The Trust is meeting with Cardiff City’s Chief Executive Alan Whiteley and his team early in September.
If Trust members have any issues you would like us to raise then please email help@ccfctrust.org
On Monday 13 August , Keith Morgan , one of the Cardiff City Supporters Trust board had a meeting with Doug Lee (DL) , the Finance Director of Cardiff City in order to discuss some questions which had been raised in recent weeks by Trust members concerning the club.
The Trust would like to thank Doug for the considerable time he gave to answer the questions raised in a full and frank manner.
The questions raised , and the answers given are set out below:-
1. Is the often discussed conversion of the current debt owed to Vincent Tan and associated parties to equity a legally binding agreement subject only to the prior settlement of the debt due to Langston/Sam Hammam?
While there is no such legally binding agreement in place or a firm conversion timetable , the club`s executive directors remain extremely confident that this conversion will take place. This confidence is based on ongoing reassurances received on a regular basis from Vincent Tan himself who has the option to convert in his financing agreement with the club.
As far as Langston is concerned , DL stated that settlement remains in the hands of Sam Hammam/Langston , who have received a series of settlement offers from the club who are now awaiting a formal response. The club do not intend making any further offers.
2. The board of Cardiff City Football Club (Holdings) now has more directors than at any time in its history , but little is known about them or their roles at the club by either the fan base or many minority shareholders. Could Trust members who raised the question be given this information?
The current board can be divided into two main groups – Executive directors and Non-Executive directors. The Non-Executives can then be further sub-divided into two groups – UK based directors and non UK based directors.
Dato Tan Tien Ghee is Chairman of the club , overseeing and contributing to all board activities. He is a long term business associate of Vincent Tan. Despite being based in Malaysia , he is a regular attender of board meetings when in the UK.
The Executive directors are Alan Whiteley (Chief Executive Officer) and Doug Lee (Finance Director) , although Doug is not formally listed as a director at Companies House. They are responsible for the day to day decision making and running of the business , working with senior employees such as Julian Jenkins and Wayne Nash.
The UK based Non-Executives are Steve Borley , Michael Isaac , Paul Guy , Mike Hall and Mehmet Dalman.
SB is a long standing director and fan of the club , MI is the second largest shareholder (11%) behind Vincent Tan (36%), PG and MH are the main directors and shareholders of PMG Estates who are major creditors of the club. Mehmet Dalman was introduced onto the board by Vincent Tan due to his extensive experience in finance raising , his knowledge and interest in football matters , and his extensive business connections in the Far East.
All UK non-executive directors attend the vast majority , if not all , board meetings which tend to be held on a quarterly basis or when a specific business matter requiring attention arises.
The non-UK based non-executive directors were all appointed to the board by Vincent Tan. They are all Malaysian based employees of his Berjaya Group businesses brought on board for their specific skills. Derek Chin – legal , Len Kong –marketing , Ming Lim – accounting.
Danni Rais was also appointed by VT in June this year and also has a marketing background and an employment link with VT companies.
The Malaysian based non-executives usually attend board meetings by teleconference , and occasionally in person.
3. Why has an Annual General Meeting been called for 16 August rather than an Extraordinary General Meeting needed to pass a resolution to increase the share capital needed to bring about future conversions of debt to equity?
The aim of the meeting is to provide minority shareholders with an opportunity to question directors on recent events and to formally accept the audited annual accounts for the year to 31 May 2011.
No EGM with resolutions has been called as the directors are of the view that it is best to await the outcome of the Langston position and , thereafter , the timing and quantum of the required debt to equity conversion before convening such a meeting.
4. Erskine Finance Limited and Edgedale international limited are mentioned in the 2011 accounts as investors in the club and also have debentures over company assets , but don`t appear to be registered at Companies House. Who are they?
These are non-UK registered companies having an association with Vincent Tan . No further details of their structure or ownership were given at the meeting as this was deemed to be commercially sensitive information.
5. Is there a specific plan in place to deal with the Financial Fair Play requirements adopted by Championship clubs and which take effect from the season just ended?
This is a complex area which will not take full effect until season 2013/14 but is already being worked on by the directors (in particular DL) Complexities involve the timing and extent of new equity investment , and the reduction of current levels of trading losses being incurred by the club at Championship level. Variations to the required standard model include spend on stadium infrastructure , youth development and education and depreciation of the new stadium cost.
