The Trust has recently been through it’s annual election process and there have been a couple of changes to the Committee as a result.
Our Accountant, Stuart Whitney, has decided to stand down from the Committee due to work commitments. We’re obviously sorry to lose Stuart’s talents and would like to thank him for his studious and professional input over the last year.
As for new Committee members – well, there were disappointingly few new candidates this year. The whole of the existing Committee (bar Stuart) officially stood-down and put itself forward for re-election. The one new face is Matt Winton, who also put himself up for election. With eight elected committee posts available and Stuart having stepped aside, this meant that the eight candidates who stood were automatically elected.
It is always good to have “new blood” on the Committee and we welcome Matt to his new role. Matt will take the reins of the Hoops Fund sub-committee, with a brief that includes trying to broaden supporter involvement by setting-up a Hoops Fund management committee from across the fanbase. After all, the Hoops Fund is for ALL QPR fans, not just QPR 1st members.
Whilst not having to run an election might have saved us a few bob, it is not really a healthy situation democratically – and we will be seeking to bring some more new blood onto the Committee through co-option.
All four of last years’ co-optees have already been re-signed, but we have identified that more people are needed, with more jobs to be done.
The elected Committee unanimously elected myself as Chairman, Tracy Stent as Honorary Secretary and David Anderson as Treasurer.
The full elected Committee is now:
Justin Pieris
David Price
David Anderson
Tracy Stent
Leon Stent
Andrew Goss
William Wall
Matt Winton
In addition, our four co-opted members (with full voting rights) are:
Peter Gridneff
Graham Barnes
Anthony Hobbs
Roger de Freitas
The formation of a new committee allows us a moment to take stock of the continual cycle of corporate obligations and work associated with being a Trust.
Last year has been a very busy one for the Trust, so here’s an update on what’s been going on.
We launched the Sharebank scheme, which currently holds 113,000 Loftus Road plc shares. This is a great achievement, but still represents a very small percentage of the whole shareholding – particularly since the last AGM of QPR Holdings PLC voted to increase the total number of shares available to 100 million.
We have a long way to go to improve and strengthen our position, but we thank all those who have transferred their shares into the bank and would point out that we modified the rules recently so that people have the right to withdraw their shares should they so wish. We hope this might attract some of the larger shareholders, who might still hope to recoup some of their losses. If you are a shareholder, PLEASE consider signing up for the Sharebank initiative. You can find out all the details and information on how to transfer your shares athttp://www.qpr1st.co.uk/main/sharebank.asp.
The launch of the Hoops Fund at the end of last season is certainly the most important new initiative for both the Trust and the Club. It is clear from our recent history that the onerous loan taken out to get the club out of administration is now a potential block to significant new investment. The club is in dangerous financial waters – cuts are already being made, yet possibly not enough to make up the net £1m/ year that it needs to finance the loan.
We suspect – and the continual stonewalling by the board reinforces our perception – that despite a minimum 15% across the board ticket price rise, a record 8,000 season ticket holders this year, average attendances higher than when we came fifth in the Premiership, a much reduced first team squad, the sale of a few key players, the radical slashing of youth teams AND a net income before tax of under £500k from the Fulham groundshare, the club is still losing money at a frightening rate.
This is why you will see people rattling buckets at Loftus Road for
the Hoops Fund . Should we fail to get promoted this season and not attract new investment, things could be very sticky indeed.
Our exit from administration was not the end of our financial
troubles, but merely the beginning. This club is not out of the woods and we all desperately need to dig deep.
We are pleased to announce that the Hoops Fund now stands at over £7,000. The fund continues to rise each month thanks to the regular contributors to bucket collections, those who have sent in cheques or taken out standing orders and others who have made online donations.
With the Fund being launched at a time of relative success on the field, it is naturally going to be a `slow-burn’ operation, but we are delighted that we are heading inexorably to our first £100,000 target. Now the Hoops Fund is launched, we are hoping that the skills of Matt Winton, who managed to raise a significant sum for We Are QPR, can be turned to moving the Hoops Fund forward.
