Raith Rovers FC Open Meeting, 29th September 2011

An open meeting was called by the board of RRFC – this was thought to be a more productive use of time than the AGMs which are normally very poorly attended. The meeting was attended by more than 100 people.

An agenda was circulated in advance of the meeting, to cover the following topics:

• Finance
• Youth Academy
• Concordat
• Stadium Development
• Scottish Football In General
• Chairman
• Open Discussion

A lively, open and constructive discussion followed, lasting 2.5 hours. Highlights of this discussion included:

• The financial information shown in the meeting represent a work-in-progress – the accounts are not yet finalised or audited, and will be distributed to shareholders once complete.
• The club’s finances are in poor shape, but the debt position has not worsened in the last 6 years. At the time of the Reclaim The Rovers takeover, New Raith Rovers was under-capitalised by approximately £200k, and this situation continues today: the balance sheet of RRFC Ltd shows a debt of £1.35m, of which £1.17m is internal debt (i.e. representing commitments between RRFC Ltd, Raith Rovers Holdings Ltd, and New Raith Rovers Ltd) – the external debt is therefore approximately £170k today.
• Since the takeover, the club has been run at a loss, but these losses have been funded each year by new investment from shareholders.
• Cashflow is a severe challenge. Banks will not provide overdraft facilities, so the club often finds itself living a hand-to-mouth existence. Every cashflow challenge has been met, and ultimately the players have always been paid.
• The wage bill this season is 53% of turnover.
• The economic conditions for football clubs are worsening, and Raith Rovers are not alone in this. Many other clubs are having the same conversations about the same issues.
• A recent issue emerged with a major creditor which could have had catastrophic implications for the club. Each year, a payment plan is put in place to cover the previous year’s liability, but with no warning the club were advised that payment would be required in full in a much shorter time frame. The club found the money to clear this debt as required, but this created added pressure on the budget.
• Crowds are down significantly on equivalent fixtures last season (e.g. Falkirk gate was down by 700, Dundee gate was down by 1500), so this season’s budget has been recast accordingly – before the season a profit of £40k was projected, but a loss of £80k is now expected instead. If attendances recover this loss can be avoided.
• 6 weeks into the current season the SFL announced that their funding from them will be 30% lower than last year, due to the court case re pools money. Last season their funding to clubs was £2m, this season it will be £1.4m.
• The SFA have responded to the claim for compensation re the refs strike – their position is that they have no contractual obligation to provide referees, so compensation is highly unlikely.
• The SFA, SPL and SFL chief executives have come up with a new plan for Scottish football which was shared with Div 1 clubs last week – they’ve effectively ruled out anything other than a top division of 10 or 12 clubs, although the leagues will be run by a single body, there will be a slight improvement to the amount of funds passed down by the top division clubs, and there is the possibility of Friday night football. There is widespread recognition throughout Scottish football of the need to change, but so far the plans do not seem to match this urgency.
• There were two shows of hands in the meeting – one on league size (those present almost unanimously rejected the proposal to keep a small top division – the one objection was that the gulf between two large divisions would be a problem), and one on Friday night football (this was also rejected, with just a handful of people present in favour of it).
• Commercial revenue will be similar to last year, matchday hospitality business has picked up after a slow start. There was some conversation regarding areas where the club are missing out on commercial opportunities that could potentially outweigh the costs of running a larger commercial department. It was noted that a lottery sponsor has been signed up this week.
• A concordat, outlining a set of principles to govern future decision making, was shared. This was developed by the Trust with input from the other groups in the Raith Forum, and accepted by those present at the meeting without objection. The concordat can be viewed here.
• Starks Park Properties Ltd are willing to invest in the stadium if the developments generate additional income. Two potential projects are being considered – options are being explored for repairs to the railway stand roof, and for a couple of portacabins to be converted into hospitality units on the railway stand side.
• The youth academy is progressing well, the costs of this had been rising rapidly year on year, but have been cut by £40k this year. This should hopefully reduce the financial impact of this on other areas of the club without negatively impacting its effectiveness. Raith Rovers are one of 16 teams (SPL clubs plus four others) competing at the Performance level, there are an additional 13 clubs competing at Initiative level, and the remaining 13 clubs have no youth academy. RRFC’s youth academy is well thought of nationally, 50-60% of the youth players are from Fife, and there are a number of academy graduates featuring in or around the first team this season.
• The club have received £5K from Blackburn Rovers in compensation for our role in developing David Goodwillie.
• The supporters present were asked “”Why are there so many supporters groups? Wouldn’t you achieve more as a single organisation?” A discussion followed, which stressed the need to coordinate the activities of these groups better, and involve more people – the same few people are involved all the time. There is no shortage of ideas, but not enough people to put them into practice.

We live in challenging times, and it is vital that we maintain the spirit of openness and togetherness we saw yesterday evening if we are to meet these challenges. We will continue to work together to ensure that the progress, on and off the field of play, that Raith Rovers have made in recent years continues.