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New Supporters Trust Website


DoofersDad

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The Board of the ICT Supporters Trust is delighted to announce the launch of its new website.  

With Covid restrictions all but over and a new season nearly upon us, now is the time for the Trust to show a new public face as it strives to better represent the fan base.  The new website is bright, dynamic and welcoming.  It gives details of the role and goals of the Trust; of the Board members and what the Trust is up to and it provides links to other websites in the ICT family.  Moving forward, it will be giving details of fundraising and other events and a members only section will allow the Board to seek the views of members on specific issues we will be discussing with the club.  And, of course, it details reasons why folk should join the Trust and how.  Please check it out here use the feedback options to let us know what you think.

The launch of the website coincides not only with the new season but also with the new membership year.  Membership renewals from existing members are coming in steadily but we desperately need new members if we are going to achieve our goals and provide the type of role we have sometimes been criticised for not providing.  Communication with the club has not been easy these last few years and the main reason stated by the club is that the Trust is not sufficiently representative.  Unfortunately, there is little the Trust Board can do about that other than encourage people to join the Trust and help to give the fans a stronger voice through the Trust.

The Cub's Board of Directors has recently confirmed to us that they agree a good working relationship between the Club and the Supporters Trust is important both for the Club and the supporters of the Club.  We are currently finalising a date to meet with the SLO in order to get a good working relationship back on track.  There is so much we want to discuss with them and we are keen to get back on the fundraising trail again following the success of "Milestones and Memories".  We are also finalising a date and venue for an open meeting for fans which will help to explain to folk what it is we want to achieve and why we so urgently need new members.  It will also be an opportunity for fans to tell us about the things you want us to raise with the club.

The new website is a marker for a new and dynamic chapter in the history of the Supporters Trust.  Under the leadership of our Chair, Jennifer Aitchison, the Trust is now in a position to deliver on behalf of the fans and club alike.  Key to this is increased membership.  The Trust will only succeed if supporters of the club join the Trust to make it properly representative of the fan base.  Please click through to the new website and join us.

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Utter BS from the club.  The trust have a larger shareholding than most of the board, where does their mandate come from?  What's the shareholding of the Wyness Shuffle Podcast, Section 94 or Travel Club?

The trust aren't without their issues and have been toothless since the days of David Sutherland and Donald Johnstone who would stand up to this kind of bully boy bollocks.  Where are these guys now?

Sounds to me like the CEO is just looking for a compliant group to raise funds to cover the ever growing salary costs of jobs for the boys.  Also appears as if that's what the trust are looking to offer up.

Roofing the west stand for a couple of dozen fans whilst our disabled followers get a half hidden view behind a wall and next to no protection from the elements?  Pathetic that they would suggest it, even worse if the trust back it.

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Thanks for the comments STFU.  I can assure you, that one thing the Supporters Trust is not going to be is compliant to the wishes of the CEO!  Of course, by definition, supporters support the club and the club needs its supporters and therefore the interests of club and supporters will often be the same.  The relationship between club and Trust needs to be one of constructive partnership where we can ensure the views of supporters are properly taken account of when decisions affecting supporters are made.

The Trust has told the club that we would be happy to lead a fundraising campaign for a covering for the West Stand, but repeated requests for a meeting to discuss this went unanswered.   Initiatives like this need constructive engagement with various sections of our support so that when fundraising starts, people will know exactly what we are fundraising for and that it has the backing of the various groups of supporters impacted by it.  

You mention our disabled followers.  This group has always been a priority for us and a few years ago colleagues put in a significant amount of work identifying external funding and making proposals to improve the facilities for disabled fans.  I wasn't personally involved in this and I don't know the details, but unfortunately these proposals weren't pursued at the time.  It has been suggested that a project to put a roof on the West Stand could be combined with improved facilities there for our disabled supporters.  However, our soundings are that many disabled supporters would much rather be integrated with friends and family in the Main and North stands than have a separate (albeit very functional) designated area.  This just illustrates how crucial it is to have engagement with the people impacted by proposals.  

There are lots of things the Trust would like to do, but to be effective, the Trust needs to be seen to be much more representative than we currently are.  The Trust can't properly represent supporters if supporters don't join the Trust.  It is only £5 a year and £1 for U16s.  We are most grateful for those supporters who have recently joined the Trust but we urgently need far more to follow their lead.  

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Good Morning All - it's great to be back on CTO after quite some time and I'd just like to take this opportunity to reiterate what @DoofersDadhas posted and assure you that we are here to listen to you and aim to strengthen the Trust with your support and interaction.  Our new website could only have been built with the amazing support of members and our new Twitter site - @ICTSupTrst is also now up and running and we hope to see you there. Following our Board meeting this week we are finalising the details of an Open meeting and it would be great to get some feedback from everyone as to topics you would like to be raised for discussion - no subject too small.  More to follow .....................

