About 100 Well Society members came together at Fir Park or online from across the globe for the Well Society’s annual general meeting.
Joined by Motherwell chairman Kyrk Macmillan, chief executive Brian Caldwell and other members of the club board, Well Society chairman Philip Speedie opened the meeting, providing a financial overview and review of the progress made since the last AGM, some seven months ago,
In a comprehensive update, Well Society directors gave a detailed overview of financial and membership growth, work to build new club and Well Society boards, strengthening governance, consulting on best practice policies and processes and activity across a range of workstreams aligned to key priorities.
Adding Value
Adding value to Motherwell FC was a key theme of the session, including and open questions session, facilitated by Graeme Thewliss.
Greg Anderson, who sits on both the Well Society and club boards, talked to the shared ambition, priorities and collaboration across both boards. Aligned to recent updates from Kyrk Macmillan, Greg focused on the growth potential of Motherwell FC, explaining that work was under way to build revenue and close the club’s operational gap.
Prior to the AGM, the Well Society explained that launching a share issue was not an immediate priority given we are confident the valuation of the club can be improved in the coming period. And that the Well Society was not actively seeking to sell any shares, although we remain open to discussions with any potential commercial sponsors, partners or investors.
Getting our house in order
Well Society director Martin Grey talked to the importance of a reset across the club and society, following the conclusion of a difficult period last summer. He talked to the importance of working together, and of strengthening the building blocks of high performing organisations, including fresh leadership, a shared strategic focus, good governance, a performance framework and enhanced fan engagement. He talked to the progress made across the past seven months, and the open and collaborative culture across both boards.
Using an analogy linked to the BBC Dragons Den television programme, where businesses seek funding from potential investors, Martin said: “Last year was difficult. To many it felt like the club went into the Dragons Den seeking investment, without a plan on what the investment was for; without a strategic plan for growth; with an unstable leadership position; financial losses; a governance and performance model in need of review and inadequate fan engagement.”
By contrast, Martin added, the focus is now on working together on the building blocks that support organisational performance and getting our own house in order first before looking further.
Make a million by May
The Well Society remains active in securing strategic partners who can add value to the club; is working on projects to boost revenue, including fan zones; and will consider helping to fund projects which increase income, as we approach our target of reaching £1million in reserve funds by May.
Our aim is to help make the club self-sustainable, embrace the potential of fan ownership and thus make it more attractive to partners and sponsors. And also have a clear idea of spending priorities and needs rather than seeking investment immediately for the sake of it.
Board member Gavin McCafferty pointed out that the previous club board had signalled its intention to seek investment more than three years ago but the project had failed to bear fruit despite the time and effort spent.
“Last year’s investment proposal would only have plugged operational losses for a short period and the success of the project would have depended on the investor growing revenue,” he added.
“The Well Society board has confidence in the club board to do this and is committed to actively aiding that pursuit. It makes sense to focus on this strategy.”
Other news to emerge from the meeting included:
- Advanced plans are in place to start work on our first fan zone project.
- Recent talks have taken place about developing international club links partnerships, featuring the Well Society, the club and the likes of Bohemians and NEC Nijmegen.
- Future initiatives include supporting season ticket sales and exploring potential fan ownership tournaments at Fir Park.
- The Well Society hopes to announce plans soon for another “Live the Dream” event soon after the season ends, allowing fans to play on the Fir Park turf.
VIEW OUR AGM SLIDE PRESENTATION HERE