| Hibs shareholder and IHSC
Treasurer Iain Murray has taken time out to write-up this very large and conclusive report
of Monday night's AGM. Unfortunately
due to Edinburgh's poor bus service I arrived just after the scheduled 7pm and was faced
with the problem of trying to find a seat. The turnout of the shareholders was about three
times the normal size and the large room was truly packed. As we were waiting I noted that
there were several video screens around the room showing videos of player interviews with
the likes of Stevie Crawford, although there was no sound I was beginning to think they
looked like the old Hibs Club shows from L!VE TV when up popped Jim Duffy to confirm my
suspicions.
Shortly after this at approx. 7:10pm the
board filed in and took the places on the platform. The panel consisted of McLeish, Steven
Dunn, Rod Petrie, Tom O'Malley, Malcolm McPherson, Mary(?) McAdam and the rush of
photographers indicated a fairly large media presence. Tom O'Malley as Chair formally
welcomed everybody to the meeting and went through the usual preliminaries of introducing
the panel, requesting mobile phones be turned off & thanking directors that had
retired in the last year. He then stated that after consultation between Tom Farmer &
the board, the board had advised Tom Farmer not to attend, advice which Mr Farmer had
accepted and would be absent. At this point Kenny McLean Jnr angrily stated from the floor
that if Mr Farmer wasn't present it was pointless staying and walked out.
The panel rather ignored this protest and
quickly moved on the give a formal statement of the "new boards" vision &
the outline agenda for the meeting, giving an order in which various subjects would be
covered.
Rod Petrie started the official business on
the accountants, going through the figures in the report explaining their relevance and
comparing them to previous years figures. All these figures appeared as diagrams on the
video screens so that the whole hall could follow him. The slides allowed him to give a
very slick presentation regardless of the merits of the actual figures. The main item of
note that he covered was the point that although leagues attendance’s had increased
by 15% the gate receipts remained the same as last season. He pointed out that poor
performances in the two cup competitions has accounted for this due to fewer games. The
meeting was then thrown open to questions from the floor on the clear condition that they
would only take questions on the accounts at this stage.
Brian Montieth started by questioning the
statements & balance sheet, he stated that what fans had consistently asked for was
investment, and although the owner had underwritten the losses this was not real
investment and could the board not look for real investment for Hibs not loans and the
underwriting of debts.
Rod Petrie pointedly asked what the
question on the accounts was, and the meeting was moved onto the next question. Q) The
accounts show among the creditors �400,000 due to the parent company what was this? Rod
Petrie replied that this was funding provided by the parent company and that there was no
need to repay this money. Q) Why is it shown in the accounts as due within 1 year. Rod
Petrie replied that standard accountancy practice was that if wasn't due at any set
period, it would be shown in the accounts as due within 1 year - even if they didn't have
to pay it.
Next Question was related to the
"Hibs100" money, the shareholder wanted to know why if the money was invested
the money was shown as the same amount for the last few years & why did the accounts
state that the money was donated by fans "for the benefit of the company" and
not for the benefit of the Football Club. Rod Petrie declared that the money was in an
interest bearing account, but due to accountancy procedure the interest was classed as
income and was shown in the figures through the profit & loss account. When challenged
to reveal the amount of interest this money had accrued Rod Petrie said that he would
detail that later when they would explain what the money would be used for.
The next questioner asked about the
valuation of players transfer value a �5 million, he thought that this was wildly
optimistic and wanted to know how the figure was calculated. Rod replied that the
valuation was based partly on contract values and was a yearly but admittedly subjective
exercise. The next question returned again to the Hibs100 querying whether this money was
being used for daily running costs, Rod Replied that the money was in a separate
"Hibs100" account wasn't being touched but had to to included with other
accounts for the balance sheets with the club accounts. The meeting was heating up with
several people all trying to ask questions on Hibs100 at the same time. Tom O'Malley
called the meeting to order and bluntly declared that the meeting would be run via the
Chair and requested that those not selected to ask questions refrain from interrupting
those shareholders on the mic. The next question asked whether the rate of interest
represented value for money. When Rod Petrie started giving a reply that was basically
waffle. The questioner revealed that he worked for HSBC and that he had worked out the
rate as a very poor 1% and he would be happy to give him a better deal. Rod Petrie asked
how much HSBC would be prepared to lend Hibernian FC. Following another question on the
Hibs100 money from Brian Montieth, Rod Petrie was forced to admit that during the year
Hibs had undertaken a "realignment" of the clubs bank accounts and the Hibs100
money had been moved.