Join Us | ICT Supporters Trust

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I'm trying to sign up four members. Two at one address and two at another. Entered two names on the form but only charges for one so I've given up for now. 

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1 hour ago, Gringo said:

I'm trying to sign up four members. Two at one address and two at another. Entered two names on the form but only charges for one so I've given up for now. 

Four members!  That sounds great.  Thanks very much.  Sorry you are experiencing a problem but someone is on the case and will be in touch with you.

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22 hours ago, DoofersDad said:

Four members!  That sounds great.  Thanks very much.  Sorry you are experiencing a problem but someone is on the case and will be in touch with you.

Happy to report all issues have now been resolved and four members have now joined up.

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  • 2 weeks later...
1 hour ago, old caley girl said:

Yes 

Thanks for the info can you expand?

I’d hazard a guess the numbers would mirror the numbers of moderators on CTO most are no longer residing in Inverness and have little or no ties to the city.

Looking at the website I notice there are only a few board members mentioned why do some remain anonymous, but  then again I suppose this happens in all secret organisations not just the trust.

Dougal

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Funnily enough, being a born and bred Invernessian is not a requirement for being on the Board of the Supporters Trust.   What is a requirement is a willingness to work with the Club for the mutual benefit of the Club and its fan base.  None of the Board Members are anonymous.  There are just the 5 of us.  We would dearly like there to be more so that we could do much more for the club and its fans, but nobody else in a position to help has come forward.  

For supporters who do have a genuine interest in ICTFC and being involved in collaborative working between between the Club and its representative supporters body, nomination papers for election to the Trust Board will be sent out to members early in October prior to the AGM in December.  There is therefore time for anyone who is not currently a member of the Trust but who would like to do something constructive to help the Club and our fellow supporters, to join the Trust prior to the issue of nomination papers.  Of course the success or otherwise of the Trust is dependent not just on active members but on the size of the membership.  Imagine what a powerful voice for the supporters body the Trust would be if its membership was similar in numbers to the number of season ticket holders.  You can help make the Trust's voice more effective by joining here.

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I notice that my shareholding question was swerved.

Are you able to provide a list of who the largest shareholders are and where the supporters trust sit in that list?

Can you explain why club board members (and groups) with lower (some have none) shareholdings have a voice, but the supporters trust does not?

Thank you.

Edited by STFU
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10 hours ago, STFU said:

I notice that my shareholding question was swerved.

Are you able to provide a list of who the largest shareholders are and where the supporters trust sit in that list?

Can you explain why club board members (and groups) with lower (some have none) shareholdings have a voice, but the supporters trust does not?

Thank you.

You can find a full list of 541 shareholders and their share holding on the Filings page on Companies House website here.  It is the latest Confirmation Statement.  It lists the Supporters Trust as having 13658 Ordinary shares.  That may sound a lot but the nominal price of each share is £1 and the Club accounts identify £4.9million of called up share capital, so the Trust's holding is probably substantially less than 1% of the total.

The Trust's shareholding should not be confused with its 10% voting right.  This voting right stems from voting rights granted on behalf of supporters which were incorporated into the Memorandum and Articles of Association when the club was formed.

I'm not sure what you mean about having a voice.  We have a voice at the club, but how loud that voice is and how effective it is, has got little to do with our shareholding or voting right.  What matters most is how representative the Trust is.  Whilst membership is growing, it is still a small minority of the supporters of the club who are members of the Trust.  The simple message is that if you want the Supporters Trust to have a louder voice - join it!

If you mean why does the Trust not have a voice on the Club Board, the answer is simply that we have never been invited to have a representative of the fans on the Club Board.  Several clubs do, and we believe that having a democratically elected representative of the fans on the Board can only be a good thing.  But for that ever to happen, we would need to be seen to be truly representative with a membership in the region of the number of season ticket holders at least.  We are a long way from that.

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If I'm understanding you, then shareholding/voting right plays no part in who is on the club board and it's by invitation only?  That doesn't seem right!  Who is in control of these invites and what gives them that control?  What guarantee do the trust have that they will get what they desire if they have a larger membership if there is no mechanism other than invitation?

 

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Having worked in the NHS all my working life, I am no expert on how corporate businesses operate so, I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but but my understanding is this.  The Board of directors have the power to invite people onto the Board if they feel they have something to enhance the workings of the Board to the benefit of the club.  But ultimately the power lies with the shareholders.  Directors serve on the Board for a term of office and at the AGM there are always resolutions proposing that one or more of the Directors be re-elected to serve on the Board.

Many, but not all of the Directors have a significant shareholding in the Club.  They will be on the Board not just because they have demonstrated a willingness to "invest" in the club, but because of their business acumen. I think we have been fortunate in this club that virtually all of the Directors we have had have always had the best interests of the club at heart.  We are also fortunate that no shareholder, or group of 2 or 3 shareholders have a majority shareholding and therefore the club is largely protected from going down a path that benefits those directors rather than the Club.

