As the members present at last Thursday’s EGM will be aware, I was invited to make a presentation regarding setting up a Season Ticket Holder’s Trust. I had not expected to be invited to address the meeting in this way, and my unscripted presentation was perhaps slightly confusing! I am grateful to the club for allowing me space in the programme to expand upon my idea.
I have always been proud of the club tradition that the current season ticket holders are the “owners” of the club, and even although this has had to change, I would hope that we could at least partly retain this tradition. I set out my ideas about how we can achieve this below.
Each member of the club will originally be issued with somewhere between 400 & 500 £1 shares in the new company. I would expect that directors will immediately authorise a further share issue, giving each season ticket holder the option to buy a further 400-500 shares. I would strongly urge all the season ticket holders to take up this option - I certainly will.
However, the original shares have been given to us for “free”. These shares represent the work put in by the members of the club during the last 127 years. We should respect the work done by these previous season ticket holders, and allow the season ticket holders of the next 127 years to have some input into the running of the club.
I suggest, therefore, that after we have bought our “new” shares, each season ticket holder should consider donating some (or all) of his or her “free” shares to a Season Ticket Holder’s Trust. The voting members of this Trust would be the current season ticket holders in any particular season.
In any situation where all the Club shareholders have to vote upon an issue, the Trust would take a vote in advance, and throw the Trust’s votes behind one preferred candidate or option. I must state at this point that I have no personal plans to stand for election to the board myself - working and living on the other side of the country would make that impossible!
If the Trust could obtain 30% of the original “free” shares, it would be guaranteed a seat upon the board. Obviously, the constitution of the new company may have to be changed to allow the Trust (but no other individual or group) to own more than 25% of the shares. To ensure continuity, I personally would suggest that the Trust vote for the current 7 directors (the old committee) at the first election, but that will be a matter for the 2005-2006 season ticket holders (which hopefully will include these 7 individuals!) to decide.
If every current season ticket holder was willing to donate at least 150 shares to the Trust, this would be a powerful group within AFC Ltd. As the members of the trust would always be the current season ticket holders, it would always be the current fans voting this block of shares.
Anyone who wishes to contact Lee about this can post on the arbroath-mad forum of get in touch with me by email, simonlichtie@gmail.com, and I will forward it to Lee.