Brian Montieth then asked how the reduction
in operating expenses of over �600,000 was achieved. Rod Petrie replied that the savings
had been achieved by being very careful and saving money on items like travel, petrol
utilities etc, and it was part of the boards vision & direction that costs should be
kept to a minimum so that the maximum amount of money could be spent on the playing staff.
The next questioner asked if the reduction in costs were due to the severance payment to
Alex Miller inflating last years figure. This was denied pointing out the running costs in
question did not include any staff costs. The next question up picked up on the phrase
"footprint" that Rod Petrie had used in his initial address when talking about
the stadium. Rod confirmed that when the rent was increased we were renting a larger area
("footprint") of land, the extra land was an area at the back of the East
Stand/terracing. The next question was whether the Club86 was included in the accounts. It
was confirmed that money contributed was included in the accounts but was hidden within
the total turnover. Tom O'Malley stated that the Club86 money was highly valued and
indicated that an upcoming AGM that it would be re-vamped. The next question brought up
the �900,000 loss and the press reports that Tom Farmer had covered this. He wanted to
know whether this was a loan or a Gift from Tom Farmer. The answer given that Tom Farmer
had stood behind the club, would continue to stand behind the club & the losses were
"covered" by Farmer was rather vague and caused rumbles of discontent in the
hall. At this point the Chair moved to formally adopt the accounts, reappoint the auditors
and close the official section of the night.
The next stage was a discussion led by
Malcolm McPherson on the bid by Weatherseal bid. He opened by stating that at the start of
the negotiations both Hibs & Weatherseal had signed a confidentially agreement which
meant that very little of the detail could be revealed. He said that if Brian Kennedy
wanted to withdraw from this they would be happy to talk about the deal but that as
recently as that morning they had been contacted by lawyers for Weatherseal reminding them
of the agreement. He went on to say that although most business deals were simply a matter
of price in this case there was a lot more to consider. He stated that a team of
accountants acting for Weatherseal had arrived at the club two weeks ago and had been
given access to any & every figures they required. The deal was turned down by the
board as without Brian Kennedys business plan they had no idea of his future ideas for the
club, he stated it was a mystery why Brian Kennedy refused to provide the plan and said
that although the deal was dead Brian Kennedy was undoubtedly a Hibs fan. He then invited
questions from the floor.
The first question revolved around the
reports of a Sept 30th deadline by which they had to have agreement in principle, and that
they must have agreed to sell for this deadline to pass. The reply from Malcolm McPherson
was that before the board could agree in principle they had to see the business plan, he
made various minor points including one about it being strange to try and conduct business
via the papers. The next questioner asked why the board couldn't agree in principle to
sell the club but without it being legally binding in order to see the business plan.
Malcolm McPherson said that the board were committed to the idea of Brian Kennedy
providing a fully detailed plan. The next point was how could the board question the
prospect of Hibernian FC being a subsidiary of Weatherseal when the Hibs parent company
was in poor financial health. In a vague reply Malcolm McPherson brought up the newspaper
figures that Weatherseal had a turnover of �60 million with profits of �6 million,
stating that the accounts that they had seen indicated a turnover of �27 million with
profits of �1.5 million.
Charlie Reid then asked that as the bid
reportedly included a figure of 4 to 5 million pounds for players could the board match
this if they were to turn down this bid. After not really giving an answer the mic moved
onto Glenn Ross who asked Malcolm McPherson if the board wanted to deny that they had a
letter from National Westminster bank detailing the cash involved in Brian Kennedys bid.
