TUST

[CP Gull]

I fail to see how this has any relevance to you joining TUST? If you join now you have a say in the bidding process. No money will go to the existing board. The existing board has nothing to do with TUST. Having lost confidence in the current board is the MAIN REASON I and others have joined. I do not trust them to take on Theas shareholding and run the club, I would rather it went to US.

If TUST take on Theas shareholding they will be the majority shareholding and elect members to the board to reflect that. As the majority shareholder TUST will be able to shape how the club is run.

That is EXACTLY as I see it. It is a shame that several months down the road and with all the excellent communication put out by Michael Goulburne of the TUST - that there are still people who really don't get what they are about. If people want things to carry on as they are, if they are happy with that, then they SHOULDN'T join the TUST. If, however (in the absence of a mega rich new investor suddenly appearing on the horizon) they want CHANGE and don't want the club left in the hands of those Directors left (post Thea) then the ONLY option on the table as it stands is to get behind the TUST.

Of course, there may well be a scenario where the TUST will have to work WITH the existing board going forward but if it achieves it's stated ambition of buying Thea's majority shareholding it will be in a position to call the shots and make changes as they see fit.

[goodluckgull]

I have joined the TUST. Thanks to all the posts who have explained why it is the best way forward.

[Kit_robin]

I have joined the TUST. Thanks to all the posts who have explained why it is the best way forward.

Best thing I've read all day! It's a pleasure to have you with us.

Right. Who's next then?

[Gulliball]

I have signed up and also joined the lottery.

My personal ideal scenario, at least for the near future, would be a new majority owner with the TUST holding a minority shareholding and a few seats on the board to have an input into things. Whatever happens though, having a united and organised Supporters Trust with some funding behind them can only be a good thing for TUFC fans.

[Eirik]

Signed up from Norway a month ago or so. My attending at meetings and such will obviously be at a minimum but that won't stop me from joining the TUST.

[Webber]

Interesting parallels between what TUST is considering and what, from the start of this month, the Bath City Supporters Society is already attempting.

This is the Bath City Big Bid whereby the supporters trust is seeking £1.4m through a community share issue.

See:

http://www.bigbathcitybid.org.uk

Can they do it? Bath is a very different place in many ways. Larger than Torquay; surprisingly fewer people than Torbay. Much smaller football club than ours in a rugby-dominated community. Intriguing.

More at:

http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Business ... story.html

[RoadGull]

I am new to this forum and also to the internet regarding chatting!

I have been trying to follow all the postings and comments made by people regarding the Supporters Trust taking over the club but do have a question or two if someone can answer them here?

1) If Mrs Bristow is to give her shareholding (£3million?) to the Trust, who I imagine cannot afford to buy them at the moment, what will all the other Directors make of this as they have all had to buy theirs on the open market and not been given any.

2) Do the other Directors not have an option to buy some or all of these (Mrs Bristows) shares if they want to?

3) If the Supporters Trust do get a majority shareholding, how will the club finance itself once Mrs Bristow has gone and closed her cheque book, as the other remaining Directors would surely not be prepared to put much more money into a club that they now have no control over.

Sorry if these sound silly questions! I agree that the Trust running the club is a good idea, but to an ageing codger like me I look for pitfalls and can see many at the moment.

Thank you to anyone who can help answer my questions.

[bixieupnorth]

i signed up a couple weeks ago, member 170 on my card

[Webber]

In answer to RoadGull's points, it should be emphasised that £3m worth of shares (or however many exist once Thea's loans have been converted) will not necessarily change hands for £3m.

The amount could be a lot less. An awful lot less to the extent this may not be a major concern.

The deal is available to anybody who is interested provided they can meet Thea's criteria of having funds, a genuine feeling for the club and a readiness to put a sound business plan and management/administrative structure in place. The offer does not exclude current directors. The local press has been talking up the prospect of a package involving present board members. The likelihood of this remains to be seen.

For TUST, or anybody else to take over, there would be the issue of the scale of the operation. Any new owners relying solely on gate receipts, and other established lines of income (remembering how Football League monies are gradually drying up), are likely to have to "downsize" the club.

Therefore, in order to allow it to be competitive, new owners will need to find extra money on top of normal income. In recent years this has amounted to Thea, and other directors, more or less funding the annual deficit. New private owners may care to do likewise whilst examining every aspect of the club's ability to earn and spend money.

TUST would be at liberty to do similar in terms of adding to whatever money is coming into the club. It would also need money readily to hand from mid-summer. Other supporter/community-owned clubs have followed the path of community share issues, donations, grants (both footballing and community-related), loans (preferably favourable!), etc. TUST is being advised about this by Supporters Direct and will be looking at what has been achieved at other clubs.

TUST hasn't got the money to put on the table today. That can't be denied. Give it time and it may have. The community share issue will be something you will hear more about if this goes ahead. An advantage to TUST is the degree of knowhow it has in this direction.

Bath City Supporters Society last week launched a bid for £1.4m from its' local community. They have the disadvantage of needing to settle outstanding debts as part of the process. That's less of an issue with Torquay United.

There's no detail of the scale of any share issue which may be launched by TUST. This will become more apparent after further investigations through the channels of Supporters Direct.

