Q & A: August 2007

This is the first in a series of monthly question and answers to the Bees United board.

Thank you to all those that send their questions in. You can send in your questions to Mark Chapman at mark.chapman@beesunited.org.uk. The closing date for September's Q & A is on August 30. You do not have to be a Bees United member.

From David Powell: Following on from news that Ipswich Town have become the first football club in the UK to become carbon neutral, what does Bees United intend to do about the Bees' carbon footprint?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/6908507.stm

Brian Burgess replies: First of all, thanks to David Powell for bringing this news article to our attention. The theme of football clubs taking a lead in corporate social responsibility is one that is close to my heart and totally in tune with the ethos of a community club that Bees United is promoting.

The examples in the article are interesting – it mentions the new Dartford stadium at Princes Park as the UK's first sustainable stadium. I visited this before it opened in order to see what innovations we might apply in our plans for a stadium at Lionel Road. The current vision for Lionel Road includes adopting a ‘zero carbon’ approach, with renewable energy generation on site.

The answer to the question is that we are taking the issue of the carbon footprint very seriously in the plans for the new stadium but in the short term Bees United and the Club have not had the resources (people, time or money) to look at this seriously in relation to current operations at Griffin Park. I would love us to be able to do it and if David or any other supporters can offer any help or advice please contact me.

From Justin Kempton: Please can you clarify the purpose of the new stadium company?

Brian Burgess replies: The new stadium project is a massive undertaking that will require a huge mount of time and effort. The football club board already has a challenging task just steering the Club back to financial health and success on the pitch and we want the directors and staff at the Club to focus on that and not be distracted by the demands of the new stadium project.

The new subsidiary, Brentford FC (Lionel Road) Ltd, will be the vehicle for working on the project and will also enable us to ring-fence the potential risks and liabilities arising from the major transactions in order to protect the Club.

From Gary Franklin: Just a quick question for you, now that at long, long last the Ealing road end has finally been covered, can you please confirm that the New Road stand will be extended back on its original frame and the roof re-instated? If the work is going ahead would we even possibly have a new cantilever roof for the whole stand or is that out of the question?

Brian Burgess replies: The short answer is no. The Club does have planning permission to replace the original frame at the back of the New Road stand with lounges that can be used on matchdays as restaurants and bars and to generate extra income at other times for community use.

This would cost about £1.5million and although a substantial part of the cost could be covered by a Football Foundation grant the Club would still have to invest capital which it currently does not have. This scheme will not increase the capacity of Griffin Park and it is not clear that the extra revenue from the lounges would be enough to make it a good investment from the Club’s point of view. It does not include a new cantilever roof, which would add substantially to the cost.

We believe that this project would not solve the long-term problem of making the Club viable at Griffin Park and it is better to focus our efforts on the plans for a new stadium at Lionel Road.

Edmund Paton Walsh asks: Can you explain the society's fundraising strategy? In particular, the purposes for which funds are being raised and how the various fundraising activities, such as standing orders, bucket-shaking, sponsored walks, gigs in Stripes, etc are ring-fenced for specific purposes.

Natasha Judge replies: The fundraising strategy remains the same for the moment (as published on the BU website). However a realistic ‘Fundraising forecast’ has been put together (see below)

Fundraising projects for June 2007 – May 2008.

Small (up to £1000)

Collection Tins £1,000
Bee Green £750
Xmas Raffle £250
Community Draw £500
Pool Competition £400

Total £2,900

Medium (up to £5000)

Gigs in The Hive £2,000
Quiz Nights x 3 £1,500
Sponsor a Striker £1,500
Walk to Wycombe 3000 (rough estimation from previous walks)
Xmas/New Year Party £2,500
Brick Scheme £5,000
EasyFundraising £1,500

Total £17,000

Large Events (£5000 and over)

Brighton – Brentford £10,000
AN Other TBC £10,000

Total £20,000

Bucket Average £15,000

Total £54,900

In addition the allocation of funds at the moment are as follows with a majority of the fundraising outside of standing orders going to the general Bees United fund. Some schemes such as the bricks have been put in place by individuals who have, when they have presented their idea asked that the funds be ring-fenced for certain things. In these instances (before my time on the board) the Board has been in agreement with the proposals. A far as I am concerned anyone who comes to me with a fundraising idea that they wish to own (or suggest) are more than welcome to propose which ‘pot’ they would like to see the funds contributed. I will then propose to the Board for a vote. Below is a breakdown of what goes where at the moment.

Ben Watson asks:

1) Can BU report how much has been raised from new fund-raising initiatives (ie not bucket collections, Back The Bees texts or standing orders, everything which was ongoing), after costs have been subtracted, since the election of board members just under a year ago?

Natasha judge replies: Unfortunately this information is not available in full, primarily because the major event that has taken place is the Brighton to Brentford walk. As I am sure you can appreciate many of the walkers received pledges from fellow Bees fans who they have not been able to contact during the close season. However as soon as I have a full and final amount I will publish the exact figure.

Similarly the Build a Better Future brick campaign at the moment has generated revenue as opposed to profit, costs are still to be extracted as the first batch of bricks have not yet been produced. However I have set out below as much information as I can.