The confidentially agreement was brought up by the board although when pressed, I think I
heard Malcolm McPherson admitting the existence of the letter but the issue had created a
bit of a fuss and can't be sure. When asked if he had met Brian Kennedy outwith the board
Malcolm McPherson denied this. The next shareholder stated that he didn't believe Tom
Farmer would sell as he made money out of Hibs all along the line, from the liquidation of
Forth Investments in 1991 onwards including land at Straiton. The board led by Tom
O'Malley hotly disputed this describing it as "total rubbish". When asked to
detail the ground "Footprint" Tom O'Malley sharply stated they were still
talking about Weatherseal and they would defer that till later. Brian Montieth then
brought up the fact that the board seemed to say one thing via the press yet do something
else. He used the example of several press statements & Hibs press conferences.
Malcolm McPherson stated that they had not pre-judged anything and discussions were
ongoing.
The next question was that if the Kennedy
business plan revealed real investment could the board match it with their business plan.
Malcolm McPherson replied that the offer wasn't dismissed and if somebody came in with
better plans that the boards they would listen to them. Brian Montieth then brought up the
press report that quoted Brian Kennedy as saying that it was not the business plan that
was the problem but the price. He asked the board to remember that the price should be
what the club was worth now, not what it would be worth after investment. He quoted the
example of David Murray saying that if had been asked to pay in the late 1980's what the
club became worth in the 1990's after his revitalisation he wouldn't have bought them, and
pointed out that the Ayr United board were narrow minded enough to turn him down. The
reply from the board was that the last letter sent to Brian Kennedy detailed the
structural changes and invited him to come on board. The next question again asked if the
club was actually for sale. Malcolm McPherson stated that the board could only recommend
and that it was not a case of a "for sale" sign over the door but if somebody
came along capable of taking the club forward they would be welcomed. Next issued raised
was a report in the press that Kennedy's was "not the only bid". Malcolm
McPherson replied that they were speaking to a number of potential investors, that some
were ongoing but some were finished with. When asked if they had invited Brian Kennedy to
join the board they said they had but that he was only interested in total control.
When it was stated that as the club was not
the boards to sell so they must be wasting their time if Tom Farmer wasn't willing to sell
up. In their reply is was again stated that they would look at anything & recommend
acceptance or refuse of any idea/plan with Rod Petrie re-stating the standard club
position. The next shareholder picked up on Malcolm McPherson's comment that "it was
a mystery" why Kennedy failed to provide the business plan, and asked why Brian
Kennedy should do this. Malcolm McPherson stated that it be true for a normal business but
this was a football club. The next shareholder up stated that he had met Tom Farmer at his
Kwik Fit offices and he said that he was prepared to sell Hibernian FC, he then asked why
if this was true couldn't they fix a price put the club on the market and let anybody who
was interested decide if it was worth it. This was well received by the hall and the
answer was skipped over and Brian Montieth again asked about contradictory deadlines and
actions by the board and asked if he would be prepared to pick up the phone & call
Brian Kennedy. Malcolm McPherson again stated that if Brian Kennedy wants to come back to
them he was welcome and that he would have no problem phoning him as the talks had always
been friendly. When asked if Weatherseal had made an offer for the Holding Company as well
as the football club Malcolm McPherson declined to comment quoting the confidentiality
agreement and the section of the evening dedicated to Weatherseal was closed.
Tom O'Malley then introduced the
presentation via the video screens on the "boards vision" with Goal 1 being
Promotion, he then explained the clubs player pool policy of trying to sign players under
the Bosman rule avoiding transfer fees. He stated that the first team pool consisted of
around 22 players with a full Under-18 team pool. On youth development he stated that Hibs
were running new under-13 & under-14 teams, that they had overhauled the scouting
network. The most interesting point came next as he revealed that although the manager and
his full time staff would have input to a youth development structure it would come under
the control of the board to avoid any change of management personnel damaging the long
term development of the scheme. He said that Club86 would fund most of the new structure
and that Club86 was soon to be reformed & relaunched.
Rod Petrie then took over & used the
video screens to show how the company structure had changed with the Hospitality Company
being absorbed by the Football Club and the Property company disappearing from the
equation after the purchase of the stadium by the Football Club. He said the purchase of
the stadium introduced an asset to the Hibs accounts that converted a deficit into a
surplus.