[RoadGull]

Thank you for your reply Mr Webber - that does help to clarify certain points I raised ... do you have any idea about any of the other Directors and their feelings towards Mrs Bristow's shares with regards to the Supporters Trust buying or inheriting them?
I would have thought that a long serving Director like Brian Palk who must have funded the club to the tune of a few thousand pounds over the years would not be too happy with shares just being given away, as I know Brian to be a man of very honest integrity. I do not know any other of the Directors, but there does seem to be an ill feeling towards some of them from certain articles I have read on this forum, so I do wonder how they would 'get on' with people within the Supporters Trust who are also posting on here.

It is certainly a project that is worth considering - I am learning more all the time I am online! Thank you.

[Eirik]

I thought that the new owners would receive the shares from Thea. Or have there been other developments?

[hector]

Thank you for your reply Mr Webber - that does help to clarify certain points I raised ... do you have any idea about any of the other Directors and their feelings towards Mrs Bristow's shares with regards to the Supporters Trust buying or inheriting them?
I would have thought that a long serving Director like Brian Palk who must have funded the club to the tune of a few thousand pounds over the years would not be too happy with shares just being given away, as I know Brian to be a man of very honest integrity. I do not know any other of the Directors, but there does seem to be an ill feeling towards some of them from certain articles I have read on this forum, so I do wonder how they would 'get on' with people within the Supporters Trust who are also posting on here.

It is certainly a project that is worth considering - I am learning more all the time I am online! Thank you.

Brian Palk was at the TUST meeting last week, so it may not necessarily equate that he would be against the idea of TUST. He might be very much for.

[Webber]

RoadGull isn't the only person learning all the time. Most of us are!

In whatever capacity I was writing, I would be naturally reluctant to speculate upon the actions and attitudes of current/former directors. I know very little anyway. But, as it's such a small football community which surrounds Torquay United, you suspect all sorts of dynamics are possible.

TUST constantly finds itself in new positions. Until recently, most of the emphasis was upon spreading the word of TUST's revival. The idea of any form of supporter ownership was in the far distance. Now, very suddenly, TUST is in what amounts to a bidding process for the club. Please understand there may be certain things which cannot be immediately conveyed. We'll do our best to keep you informed in the appropriate way at an appropriate time. I hope that sounds fair.

It's important to remember it's an open bidding process. This means TUST's officers - of which I am not one - could receive a message, at any moment, telling them a deal for the club has been made with another party. There's nothing new in that; it's been the case since Thea made the club available.

If such news came, TUST would need to "reposition". This could happen at a relatively early stage of the process or, as they say, deep into stoppage time. This comes with the territory of not having exclusive bidding rights.

However, in the absence of any other bid being confirmed, TUST's day-to-day strategy continues to be based upon the possibility of bidding for complete control of the club. The current financial review being undertaken by Supporters Direct is an important part of that process.

[Tamargull]

Joined last week - one way to show my support for the club.

[Webber]

Here are a few personal observations from somebody who has been helping TUST for the past three or four weeks.

These comments are expressed in the context of assuming today's bid will result in a deal. TUST's hopes for this are the same as everybody's. We hope it's a good one; we hope it works; we hope it's for the benefit of Torquay United.

We know, of course, it's not signed, sealed and delivered. If it fails, TUST plans to resurrect its proposals.

Anyway, my thoughts for now:

1. There was always the possibility that - whilst we were working hard on our bid - another party would steal our thunder. Those were the rules of engagement; there are no complaints.

TUST, of course, needed cash on the table. This wasn't to acquire the club; it was to show TUST could run Torquay United from Day 1. There was no great desire to borrow up front; that may have scared us to death anyway. The plan was a community share issue and, basically, anything else we could raise or cheerfully receive from kind, wonderful people. We felt we had the nous in our ranks to give this a serious shot.

With time, and a clear run, we may have succeeded. We can cry over spilt milk; yet we understand the terms of the offer were extremely favourable.

2. As far as I know, nobody in TUST has the faintest idea of who is behind today's bid. That's fine; that's normal. If, and when, new owners are announced TUST is eager to talk with them. Whether that happens prior to - or after - an official announcement remains to be seen. TUST, if requested, will follow confidentiality agreements.

3. TUST has a future. The Herald Express dropped a gentle hint today that we might like to help bring Seale Hayne up to scratch.

I Imagine TUST may elect to undertake projects. Yet I doubt it would want to do work of such magnitude in isolation from its objectives of owning shares and having places on the board. TUST isn't an old-style supporters club standing alone from the club; it has a completely different set of aims and principles which strive to place it much more central to the governance of the club.

4. We'd still like more members and people who can contribute to TUST's path from now onwards. A spot of diversity - in just about every direction - would also help!

We naturally expect many supporters will be disappointed that, as of now, supporter ownership hasn't come to fruition. Equally, there will be those who weren't entirely comfortable with the idea and may have been daunted by the prospect of becoming involved in a major venture. Well, however you feel, we'd love to have you on board.

Mind you, if this bid peters out, you never know where we may be in a few weeks time!

Keep the faith.