A number of questions have been raised over the last few months which I will aim to answer in this update and at a supporters open meeting that will be scheduled in November.
Loans associated with the club:
It has been asked if the DCMS/Sport England loan was paid off as part of the South Somerset District Council transaction. It was not. As I have stated previously, in the discussions with DCMS and Sport England, we were given assurances that in time these loans would be written off. I will continue to work with The National League, who have regular meetings with DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport), and other National League System clubs to get these loans written off.
Like all National League clubs who took loans, a four-year holiday period was granted before repayment begins and I will be pushing the National League to ensure those assurances are upheld.
In the latest accounts, Yeovil Town Holdings Limited have written off circa £600,000 of shareholder loans.
All MSP Capital charges have been removed from Yeovil Town Holdings Limited and Yeovil Football & Athletic (Club) Limited. Any MSP Capital charges still showing as outstanding at Companies House should show as cleared when their website is updated.
Worcester Warriors:
Contrary to recent reports, I have not been involved in any capacity with Worcester Warriors Rugby Club or any consortium looking to acquire the club since taking over at Yeovil Town FC. I have not had any and have no plan for discussions with any parties regarding an involvement in a new ownership or management team.
I sincerely hope the club finds a new owner soon who can help get them through a traumatic time for everyone involved with the club.
CV Leisure:
There have been comments on social media regarding a Coronavirus job retention scheme claim for CV Leisure Ltd. I can confirm that CV Leisure never made an application to claim support and therefore any information circulating on social media is incorrect.
Gate Money Documentary – National League Distribution:
A documentary has been produced to investigate the distribution of payments to National League clubs to help support them through the recent lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. As board minutes will show, although YTFC were one of the clubs that received the highest level of distribution, I was one director who voted against and regularly opposed the formula and the way the process was dealt with.
I never believed it directly addressed what the funds were for. While primarily it kept the League operating, it did not replace lost revenues as publicly stated by DCMS and, in my view, was disproportionately distributed to clubs.
Clubs with higher average attendance in the National League, National League North and National League South lost out, while clubs which had lower average attendances in the National League pyramid benefited dramatically. Additionally, I also endorsed the publishing of the so-called “Bernstein Report” and could not understand why it had not been published in full at its completion.
Martyn Starnes:
I can confirm that the club’s former CEO has been assisting myself and the club for the last few months and will be shortly appointed as a Director of Yeovil Football & Athletic (Club) Limited and once again take up the role of CEO. Martyn has vast experience and expertise in football, and I look forward to Martyn leading the club off the field and working closely with Chris to improve on the field.
Development Project:
Following the conclusion of the transaction with South Somerset District Council in May, we have been working with consultancy firms, architects and investment partners to assemble a plan for the development of Huish Park.
We have held various discussions with potential partners and have had a planning meeting with the council. Over the coming months we will be looking to finalise our plans for both the land and re-development of the stadium. I hope to get those plans and our next steps out to you all later this year.
Investors and takeovers:
We are continuing our discussions with potential investors to become part of the football club and the door is open for anyone to approach the club with interest in being involved in the ownership of the club. I will of course take any approach seriously and communicate this to supporters I’m hoping that we will have one or two additional board directors before the end of the year.
In the meantime, I continue to work towards supporting Chris and building a team that can compete and I certainly believe we are improving in that department. I don’t think anyone can dispute the quality of our performances this season, and of course we need to turn those performances into wins.
Chris has been given additional resources to improve the squad as we look to capitalise on a good win Saturday against a very strong Solihull side. Whilst I appreciate, I won’t ever win some of you over, I hope that you continue to put your support behind Chris and the team, in the meantime we will be setting up a meeting next month for supporters to have their voice heard and raise questions.