Build a Better Future

So far we have received orders for 84 bricks. On average Bees United should receive profit of approximately £20 (please bear in mind that these are rough approximations at this stage). So to date there has been an approximate profit of £1700

Easyfundraising is a new scheme started just prior to elections. The shopping portal has over 400 outlets that you can shop at and has so far raised £1050. This is with only 200 users so the more we can get using it the better the return will be.

Brighton – Brentford walk.

So far the amount collected is £4510. Early indications suggest that the total raised should exceed £10000. I had hoped to launch a few more new schemes but for this Bees United require more volunteers. There is another fundraising meeting on 8th August all are welcome to come along. I hope to be able to update you with regard to a couple more events then.

In addition all the existing schemes will be re-launched over the first few home games of the season.

2) Can BU report how much it paid out to cover the costs of the Brighton to Brentford walk in May? Itemised if possible.

Natasha Judge replies:

An itemised expenses report for the Brighton to Brentford walk:-

• Mini Bus Hire (x3) £600
• Diesel (x4) £200
• Reception Buffet (awaiting invoice) £200?

Sub total: £1,000

The following costs are from the Just Giving website

• Just Giving Commission5%
• VAT payable on the commission charge17.5%
• Visa credit card fee per transaction1.34%
• Mastercard fee per transaction1.4%
• Maestro/Debit card per transaction 22p
• Visa Delta / Electron cards per transaction 23p

The following gross amount was pledged on the website – £2,610 in 91 transactions.

• 5% Commission Charge £130.50
• VAT £22.84
• The card transaction charge between £20.02 – £36.54

Sub-total (Just Giving) £173.36 – £189.88
Total £1,173.36 – £1,189.88

The following items were donated, cutting the costs of the walk dramatically:-

A Mini-Bus, 4 First Aid Kits, Hi-Visibility Vests, Cereal Bars, Lucazade and Ribena drinks, Water, Hi-energy foods (chocolate bars, fruit etc), Medals for all walkers.

3) If I remember correctly at an EGM late in 2005 senior BU board members said the club had to live within its means, since then Matthew Benham has reduced the club's interest payments. Is Brentford FC currently living within its means? If not how much is the estimated loss for this season and what is BU doing about it? Can we assume BU will be removing the directors it controls who have overseen a budget that has the club spiralling towards the abyss?

Brian Burgess replies: For the answer to the financial parts of this question please refer to the information in Joe Bourke’s answers on the budget.

Like everyone else who cares about the Club, the Bees United board is concerned about how it can be funded at a sustainable level that will give us a competitive playing budget to achieve success on the pitch. It is the job of the Club board and Managing Director to maximise income, reduce costs and work out plans to move the Club to breakeven, which it almost did last year, with the help of significant transfer income.

Detailed consultations take place between the Bees United nominees on the Club board and their colleagues on both the Trust and Club boards. As well as the short term budget and cashflow issues these discussions focus on the medium term need to get the Club to a breakeven budget over the next few years and to raise the necessary funds to plug the gaps. The deal with Matthew Benham to reduce the Club’s interest costs was very helpful and the boards of the Club and Bees United as the majority shareholder are looking at other initiatives to improve the financial stability of the Club.

From Brian Mason (Clifford Knowles and Kevin Roberts sent in related questions also): I am confused by the statement from the club concerning the approx £100,000 windfall from the sell-on of DJ Campbell.

This statement says “With regard to any affect upon our Budget for the Season, provision has already been made for 'exceptional income'. Therefore such windfalls have already been anticipated and included in our considerations for how funds may best be utilised within our overall Budget.”

I have three questions on this:

1. Have the board of Bees United formally approved the BFC Budget for the 2007/08 season?
2. Why does this budget contain exceptional income? A provision for exceptional costs would seem reasonable but budgeting for exceptional income seems ridiculous given the perilous state of the clubs finances.
3. Can the club or Bees United expand upon any further exceptional income items shown within the Budget for the 2007/08 season?

Joe Bourke replies: At the fans forum at the end of last season the following answers were given in respect to questions about budget planning for the 2007/2008 season in League 2:

• Budgeted average attendance 4250 (Average gate 2006/2007 -5600).
• Playing budget  £1m, inclusive of appearance fees, employers national insurance, severance pay and loan signings (League one playing budget 2006/2007 £1.3m).
• Projected loss for season before contingent provisions – £550,000. 
• Operating cash flow requirement approx £600k for year – to be funded by a combination of  contingent income and borrowing facilities or share issue.

The clubs budget is normally set by the BFC board in May/ June each year following consultation with the Bees United board. See BU board minute summaries on BU website for reports on budget development and Q&A of January 27, 2007 for details of working relationship between BFC and BU
https://www.beesunited.org.uk/content/view/239/25/

The BU board formally ratified the final budget position at its meeting on 26 July.

Transfer fee income has been dealt with in two ways within the budget:

1. Confirmed income is included within the projected loss and cash requirement (for 2007/2008 this is the additional income the club receives from the transfer of Michael Turner that was contingent on Hull remaining in the Championship)

1. Contingent transfer income – This is potential additional income from transfers contingent on appearances, goals and/or sell-ons. Income received from transfers over and above that provided for in the budget is used to pay-down loans. By making a contingent budget provision for potential transfer fees in the budget, the club prevents the situation arising where loan repayments are triggered from receipt of transfer income even though the club needs the funds to meet its budget gap within the season.