It is all hypothetical at the moment, and whilst there are no guarantees here, I see no reason why the current Board of Directors would not welcome an elected representative of the fans onto the Board.  Indeed I seem to recall that the current Chairman, Ross Morrison, said as much a while back when he was interviewed on the Wyness Shuffle.  But whilst the usual route onto the Board is by invitation, I don't think there is anything to stop any shareholder putting forward a resolution at the AGM proposing that a supporter representative be elected onto the Board.  

In practice, I think the current Board would welcome the idea provided the Trust could be seen to be genuinely representative and actively working in the best interests of the Club.  If supporters think that having a supporters' representative on the Club Board would be a good thing, then they need to join the Trust in numbers, several people need to volunteer to help out with the work and a few people need to put themselves forward to join the Board of the Trust.  Collectively as supporters, we have a lot of power to make our voice heard.  The question is, do you want the supporters' voice to be heard?

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This is not intended as an opinion on what the trust should or should not do.  I post this purely for information and because Peter has stated that he stands willing to be corrected.

This snippet is from the clubs articles of association.

image.thumb.png.5414ebe183dd644c373ec2c3d4267476.png

As at the last return, there are 4,902,379 ordinary shares issued.

Supporters Trust have 13,658 shares, of which 108 have enhanced rights....leaving 13,550 "ordinary" rights.

The enhanced shares are, in todays terms, equal to 490,237 shares....and we then add the 13,550....total 503,787

As per the company articles 900,003 of the ordinary shares carry no voting right, so issued shares with voting powers total 4,002,376 and this gives the trust a voting right of approx 12.6% in real terms

This is the second largest single entity voting right which exists within the club right now and far surpasses the total voting right of all current directors combined.  The largest shareholding/voting right sits with the ICT Trust (a different entity to the supporters trust).

The company articles state no need for club directors to stand down and/or be reelected by rotation.  They have the power to appoint new directors and are, at present, entirely self appointed with no elected members on the board.

A shareholder resolution can be raised by giving sufficient notice ahead of any general meeting for the election of a board member.  The Supporters Trust could do that now if they so desired.

The current board do not hold anything like sufficient shares between them to stop that resolution and would need support from others to do so...if they so wished.

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There is no reason why Board members need to be born and bred Invernessians.

In my opinion, what matters is that those involved have the desire to contribute to the Board, to make a positive difference and to work with the club to enhance it, both on and off the pitch.

They are giving their time voluntarily for no financial or other gain, so should get our collective support.

Having a varied Board with different backgrounds is important for it to work well.

I consider myself a local, but only moved to the Highlands when I was 4, spent my school days in Fort William, then ended up in the central belt and I only lived in Inverness (first time round) in 1992. Work then took me away for a number of years before returning 8 years ago.

That in no way detracts from my passion for the club.

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On 8/3/2022 at 2:05 PM, CaleyD said:

This is not intended as an opinion on what the trust should or should not do.  I post this purely for information and because Peter has stated that he stands willing to be corrected.

This snippet is from the clubs articles of association.

image.thumb.png.5414ebe183dd644c373ec2c3d4267476.png

As at the last return, there are 4,902,379 ordinary shares issued.

Supporters Trust have 13,658 shares, of which 108 have enhanced rights....leaving 13,550 "ordinary" rights.

The enhanced shares are, in todays terms, equal to 490,237 shares....and we then add the 13,550....total 503,787

As per the company articles 900,003 of the ordinary shares carry no voting right, so issued shares with voting powers total 4,002,376 and this gives the trust a voting right of approx 12.6% in real terms

This is the second largest single entity voting right which exists within the club right now and far surpasses the total voting right of all current directors combined.  The largest shareholding/voting right sits with the ICT Trust (a different entity to the supporters trust).

The company articles state no need for club directors to stand down and/or be reelected by rotation.  They have the power to appoint new directors and are, at present, entirely self appointed with no elected members on the board.

A shareholder resolution can be raised by giving sufficient notice ahead of any general meeting for the election of a board member.  The Supporters Trust could do that now if they so desired.

The current board do not hold anything like sufficient shares between them to stop that resolution and would need support from others to do so...if they so wished.

Thank you for clearing that up.

Maybe you should rejoin the supporters trust board so they have someone who understands these things to keep them right?

Also, I am not from Inverness, or Scotland, or even the UK 🤐

Edited by STFU
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2 hours ago, STFU said:

Thank you for clearing that up.

Maybe you should rejoin the supporters trust board so they have someone who understands these things to keep them right?

Also, I am not from Inverness, or Scotland, or even the UK 🤐

Or even planet earth???

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