Current beneficiaries are season ticket holders, including concession season tickets, of three years standing, 18 years and older.
One of our first tasks is to arrange a vote by the current beneficiaries to invite all season ticket holders and potentially non season ticket holders upon payment of a nominal fee to become beneficiaries.
When are Trustee Elections and when will the majority of the Trust board be democratically elected?
We plan to hold elections for two supporter Trustees in the close season after we have hopefully extended our number of beneficiaries.
In May 2024 at least two of the current Trustee places will be put up for election. At this point the majority of the Trustees will have been elected.
In May 2025 the remaining current Trustee places will be put up for election meaning the entire Trust Board is elected.
We have no plans to co-opt any new Trustees at this stage
This timescale was put in place to give stability to the Trust and the Club. We would not have received the shares without agreeing to a period of stability for the trust to bed into its role as majority owners.
What involvement have people other than the current trustees had in decisions made by the trust?
We took legal, tax and financial advice before satisfying ourselves that accepting the share gift was in the best interests of our beneficiaries.
We have listened to fans in our conversations with them, and had many exchanges with the board of the club and the previous trustees.
However, ultimately every decision has been made solely by the trustees after considering all of the information at our disposal. We often challenge each other to ensure that we all believe each outcome will be for the long term benefit of our beneficiaries, the club, the team and its supporters.
We are aware that there are rumours of outside parties influencing the decision making process of the trustees, we would categorically deny this is the case.
How are the Trust planning to communicate with its beneficiaries?
We are currently working with the club to build a database of all current adult season ticket holders.
The Club will be in contact with season ticket holders shortly to ask permission to share their details with the Trust in compliance with all GDPR processes.
There will then be direct two-way communication between the Trust and those current and future beneficiaries who have consented.
There will also be an opportunity for non season ticket holders to submit their details on our website in future.
Can the Trustees sell the Shares?
The Trustees have an obligation to their beneficiaries.
Whilst technically the Trustees could try and sell the shares it would be challengeable in law if they hadn’t first sought the views of their beneficiaries.
It is also worth noting that none of the Trustees would gain financially from any sale only the beneficiaries and there could also be a tax bill levied against the beneficiaries.
The trust was established to ensure the shares in the club could be passed from one generation of fans to another without the threat of outside interference.
Why have you chosen to allow a memorandum of understanding to govern your relationship with the Club, rather than a legally binding Club-Trust Agreement?
We retain full rights of majority shareholders and therefore do not require any other legally binding agreements.
A Memorandum of Understanding is a much more flexible document which can be easily amended. We plan to meet the board next week to start this process.
It is a non-confrontational document which assumes that all parties wish to achieve the same thing, namely a successful team on the pitch and a financially viable club off it.
Why only one representative on the board?
Initially we preferred to have no representation on the board preferring instead only our back-to-back board meetings with the Club.
It became obvious from our interaction with the fans that board representation was desired and there are definite benefits to board representation although some conflicts could exist.
As majority shareholders we will have the opportunity to increase our Board presence at any time, however we prefer to take a “wait and see” approach for now.
Will you fundraise for the Club?
Absolutely. Fundraising was not required for us to accept the shares but as Thistle fans we wish to support the Club in any way we can whether that is direct financial support or expertise from our beneficiaries. We would encourage any fan to come forward with any ideas that will support this principal.
How are the Club’s Finances?
We have seen nothing from our review of the clubs management accounts and forecasts which gives us cause for concern. The club remains debt free and has sufficient working capital reserves.