Stephen Dunn then took over and used the
video screens to outline the boards plans for the stadium the plans were shown as
Phase 1 : Building a corner block between
the Famous Five Stand and the East Stand/terracing which would contain changing rooms,
fitness centre, medical facilities, players lounge & some offices. This would be paid
for by the Hibs100 money.
Phase 2 : Building a new West Stand and
levelling the pitch
Phase 3 : Building a new East Stand
Rod Petrie said that while there had been
publicity in the papers Hibs had been looking at various projects to provide dedicated
training facilities for the players and that the Leith Academy link up was only one
option.
The first question was simply
"Timescale & Finance?". When the reply was an evasive answer about as and
when it fitted in with plans etc the groans & complaints from those in attendance
rather overwhelmed the rest of Mr Petries reply. The original questioner forcibly stated
that he was embarrassed that they could give no details and it was just a show for the
purpose of the AGM. Rod Petrie replied that he was wrong and gave a rather long winded
explanation that didn't really mean anything. The next question asked the board what right
they had to request Brian Kennedys business plan when they didn't have a proper plan
themselves and did they want to see his plan to steal his ideas. Rod Petrie replied that
things would be done "within the scale of planning we had done". Somebody then
asked why they didn't just McLeish some money and Tom O'Malley said that remained as the
boards aim. Then we had a shareholder asking if Hibs had any plans to work with Primary
school children as he though you needed to start skills work at 6. Tom O'Malley replied
that they hoped to include that eventually but at the moment they were starting with under
13s & under14s and they would start building over the years from this base. John
Campbell then asked about the phrase "we own the ground" saying he didn't know
who they meant by we, and as Tom Farmer owned both the Football Club & Property
Company he had basically sold the ground to himself and burdened with club with a large
debt. Rod Petrie replied that the stadium purchase was an important move for the club.
The "Happy Hibee Half-time Draw"
was then questioned with the shareholder scornfully suggesting that the amounts of money
it was generating was what 2nd, 3rd Division & Junior clubs were earning and
questioned the cessation of the "Hibs Hat Trick". Rod Petrie replied that the
"Hat Trick" was losing money and that's why they stopped it. This was criticised
from the floor as the club was seen in unambitious in running a "50/50" draw
rather that a a proper pools type scheme.
Charlie Reid then stated he felt sorry for
the as the were defending the in defensible, and that continuing the nautical theme the
Captain wasn't on the bridge, he wasn't below decks, he wasn't evening stoking the fires
in the boiler room he had jumped ship. He challenged Tom Farmer to meet the fans via Hands
on Hibs to talk about Hibs. This was rather well received in the room. Tom O'Malley
replied that the board looked after Hibernian FC's interests. Tom O'Malley was then
congratulated on his promotion (to Chairman) as it was the only thing at Easter Road to be
promoted recently! This shareholder then asked what right he had to sit there when the
others had resigned, and why hadn't he resigned. Tom O'Malley thanked him for "that
vote of confidence".
On older fan started talking about his
memories of Hibs from the 1940s when he started going to Hibs games, he then listed
membership of every possible organisation for Hibs fans finishing with Hands On Hibs and
asked if Hibs were destined to become "the Partick Thistle of the East". He
asked if we got promoted could we stay up with the current squad and pointed out Dundee
United spent �2million to make sure of promotion asking were Hibs as determined as that.
This was basically skipped over and Tom O'Malley closed this part of the evening and
introduced Alex McLeish.
Alex took the mic at about 9:10pm seeming
rather wary after the reception the directors had received. He started a short speech
saying he was proud to be manager of Hibernian FC, how they were such a big club, how he
had personal pride & ambition & wanted to do well with Hibs. He honestly admitted
that the team would need strengthened on promotion, and admitted that there were question
marks over certain players but defended them saying they just needed time to adjust. He
was hoping to add another 1 or 2 players to the squad that would improve our options. He
talked about his own management team saying that they were people he could trust, but that
they were all very capable as well. He talked generally about the fans & relegation
and then the meeting was open to questions from the floor.
