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MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MINUTES
Meeting held on 9th September 2014
PRESENT
Will Brinkman, Roy Colabawalla, Clive Cutler, Ken Fairbairn, Nick Hatton, Simon Minto, Mary Martin,
Jon Procter, David Tucker
IN ATTENDANCE
Rob Bray
1. APOLOGIES
Ann Dawes, Ken Franklin, Harjinder Mann, Dilys Taylor
INTRODUCTION
DTu took the chair for the meeting in the absence of KF and introduced Ann Pendrey, who had been
invited to provide certain information on behalf of DT, relevant to the Secretaries report.
1. Headcount; there were 89 employees at the end of August, with 13 vacancies. 5 employees had
left during the month. RB anticipated there would now be a period of relative stability as regards the
need for recruitment.
2. An audit on employee contracts was underway.
3. Policies; RB had instituted a range of new policies that he believed would ensure better
management control. These included – Capability Policy (no fault policy), Recruitment, Probation,
Salary Benchmarking and Performance Management. In answer to questions Ann and RB explained
some of the policies and the reasoning behind them.
Ann Pendrey was thanked for her contribution and then retired from the meeting.
2. FINANCE REPORT & MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTS
Dtu briefly went through the key messages in his report . He also updated the MC on the VAT
problem and confirmed the budget was not yet finalised but he wished to inform the MC of some of
the main assumptions.
1. HMRC & VAT: A letter had been sent requesting a formal response from HMRC. The principle
argument revolved around the question as to whether the money that the LTA had provided should
be treated as a grant or a pre-paid fee. The LTA were paying the fees of PwC who had been
responsible for devising the relevant forms and paperwork and the instructions for completing them.
HMRC have been asked by our financial advisors, Haines Watts, to confirm that there will be no
penalty for late payment of the VAT. PwC are also checking out this letter. Action DTu
2. Budget highlights & assumptions:
Income; growth of 14% after allowing for the cap on leisure membership.
Expenses; wages and salaries to remain at 39% of turnover, after allowing for 1% inflation. Other
expenses to increase by 10% - Utilities costing £100k more than previously assumed. Building
insurance had increased by £20k.
CAPEX; further CAPEX suspended until outcome of VAT problem established. A contingency capex
budget of £60k would be included.
3. Key challenges for next year:
Racquets recruitment; The cap on leisure is likely to cost c. £50k in subscription income.
F&B increased efficiency and revenue.
Growth in other income producing activities, ie sponsorship.
Negotiating a fair settlement with HMRC as to the VAT dispute.
Satisfactory rectification of the ITC and resolving the disruption costs and problems.
4. Sponsorship:
General discussion on sponsorship. RC would like to see more emphasis put behind obtaining
greater sponsorship. RB explained that Julie O’Hare was preparing a plan of action to address this
matter. KF2 raised the question as to what sponsors would get for their money. It was important to
have reached satisfactory answers before seeking new sponsors. Action RB/DTu
5. Racquets membership:
JP raised the matter of the provision of Badminton in the ITC. He believed this would significantly
encourage Lifestyle members to upgrade. Data on court usage was needed before decisions could be
made. This was in the process of being obtained. Action RB/NH
6 The Shop:
Susie Maynard had decided to finish, and the shop would close at the end of Sept. A decision was
needed as to whether to consider a replacement in-house or look for another outside organisation.
It was agreed to ask members for any expressions of interest first. Action RB
JP stated that he was examining how Queens Club operated their shop with a view to putting
forward some proposals to the club.
7 Financial surplus:
A surplus of £900k would be the target for next year allowing for 4-5% inflation. The surplus would
be required to repay loans and completing outstanding CAPEX over the next 3 years. The benchmarking exercise appeared to show EPC in a favourable light to similar sized clubs, including
Roehampton.
3 MINUTES & ACTIONS FROM THE PREVIOUS MEETING
The minutes for the meeting held on 12th August 2014 were accepted unanimously, subject to
altering the retention figure for the ITC building from £50k to £60k. It was agreed that the succession
planning discussion was not part of the minutes.
