Dear member
Thanks to all who attended the clubs AGM last Monday 24th. We had a very full and honest discussion about the Club and its future.
I just wanted to give a brief overview of the main discussion topics for those who couldn’t attend.
Members had been provided with the Club’s accounts and budget for the next financial year prior to the meeting. Members present received a report from the clubs Accountant, Steven Crossley. The main points from this are as follows:-
- The club had a positive year financially even though it had made an operating loss of circa £43k
- Revenue had increased both from hospitality and golf fees
- We had seen some respite from the reduction in our rent and utilities costs over the last few months of the year
- We had significant repairs and renewals costs throughout the year which impacted adversely on our margin
- We had significant legal fees to pay which supported the negotiation of our new lease with the landlord
Moving forward into the new year we are forecasting a return to profit of approx. £26k made possible by the reduction in rent, utilities and reduced legal costs. Just to note that if we hadn’t been able to negotiate a new lease and had to go to court, we would have incurred up to £60k of legal costs.
The board have taken the decision to not increase the membership fees for the coming year. We believe that given the poor weather and the fact that the course has been closed for such an extensive period, this would be the right thing to do for our members. Also, to support our cashflow in this new year, the board has decided to offer a £35 top up to members bar cards for membership fees paid in full between 1st March and 31st March and a £25 top up for fees paid in full between 1st April and 30th April.
The Board report focused specifically on the survey results. Thank you to those members who submitted the survey in a constructive and supportive manner. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for all submissions. It was disappointing and disrespectful to see comments which implied direct criticism against individuals. No one, whether a board member or employee, should be subject to such comments.
However, having said that, the survey was on the whole very positive and has provided a lot of good ideas and areas for improvement. One of the key areas of concern was regarding the lack of communication about the Club’s future. In this regard there are two questions that I want to address specifically.
- Does the club have a future? Yes, it absolutely does. We have now survived the dramatic challenges of the pandemic and an energy cost crisis, re-negotiated the lease and have an opportunity to generate profits going forward. All very positive.
- Do we have a strategy? Yes, the board formulated a strategy back in 2022 and communicated this to the members at that time. However, this needs to be updated and then presented back to the members for their input. The board are working on this now and hope to have a first draft at the end of March.
We had significant emotion and passion shown on Monday night, together with some focused and tough questions. This shows a commitment to Crow nest Park Golf Club and I personally am encouraged by that. I believe with the passion and support of our members the club will be around for a long time to come.
Finally, I would like to give a huge vote of thanks to the board for their effort and support over the last year and welcome both Tracey and Richard to the team. Please can I ask that you give them your support as we turn this club around this year.
Thank you and kind regards,
Garvin
Chairman