First up was a statement that Alex
shouldn't be there and that the board had only wheeled him out to deflect attention from
themselves. Tom O'Malley replied that it was historically the case at Hibs that the
manager attended the AGM. Next was a question asking if we had to sell Harper, to which
Alex replied that no they didn't and if had thought that Kevin Harper could be the
difference between getting promotion & staying the first he would have kept him. He
said it was better to take the money rather than lose out on Bosman and the move had
already allowed him to bring in a new player (I think he named Mixu but I am not sure).
When asked about the Brebner departure and his replacement with Holsgrove, McLeish tried
to explain what had happened explaining that he always felt Grant wanted to go back to
England, but had been happy with the deal until an agent had got involved.
McLeish was then asked about the lack of
team spirit evident within Hibs especially compared with the tail end of last season. He
said it was difficult for the players in the first division and they were taking time to
adjust, that teams were coming to "kill the crowd and turn them against Hibs"
which he conceded was a common tactic he had used himself against the Old Firm, but he
pointed out the number of late goals showed that the players were not giving up. There was
a bit of follow up and a short general chat on this subject then another older shareholder
took the mic and declared, "I remember them selling Harper.. Willie to Arsenal (Hibs
star goalie sold in @1923) and as for this window cleaner guy I think he was only in it
for the publicity, nobody had ever heard oh him before, and I would advise Alex to ignore
it all" there was a good laugh all round at this intervention.
The mic was then taken by a shareholder who
declared that Hands On Hibs contrary to the impression given by Charlie Reid did not
represent all Hibs fans, and he thought the campaign was affecting the players. Alex
McLeish was very careful when answering saying that while it can be unsettling, but the
players want success regardless of factions within the club. McLeish was then asked about
the departure of Darren Dods, and replied that although he wanted him to stay Darren
himself never talked to him, he said Hibs had offered a 4 year contract and were still
talking to his agent when Darren signed for St Johnstone. Then Stuart McCaffrey's
departure was raised, with Alex McLeish saying the principle reason he gave was the lack
of first team opportunities in Division One, he also wanted wages that were just below
first team level and added "but the full details will come out when we go to the
tribunal". John Campbell then asked "the same question that I've asked for the
last few years" on a Saturday you wheel out Pat Stanton to do the draw, but when are
you going to give him a job. Tom O'Malley replied that were talking to Pat about various
posts and when it was pointed out that this had been said before he stated that but it's
me that's telling you now & I promise it". The next question was how much hard
cash was available for transfers as the club couldn't rely on Bosman dead wood. The answer
given was that priority was given to players capable of fighting their way out of the
first division, and that they wanted to strengthen the squad rather than go for the
singular in one "big" player who could always get injured. Tom O'Malley added
that money was available but like every club it would be a mistake to show their hand.
Alex McLeish was then asked if with all his
World Cup trips he had picked up any new training techniques or skills. He said that most
top clubs & countries had training that was very similar, but at the World Cup he had
basically just watched games. The next question was whether Hibs should go for quality not
quantity in the player pool. Rod Petrie responded that throughout the year the number of
players fluctuated and that the previous high numbers had included a lot of youngsters
still developing, that they currently had a first team squad of 29 players a full under 18
squad and were beginning to develop an under 21 squad. Alex McLeish was then asked about
speculation that Wigan were about to offer �300,000 for Stevie Crawford, which he said
was paper talk as there had been no approach. Alan Lugton asked McLeish if in the light of
crafty & devious players he considered himself a good negotiator. Alex said he didn't
regard himself as skilled in this department and that was why Rod Petrie did a lot of this
work, he would rather be coaching the players.
The final question asked was directed at
Rod Petrie and concerned the purchase of the stadium for �2.5 million. He wanted to know
if given the holding company had debts of �7.5 million would this money still leave debts
of �5 million. Rod replied that we the football club are not liable for this debt and the
purchase of the stadium meant it didn't affect us.
The meeting was wound up by Tom O'Malley at
approx 9:40 in a short address he said that Hibs faced a long road and it would be stonier
& harder to travel if we were divided, and he thanked the meeting for the good order
in which business had been conducted. |