4. REPORT FROM THE TENNIS CHAIRMAN
Open event: Poor attendance was disappointing. Changing the date next year was being considered.
Kids Camp: Although this produced a healthy income of £35k there were a number of concerns that
required resolving for the camp to continue to be a success. The meals were nearly always late and
there were no lifeguards available, no training days. The Rackets Manager was not present to assist
with solving the problems. As a consequence it was unlikely that Camp Leader would agree to run
the camp next year. Action RB
High Performance Centre: 3 of the top youngsters were leaving for SOTO. NH believed the current
programme was not good enough to retain the best talent. It was agreed that it was important to
establish the real reasons behind these defections. Action RB/NH
Outside team events: NH raised the issue of needing a policy for funding teams representing the
club at outside events. RB agreed to examine the approach taken by some of our relevant
competitors. Action RB
Team award night: Scheduled for 18th Oct. NH encouraging MC members to come. It was hoped for
an attendance of over 100.
Court usage: RB was in discussion with Rackets Manager to find the best way of obtaining accurate
statistics. Action RB
Court Booking System: SM raised the matter of examining the availability of new software that
would allow full on-line booking to operate. This may have the additional benefit of saving some
costs. RB agreed to take this further, together with an overall review of IT within the club. JP agreed
to lend his assistance if required. Action RB/JP
5. REPORT FROM THE SQUASH & RACKETBALL CHAIRMAN
SM presented his report, highlighting the following;
Court usage; continuing to demonstrate surprisingly good usage even during August.
Calendar; Already proving useful for planning events and avoiding clashes. Next year has been
completed. The National Racketball Championship in July has been put back by 2 weeks.
6. STRATEGY 2015-2019
DTu reported 15 written responses to his strategy document. 30 members attended the forum.
There would be a further forum on 7th Oct. Over 1000 members had opened the email and nearly
300 have clicked-through to the strategy document.
7. ITC SURFACE DEFECT ISSUE
RB stated there were no significant new matters to report. He suspected MS might be having
difficulties with their insurer. There was still no formal acknowledgement from the insurance
company. It was now accepted that the ITC would be out of action for a period of 20 weeks, with
work commencing after the AEGON tournament. A meeting was due with the loss assessor on 18th
Sept.
8. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE & RULES REVIEW
A meeting of the MC to discuss the results of the processing of the review, including the written
responses, has been convened for Sat 4th Oct at 10am. There had been a further five written
responses. MM & DT would attempt to provide some cohesive analysis of the comments that could
form a platform for the discussion. A member requested a meeting with the MC to discuss his
particular response. However, the MC feels this would not be fair to other members who provided
written responses, and therefore the offer must be declined. The meeting will discuss all the
contentious issues and decide on the best approach as to handling them. This may lead to a further
consultation meeting open to all members. Action MM/DT
9. SECRETARY’S REPORT
Approval of new applications: The list proposed by RC, seconded by WB and unanimously approved.
H & S: The toughened glass shower door in the men’s washroom had shattered, causing cuts to 2
members. It was believed one of the hinges had become rusty causing the failure. A barrier was to
be erected at the top of the car park steps, where an accident had taken place. The official
complaints book and procedure were now in place.
10. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
1. DTu suggested a skills audit for the MC to demonstrate that the MC have certain skill shortages in
looking for future MC members. He produced a form and asked the MC to complete and return.
2. Membership discounts : WB would like to know the overall cost of individual discounts given to
members. This he felt would be helpful when discussing subscription levels at the AGM. This would
be available for the Dec meeting. Action DTu
3. Visitor fees: RB believed this should be reviewed as the current fee had been in place for 5 years.
RB would report at the next meeting after examining other similar club’s charges. Action RB
4. Card usage: A number of members were failing to provide their cards on entry. Reception staff
felt unable to insist on the correct procedure. It was agreed that a directive from the MC should be
issued and clearly advertised to the membership, enabling reception to insist on members signing in
when they have not got their card with them. Action RB
There being no other business the meeting concluded. The date of the next meeting was confirmed
as Tues 14th Oct.