When we reach the magic figure of £100,000 we can go to the board, as supporters, in a very strong position. We can offer much needed funds to the club and will do our utmost to ensure those funds are spent wisely. We can convert our cash into a supporters stake of shares, thereby gaining more influence in the way the club is run.
The aim is clear – a permanent united stake in the ownership of our club for ALL fans. Our cash injection would also lead us to expect a democratically-elected position on QPR’s board to be made available to the fans. This will achieve another of the Trusts’ goals.
There are changes afoot at Loftus Road and this Trust is now well positioned to influence those changes and make sure that the Directors act in the best interest of the club. We will continue to try to meet with local politicians, other club’s Trusts, potential investors and even the blessed QPR board.
It is fair to say that, over the year, the advent of the Hoops Fund has helped thaw relations between ourselves and some of the QPR board. The successful auction of a squad place is one such example of positive collective action.
However, there is still a long way to go. For example, the
unnecessary and expensive use of lawyers to communicate about the recent leaked board document is an outrageous waste of both the club’s and the Trust’s time and money. The club are also terrible at keeping to a programme of regular meetings with us, but seem to have no problem with other supporter groups. We were also disappointed to only be allotted three matches to bucket collect after being assured the Hoops Fund would have priority this season.
Nonetheless, we seek to emulate the positive relationships between Trust and Board that are so evident at clubs like Watford and Brentford. It is only in partnership that each entity can flourish.
Membership is an area we will be reviewing during the coming year. We had 400 members last year and are on course to exceed that with the current rate of renewals. There is an unbelievable amount of administration work involved in such numbers, as Leon Stent will happily tell you! For example, every time something is sent to the entire membership, 400 envelopes have to be stuffed. Therefore, we would encourage all members to advise us of their e-mail addresses, since our overheads are so much lower when sending things by e-mail, rather than by post.
We want our members to number thousands rather than hundreds, but it is a truism to say that there is nothing like a perceived crisis to help encourage new members. Currently, many supporters simply do not perceive the club to be in crisis, yet we certainly do. If you haven’t renewed your membership, please consider doing so – and please encourage others to do likewise. Forms are available to download from the website or you can rejoin online.
We are always looking for ways to attract new members and one area in which we are acutely aware of the need for improvement is that we have no focal point for people to meet on a matchday. We are currently looking at options to address that.
We would also encourage our members to take part in the Trust website forum. It really has developed into a bit of a mini-think tank and there is usually a well-considered debate (or maybe just a slanging match!) going on if you drop in.
Our merchandising has also developed significantly over the last year under the guidance of Andrew Goss. We now have the ability to take online credit card payments and have an eclectic range of stuff available for you to buy – visithttp://www.qpr1st.co.uk/acatalog/Merchandise.html for details. We hope to add to the range and thereby improve our turnover in the coming year.
In summary, last year was a very important one for the Trust. We launched a number of schemes that will be critical for the future of QPR. This year we need to consolidate, widen our appeals, broaden our membership and fill those buckets! We need you to help us achieve that. There is only so much a committee can do. The Trust’s Committee is merely representative of its members and we need you, the members, to step forward and get involved if you can. Whether it be for co-opted positions, to hand out leaflets, rattle buckets, whatever.. it all counts.
Finally, I’d like to thank last years’ QPR 1st Committee for their
unstinting dedication, discipline and professionalism (even though
the work is voluntary). But above all, I’d like to thank all those
who have helped in any way, big or small: by filling out a
questionnaire, donating to the Hoops Fund or the Trust, simply being a member, giving us your feedback, suggesting initiatives, handing out leaflets, donating your shares, donating your professional expertise, or putting us straight when we’ve got things wrong – it all counts. It really is astonishing what can be achieved with collective effort.
Come on you R’s
Justin Pieris
Chairman
QPR 1st