since a commercial rent is not to be charged to the Football Club under the lease, future development of Firhill appears to be the primary means for Property Company investors to make money from their investment.

There is a clear conflict between the interests of a Property Company investor (to maximise his profits by developing the whole of Firhill as soon as the property market recovers) and the interests of the Football Club (to remain playing at Firhill rent free indefinitely).

To date, no information has been provided by the Football Club as to how this conflict is to be resolved. The Trust will continue to press for an answer to this point and will update its members as soon as the Football Club has responded.

In addition, there remains the potential for conflicts of interest to arise if both companies are managed by common directors;

• For example, say the stadium is sold and a 100 year lease is put in place at an annual rent of £1. Five years later, the property market recovers and the Property Company investors wish to sell Firhill for development and claim their profit.
  
  They cannot do so without removing the lease, so the common directors of the landlord and tenant companies agree to vary the duration of the lease from 100 to 6 years. The Directors of the Football Club have given no information as to how such a situation might be avoided / prevented.

Gaps in Information

Since the Property Company investors can only realise value from their investment by removing or substantially varying the long lease to the Football Club, it is essential that we understand how that will be achieved, and importantly, what will happen to the Football Club when the Property Company takes back possession of the stadium in order to effect redevelopment.

If the intention is for the Property Company investors to secure their profit from developing around the edges of the stadium (for example, by developing the former South terracing), then it is not clear why the whole stadium would require to be sold to and leased back from the Property Company, although it should be noted that partial development around the fringes of the stadium gives rise to its own set of difficulties.

We have no information on the protections that will be put in place to ensure that tenant insolvency does not terminate the lease and to ensure that the commercial terms of the lease are not varied to dilute the protection offered to the Football Club.

At present, no information has been provided to confirm who will receive the benefit of income from the Glasgow Warriors’ deal and other income generated from the stadium. It is important to understand up front what income will be stripped out of the Football Club’s balance sheet so that this can be assessed against the cost savings resulting from the removal (or reduction) of the Bank debt. As explained above, it is essential for the survival of the Football Club that it is able to trade at break even point following the sale of Firhill. Again, detailed proposals from the Football Club as to how this can be achieved have not been provided as yet.

The Football Club have not given any public indication how potential conflicts of interest between the Football Club and the Property Company might be resolved.

Going Forward

In the current economic climate, the Jags Trust and all fans of the club are united with the Football Club’s Directors in their desire to secure the long term future of Partick Thistle Football Club. However, in the absence of detailed information on the proposal to sell Firhill Stadium to a Property Company comprised of “Thistle Minded Investors”, outlined in Allan Cowan’s letter to shareholders on 18 March 2009, the Trust cannot in all conscience throw its support behind the proposal as it stands at present.

The Trust Board believes that appropriate safeguards could be built into the proposal which would ring fence the future of the Partick Thistle Football Club, and the Trust Board is committed to working with the Football Club to ensure that such safeguards are put in place.
If the Trust Board is able to satisfy itself, having taken appropriate expert advice, that such safeguards exist, then the Trust Board will endeavour to explain these safeguards to its membership. Once the safeguards are in place, the Trust Board is willing to back the Directors of the Football Club by recommending in principle that its membership supports the proposal, assuming the proposal goes ahead.

In the interests of constructive oversight on behalf of its members, the Trust Board has invited the Football Club Directors to a meeting at which the current details of the Football’s Club’s proposal can be laid out and openly discussed. The Football Club Directors have indicated that they are unable or unwilling to meet the Trust Board on this basis, but have agreed to hold an open meeting with all shareholders of the Football Club to provide an update on the property proposals. We understand that this meeting is intended to take place on 24 June 2009, but we await final verification of this date from the Football Club.

The Trust Board welcomes such an open meeting, but does not believe that it provides the most suitable forum for detailed discussion and examination of the property proposal, nor will it provide any forum for non-shareholder supporters (who have a major stake in the future of the Football Club and its stadium) to express their views. The Trust Board will therefore continue to press the Football Club Directors to meet with them in advance of the open meeting so that the detail of the proposal can be properly examined and reported on to its members – as a significant minority shareholder in the Football Club, and as the principal representative body of the supporters, the Trust Board believes that the Trust is entitled to the courtesy of such a meeting with the Football Club Directors.