6. Why was the change of club home kit from blue to red notified to the League at such an early stage , when League rules allow this to be done at any time during the close season , which was several months later?
DL stated that this is as a result of the League pressing the club hard for the information to incorporate in various publications and circulars , even though their own rules say it could be submitted at a later date.
So what has your Trust been doing during the closed season? Our fans survey showed an overwhelming demand for more consultation with supporters on major changes to the club. The Trust was set up to ensure that we the fans have a voice in the way the club is run and although it came after the rebranding and colour change was confirmed, we are glad that the club did canvass fans opinions via their online questionnaire. Yes, there were certain parameters as to what was up for discussion but we were happy to have had some input into the questions themselves. We now look forward to seeing the results of the survey and will be asking the club to make a presentation to Trust members so that we can discuss how we want the club to move forward. We were also pleased to be consulted about the club’s new dynamic ticket pricing for the new season which will hopefully fill the last few seats at the stadium.
During the rebranding debate we have been keeping local politicians informed and it is good to see our Assembly Members and MPs, many of whom are Trust members, taking an active interest in the City. We are also pressing for meeting for fans with TG so that we can put our questions to him and hear how he thinks we will fare this season. The club is holding an Annual General Meeting and we will be there as a shareholder to ask about the financial plans for the club’s future. Remember that you own a small part of Cardiff City FC through the Trust’s shareholding. Shareholders have not had a chance to discuss the rebranding with the club so, in line with the response to our members poll earlier this year, we will also be asking for more information about the crest and home colour change.
It’s not just Cardiff Trust members who believe the supporters’ voice should be heard at the highest level of football clubs. The House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport committee is holding a follow up session to its inquiry into football governance. The government and the football authorities response to the committee’s first report was pretty weak and the Supporters Direct movement pushed for this inquiry to continue to try to ensure clubs involve democratic supporters’ groups in their decision making. We as a Trust submitted evidence to the inquiry using the rebranding of Cardiff without prior consultation with fans, as an illustration of why we need formal supporter representation on the boards of professional football clubs.
Brilliant news on the Fred Keenor statue. Success! You have worked miracles to raise the required £85,000 to have the statue erected and at last we have a date for the unveiling. Saturday 10th of November before the Hull City match is the BIG day, so come early to see this tribute to one of Cardiff’s greatest hero being unveiled. The Memorial Garden at the Stadium is near completion with the addition of the engraved granite stone. This will be an emotional focal point for fans to remember loved ones who have passed away. The Trust is glad to have played its part and is now working to get local schoolchildren involved in looking after the Garden.
The Trust was again flying the flag for the City at this summer’s Grangetown festival. It was great to meet some lifelong supporters at our stand and we also signed up some new members. We want Cardiff to be a community club and will be redoubling our efforts to give people who have not previously attended a football match the chance to come to support the City this season. If you want to be part of the Trust’s community programme or want to help out in any way then email help@ccfctrust.org
It’s been a busy couple of months for us and things are only likely to get busier.
Keep the faith. Come on the Bluebirds!
The Fred Keenor Statue will be officially unveiled on Saturday, November 10th, before the Hull City match.
David Craig, project manager and a member of the board of Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust, said: “We officially launched the fundraising appeal in April 2010 and the unveiling will mark the culmination of the efforts made by so many people.
“The foundry in Gloucestershire has confirmed that it can complete, deliver and erect the statue in time for November 10th. We will be announcing firm timings for the unveiling in the coming months and, we hope, Bluebirds fans will turn up in large numbers on what will be a momentous day.
“I’d like once again to thank the fans that have supported us by making donations and organising events since the appeal was launched as well as those organisations and business people that have helped ensure the appeal was a success.”
A total of £85,000 has been raised for the statue created by artist Roger Andrews. In addition, the appeal is still active and raising funds to cover cost of the statue ground works and two plaques to attach to the plinth.
Next week the Bluebirds begin their Championship campaign against Huddersfield Town and we’re looking for volunteers to help out in the Trust office before games at the Cardiff City Stadium.
The Trust office, which is near Gate 5, normally opens 90 minutes before matches and closes 15 minutes before kick-off.
If you are willing to help out on a rota basis please contact Trust board member Brian Mertens through members@ccfctrust.org