Summary of Meet the Board Q&A

Sunday 15th September, 2024 at 6:00pm

The Club recently held a ‘Meet the Board’ Q&A session in the Alan Rough Lounge at the Wyre Stadium at Firhill.

With a healthy attendance of more than 100 Jags fans, the session covered a number of subjects across the club. Answers were given by all seven directors, including Donald McClymont who joined online, and by General Manager Levi Gill.

A summary of key items that were discussed is available below, with a video also available to view on our YouTube channel. Click here to access the video.

Redevelopment of City End and moving away from Firhill

The board confirmed there is currently no plan to leave Firhill stadium.
There are currently no structural issues with the stadium that suggest a change of home is required.
Additionally there are no immediate plans to develop the City End. There is no requirement for additional seating, hospitality or office accommodation which would drive this project.
The viability of this project is under constant review.
It was re-emphasised that anything relating to the sale of the ground would be contingent on a successful vote of the club beneficiaries, including members of The Jags Foundation, The Jags Trust, the 71 club and season ticket holders.

Financial Update

There is a budgeted managed loss of around £280k for the current financial year, as a decision was made to invest in the first team this season.
The original budget which was presented to Trustees was a break-even budget which was revised down on the assumption that fan revenues were unlikely to grow as quickly as originally planned.
There needs to be a focus within the club to achieve growth in commercial and fan revenues and this was a key driver in the ongoing expansion of the media team.
As mentioned in the financial statement, the playing budget had been very kindly topped up with donations to make it even more competitive.
The budget has been prepared on the basis of relatively modest on field performance.

Commercial Update

The new club lottery is down 25% on where the Centenary Fund was. Supporters are encouraged to sign up for the lottery if they can.
Hospitality got off to a slow start but after listening to feedback, the club now offers two different packages giving the option for a drink inclusive or non-inclusive package.
The club have added a new Hospitality and Events Executive, Eve Wilson, who will help us to make the most of our facilities, enabling us to unlock the potential of Firhill as an asset and driving non-matchday revenues.
We have already out performed last year’s commercial revenues, but are pushing harder for further growth.

Tranche Two investment

In the event that the second round of investment from Donald McClymont and his co-investors was to be rejected by supporters, the immediate short-term issue would be to find a way to manage the tough cash flow months of March and April. This would be achievable, as identified in the financial update of August, but would require a reduced playing budget next season and careful management of costs going forward.
Approval of the additional tranche of investment would reduce fan ownership to 65.3%.

Corporate Governance Manual update

The board have begun work on a Corporate Governance Manual.
The intention is to have a bespoke document, inspired by those of other clubs but fit for purpose and appropriate to the requirements of PTFC.

Chairperson update

The feeling of the board remains that appointment of a Chair is unnecessary as all directors work together collegiately. Illustrating this point, there hasn’t been a vote on any matter under the current board.
Recognising the depth of supporter feeling on this subject, the board recognise the need for a figurehead on matters of governance and strategy so it was discussed again in the last board meeting.
It was agreed that a Chair will be appointed and announced soon.